Deteriorating U.S. Roadways
TOPIC: Deteriorating U.S. Roadways
GENERAL PURPOSE: To persuade the audience to research, support and act locally and nationally to address the Issue.
SPECIFIC PURPOSE: To Inform my audience of the issue so that they are aware of its human impact, how America’s own actions caused the problem and what we, as citizens, can do to help fix our roadways.
INTRODUCTION
I. ATTENTION GAINER: “On TV I watched as the bridge collapses. Minnesota. Rush hour. Trucks and cars suspended over water. Cars swaying and falling… imagine what those people felt, … when everything they knew, everything they believed they could trust, crashed and broke beneath them, that final moment of disbelief and then the terror as they fell.” This was an excerpt of literature published in the Prairie Schooner, Spring 2010. Maria Gillan, an American poet, wrote of her recollections of August 1, 2007, watching as the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota collapses underneath hundreds of our nation’s people.[1] It was an event that has become a symbol in so many people’s minds of America’s deteriorating infrastructure.
II. THEMATIC STATEMENT: Today, the state of our nation’s infrastructure is in decline. Lives are being taken and people are being injured. Our economy is suffering for it and our future is threatened. Most causes are preventable and we must become informed so we know how to respond to this serious public safety issue.
III. PREVIEW: Our entire infrastructure, the critical system of our nation, is in deterioration but my focus will be limited to our bridges and roads. Discussing the negative human impacts, the leading causes and then what’s being done and what can be done to fix this issue will follow as the structure of this speech.
BODY
I. PROBLEMS: Our priorities need readjusting because we have fallen short in maintaining our roads and bridges. At the national, state and local levels we have let our roadways steadily decline and become a danger to the millions
GENERAL PURPOSE: To persuade the audience to research, support and act locally and nationally to address the Issue.
SPECIFIC PURPOSE: To Inform my audience of the issue so that they are aware of its human impact, how America’s own actions caused the problem and what we, as citizens, can do to help fix our roadways.
INTRODUCTION
I. ATTENTION GAINER: “On TV I watched as the bridge collapses. Minnesota. Rush hour. Trucks and cars suspended over water. Cars swaying and falling… imagine what those people felt, … when everything they knew, everything they believed they could trust, crashed and broke beneath them, that final moment of disbelief and then the terror as they fell.” This was an excerpt of literature published in the Prairie Schooner, Spring 2010. Maria Gillan, an American poet, wrote of her recollections of August 1, 2007, watching as the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota collapses underneath hundreds of our nation’s people.[1] It was an event that has become a symbol in so many people’s minds of America’s deteriorating infrastructure.
II. THEMATIC STATEMENT: Today, the state of our nation’s infrastructure is in decline. Lives are being taken and people are being injured. Our economy is suffering for it and our future is threatened. Most causes are preventable and we must become informed so we know how to respond to this serious public safety issue.
III. PREVIEW: Our entire infrastructure, the critical system of our nation, is in deterioration but my focus will be limited to our bridges and roads. Discussing the negative human impacts, the leading causes and then what’s being done and what can be done to fix this issue will follow as the structure of this speech.
BODY
I. PROBLEMS: Our priorities need readjusting because we have fallen short in maintaining our roads and bridges. At the national, state and local levels we have let our roadways steadily decline and become a danger to the millions
Cited: 1. Gillan, Maria Mazziotti. “Watching The Bridge Collapse.” Prairie Schooner 84.1 (2010 Vol. 84 Issue 1.): 90-91. Academic OneFile. Web. 13 July 2013. 2. “Overview: Executive Summary.” ASCE. 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. Web. 11 July 2013.