General Purpose: To inform
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the Titanic tragedy
Thesis Statement: The sinking of the Titanic remains one of the most famous tragedies in history.
INTRODUCTION
I. (Attention material) Morgan Robertson wrote a book called The Wreck of the Titan. It was about a so called “unsinkable” ship named the Titan that set sail from England to New York. There were many rich and famous passengers on board. On its journey, the Titan hit an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean and sunk. Because of the lack of lifeboats, many people died. If this sounds familiar, get this. The Wreck of the Titan was written 14 years before the Titanic sank.
II. (Thesis statement) The sinking of the Titanic remains one of the most famous tragedies in history.
III. (Credibility) Nervous about going on my first cruise this December, my boyfriend decided it would be a good idea to tell me that the ship I am going to be on is in fact larger than the Titanic. Curious about his statement I began to do research on the Titanic.
IV. (Preview of main points) Today I will talk about the ship Titanic itself, second, the sinking of the ship, and finally I will discuss the movie which was made about the Titanic.
Transition: Let’s start with the ship itself.
BODY
I. The Titanic was believed to be the largest, most luxurious, and safest ship ever built.
A. Geoff Tibbals states in his 1997 book The Titanic: The extraordinary story of the “unsinkable” ship, that the Titanic was 882 feet long and weighed about 46,000 tons.
1. According to Peter Thresh in his 1992 book Titanic: The truth behind the disaster, the ship accommodated about 2,345 passengers and 860 crew members.
B. The Titanic was decorated and furnished with only the finest items available.
1. In Thresh’s 1992 book there is a quotation from Shipbuilders magazine that states, “Everything has been done in regard to the furniture and fittings to make the first class accommodation more than