Letter Grade Criteria for Speeches

A "C" LEVEL SPEECH:

• Conforms to assignment
• Student ready on speech day
• Speech within time limits
• Fulfills special requirements
  • Research evident for informative and persuasive speeches
  • Research is academic
• Has clear specific purpose and central idea
• Identifiable intro, body, conclusion
• Reasonable directness and competent delivery
• Free of grammar and pronunciation errors

A "B" LEVEL SPEECH
all the aforementioned plus:

• Deals with challenging subject
• Fulfills all major functions of intro and conclusion
• Displays clear organization of main points and supporting material
• Support of main points with researched evidence is:
  • accurate
  • academic
  • relevant
  • objective
  • sufficient
• Proficient use of connectives:
  • transitions
  • internal review
  • internal summaries
  • signposts
• Skillful delivery: not distracting to message
• extemporized from notes; not read
• good eye contact that establishes audience rapport
• speaker is a good "tour guide"
  

AN "A" LEVEL SPEECH
all the aforementioned plus:

• genuine contribution by speaker to the knowledge and beliefs of the audience
• sustains positive interest of audience
• vivid and interesting use of language
• fluent delivery the strengthens message
• passion evident in the persuasive round
  

A "D" LEVEL SPEECH:
is seriously deficient in "C" requirements

A "F" OR FAILING SPEECH:
is seriously deficient in "C" requirements and any of these conditions

• plagarized in part or whole
• unethical and/or dangerous purpose
• substantially lacking structure and/or incompetent delivery