Syllabus

Criteria	Effectively Accomplished 10		Partially accomplished 6	Not accomplished 2
Attention Getter	Effective use of attention getting strategy (quote, statistic, question, story, etc.) to capture listeners’ attention and to introduce topic. Attention getter is relevant and meaningful and seemed to gain the desired response from audience.		Use of relevant attention getting strategy, but did not seem to adequately capture audience attention and/or lead to desire outcome.	No attention getting strategy was evident. No clear or relevant connection to topic and/or speech purpose.
Thesis Statement	Speaker clearly formulated and stated thesis statement during the speech introduction. Thesis statement identifies topic and encompasses/previews main points.		Thesis is clearly implied, although not explicitly stated. Topic is clearly identified, but main points are not clearly previewed.	No thesis statement (implied nor explicit). Main points are not clearly identified, audience unsure of direction of the message.
Subject Knowledge	Depth of content reflects knowledge and understanding of topic. Main points adequately substantiated with timely, relevant and sufficient support. Provided accurate explanation of key concepts.		Provides some support for main points, but needed to elaborate further with explanations, examples, descriptions, etc. Support is relevant, but not timely.	Provides irrelevant or no support. Explanations of concepts are inaccurate or incomplete. Listeners gain little knowledge from presentation.
Organization	Uses effective organizational pattern for speech purpose. Main points are clearly distinguished from supporting details. Signposts are effectively used for smooth and coherent transitions.		General structure/organization seems adequate but some blurring between main points and supporting details. Logical flow, but no clear signposts for smooth transitions.	Lack of structure. Ideas are not coherent and transitions are forced or blurred. Difficult to identify introduction, body, and conclusion.
Logical appeal	Presents sound arguments to support major claim. Arguments are supported with sufficient, relevant and valid evidence. Reasoning is free of fallacies.		Some arguments are sufficiently supported but some unsupported assertions are also present. Minor reasoning fallacies.	Arguments lack relevant and valid evidence. Information is incorrect and/or outdated. Many fallacies are present in the reasoning.
Emotional appeal	Effectively and ethically appeals to audience emotions (anger, fear, compassion, etc.) to achieve the persuasive goal. Vivid and emotive language effectively used to create imagery to engage audience emotionally.		Appeals to audience emotions (anger, fear, compassion, etc.) to achieve the persuasive goal, but fails to observe ethical responsibilities. Creates some effective imagery through language.	Fails to appeal to audience emotions. No attempt to use vivid or descriptive language to capture audience emotions.
Eye contact		Consistently and effectively used eye contact to establish rapport with audience. Inconspicuous use of speaker notes and effective use of scanning to established an expanded zone of interaction.	Conspicuous use of speaker notes. Seems disengaged from audience for noticeable periods of time.	Reads speech from notes/manuscript. Avoids eye contact with audience. Only occasional and sporadic glances.
Body language		Expressive, dynamic, and natural use of gestures, posture and facial expressions to reinforce and enhance meaning. Body language reflects comfort interacting with audience.	Stiff or unnatural use of nonverbal behaviors. Body language reflects some discomfort interacting with audience. Limited use of gestures to reinforce verbal message.	Body language reflects a reluctance to interact with audience. Distracting movement and/or use of self-adaptive behaviors.
Voice		Natural variation of vocal characteristics (rate, pitch, volume, tone) in Standard English to heighten interest and match message appropriately.	Limited variation of vocal characteristics. Use of rate, pitch, volume and tone seemed inconsistent at times.	Monotone or inappropriate variation of vocal characteristics. Inconsistent with verbal message.
Fluency		Appropriate pronunciation, enunciation, and articulation. Lack of noticeable vocalized fillers.	Few noticeable errors in pronunciation, enunciation and articulation. Minimal use of vocalized fillers.	Excessive fluency errors interfered with message comprehension. Excessive use of vocalized fillers.
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