Question 1
"You, sitting here today — yes, you — have the power to make a difference."
💡 Speaking directly to 'you' in the audience creates immediate personal connection and engagement.
Year 7 — Writing
Speech
Use direct address to an audience, use rhetorical devices for spoken effect, structure a speech clearly, and adapt tone for a specific audience.
Understand
Speech writing is written to be SPOKEN aloud to a live audience, which shapes it differently from other writing forms. Direct address ('you', 'we', 'all of us here today') creates connection with listeners in the room. Rhetorical devices work especially well in spoken form because listeners hear rhythm and repetition directly, rather than reading it silently. A speech also needs a very clear structure, since a listener can't 're-read' a confusing section the way a reader can.
“You know this feeling. We all do. That moment when you realise something has to change.”
Direct address ('You know', 'We all do') pulls the audience directly into the speech, making them feel personally addressed rather than passively listening — this immediacy is especially powerful when spoken aloud, with the speaker able to pause and make eye contact after 'we all do'.
Spot it
Identify the speech-writing technique used in each example.
Question 2
"We will not give up. We will not back down. We will not be silenced."
💡 Three parallel statements with repeated structure ('we will not...') build powerful rhythm when spoken aloud.
Question 3
"Thank you all for being here — I know many of you have travelled a long way, and I don't take that lightly."
💡 Acknowledging the audience's effort to attend builds goodwill and connection right from the opening.
Think about it
Why might a speaker use short, simple sentences and repeated structures more heavily than a written essay would, given that a speech is heard rather than read?
Try it
Identify how tone is adapted for a specific audience.
Speaking to a group of young children: "Have you ever wondered what makes the stars twinkle? Let's find out together!"
Question 1
How is this speech's tone adapted for its audience of young children?
💡 Notice the accessible question and the inclusive, friendly invitation ('let's find out together').
Practise
Identify the technique or audience-adaptation shown in each example.
Question 1
"Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, I stand before you today..." What tone/audience does this suggest?
Question 2
"Hey everyone! So, guess what happened to me yesterday..." What tone/audience does this suggest?
Question 3
"This is not just my fight. This is our fight." What technique is this?
Question 4
In one word, what do we call using 'you' or 'we' to speak directly to an audience?
💡 It's the first technique explained in the Understand section.
Question 5
Why might a speech use simpler sentence structures than a formal written essay?
Question 6
"We will rise. We will rebuild. We will remember." What technique is being used?
Apply
Read the passage, then answer the questions below.
Friends, I won't pretend this has been an easy year. We've faced setbacks none of us expected, and moments when giving up would have been the easier choice. But you didn't give up. Not one of you. And because of that — because of your effort, your patience, your refusal to quit — we stand here today, ready for whatever comes next.
Question 1
How does the speaker use direct address in this passage?
💡 Notice phrases like 'you didn't give up' and 'your effort'.
Question 2
"your effort, your patience, your refusal to quit" is an example of which technique?
Question 3
Quote the opening word used to establish warmth and connection with the audience.
💡 It's the very first word of the passage.
Challenge
Explain in two or three sentences how this speech's structure — acknowledging difficulty before praising the audience's resilience — builds an emotional connection that would be harder to achieve in written form alone.
Review
A quick mastery check — 3 questions.
Question 1
Direct address in a speech means...
Question 2
Why should speech structure be especially clear?
Question 3
Why should tone be adapted for a specific audience?