Outline of General Abilities in
Oral Composition

I.

Prespeaking:

The student should demonstrate the ability to

A.	Participate in activities to generate ideas for the assignment
B.	Select a subject or choose options assigned by the teacher
C.	Identify the audience and occasion for the presentation.

II.

Planning, Organizing, and
Preparing a First Draft of
the Presentation:

The student should demonstrate the ability to

A.	Establish a focus for the topic.
B.	Compile information, impressions, or experiences appropriate to the intended audience.
C.	Formulate a general statement which introduces the information, presents a reaction or position, or which anticipates the development of an experience or feeling.
D.	Differentiate between general statements and particular support in persuasion and exposition, between major and minor events or characters in narration, between prominent or less prominent details in description.
E.	Select a pattern of organization appropriate to the purpose, subject matter, and intended audience.
F.	Plan an introduction and conclusion appropriate to the purpose of the assignment.
G.	Follow the conventions of any specific form of speaking.

III.

Refining:

The student should demonstrate the ability to

A.	Select language appropriate to the audience, situation, and purpose.
B.	Use syntactical structures for greatest clarity and emphasis.
C.	Use devices for coherence that assist the listeners in following the selected pattern of organization.
D.	Adhere to the conventions of standard English usage.