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OUTLINE CHECKLIST   Instructions: Use this checklist to go through your preliminary outline and evaluate yourself. If you can check off all of these criteria, you are ready to put together your visual aides and practice!   ü       Do I have an effective attention-gaining device described in my introduction?   ü       Do I have a clear thesis in my introduction that sounds more like a purpose than a topic?   ü       Is that purpose (and the speech, in general) honestly geared to the 22 people in my audience? o        Have I built in a relevancy appeal in the introduction? o        Am I teaching them something substantive that they don’t already know (Does this outline reflect careful digging in my research to find the most interesting and relevant information or a quick “Google dump”?) o        Am I using a good variety of “seasoning” throughout? (stories, powerful quotes, interesting visuals, examples, etc.) o        Am I using vocabulary that is over their heads or too vague/abstract?   ü       Do I have the required minimum of credible sources noted on my outline (where I’m orally going to cite them) and in an attached bibliography?   ü       Do I have 2-4 main points on my outline? o        Could anyone looking at my outline have a good sense of what I’m going to say? o        Have I used key words and/or succinct sentences instead of long paragraphs? o        Under each of my main points, do I have 2-4 sub points? §         Under each (or at least, most) of those, do I have 2-4 sub-sub points? §         Do I have any lists of 5 or more points that need to be regrouped into larger sub-categories?   ü       Do my main points reflect a part of my larger thesis? o        Do I have any main or sub points that are labeled in a vague way (e.g. “background info” or “facts”)?   ü       To make my main points clear, have I included preview, review, and transitions in the outline? o        The preview should be the last statement of your introduction and should name your 2-4 main points o        The review should be the first statement of your conclusion and should name your 2-4 main points o        The transitions go between each of the main points   ü       Do I have an effective and vivid closing statement?   ü       Do I have a complete, appropriately formatted bibliography of the sources that I orally cite in my speech?