TOGETHER IN EDUCATION: ENGLISH RHETORIC.

ENGLISH RHETORIC.

Paragraph

A paragraph is a division of writing that expresses a single thought (Babajide, 1996:40). It is an integral unit of composition. It is a group of sentences, which are unified by their common relation to a general conception (Kane & Peters, 1966:135).

Types of Paragraph

The introductory paragraph gives a general overview of the speech. A major component of this paragraph is thesis statement.

The transitional paragraph(s) may be one or many. Any paragraph in between the introduction and the conclusion is called transitional. It constitutes the body of the speech.

The concluding paragraph ends the speech. The introductory and concluding paragraphs are like signature tunes. They should appeal to the audience’s interests. The introductory paragraph opens the door to the speech while the concluding paragraph closes it.

Features of a Good Paragraph

A good paragraph must possess the following features

Coherence

Coherence requires that the ideas/sentences in a paragraph must be arranged logically.

Unity

A good paragraph must have unity of thought and unity of form.

Inclusiveness/Completeness

This feature requires that the paragraph does not leave out any essential detail. The details here are related to the specific focus of the paragraph.

Emphasis

Another important feature of a good paragraph is emphasis. This has to do with the way the content of the paragraph is pursued. For a paragraph to be emphatic, it has to be seriously pursue its focus.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

1. What is a paragraph?

2. List the features of a good paragraph.

3.3 Punctuation Marks; , punctuation marks are those symbols that indicate the manner in which the voice is adjusted to make communication meaningful. While speaking, we observe some pauses at some points and adjust the tone of our voices to achieve different ends. In writing, these processes are indicated by some marks. The appropriate, or otherwise, use of punctuation marks could affect the meaning of your speech. This is why it is important for you to master the various ways these punctuation marks should be used. They are not just marks meant to adorn your speech. There are specific rules guiding their use.

1. Full stop (.)

The full stop is used for the following purposes.

· To signal the end of a sentence. a. I don’t need sycophants. b. See all of them. c. I have to go now. d. Take it easy. e. We have seen you.

· To indicate abbreviation: a. etc. b. Oct. c. e.g. d. a.m. e. p.m.

However, in some of the examples above, particularly c, d, e, full stop is optional.

· In Internet and email addresses.

http://www.ui.edu.ng

2. Question Mark (?)      

This mark is used in the following ways.

· To indicate the end of a direct question:

a. What have you prepared? b. Can we meet tonight? c. Will you come for the service? d. Is it ready? e. Do you know what to do?

· To express doubt, particularly with a date: Obafemi Awolowo (? 1908-1987)

3. Exclamation Mark (!)

It is used at the end of a sentence that shows strong emotion: a. This is it! b. How wonderful it was!

4. Comma (,)

The comma is used for the following functions.

· To separate words in a list:

a. I have four friends: Tola, Hannah, Kemi and Jummy. b. The man, his wife and their children stole the goat. c. Maize, rice and yam are now scarce. d. Red, blue, pink and white are my favourite colours. e. One table, two chairs and four stools have been made.

· To separate a tag question from the other parts of the sentence.

a. She is ready, isn’t she? b. They didn’t come, did they? c. We have served them well, haven’t we? d. She can do it, can’t she? e. You are loved by her, aren’t you?

· To separate phrase or clauses:

a. Having redeemed his battered image, he decided to run for the

presidency. b. If you know the truth, say it. c. Go in, sit down, and eat your food.

d. If I meet you here again, you’ll be in the soup. e. Because of his carelessness, he lost the contract.

· To separate long main clauses linked by a conjunction such as

but, and, or, for, as. a. We thought all of them would come to receive us, but only their

leader came. b. He relies only on the people that come to his house, as there is no

one left with him. c. Do all that is in your power to help others, as there are rewards

for doing so. d. They controlled the people and their assets kept in their care, but

one day the people revolted. e. The man and his wife didn’t wait to get the reply, but they

assured us of their willingness to assist us.

· To separate an introductory expression that applies to the entire

sentence.      

a. For now, we can’t accept you. b. Disgraced, he left hurriedly. c. Yes, we can do it!

d. By God’s grace, I will pass this examination. e. As for you, however, I will not change the rule.

· To separate a non-defining phrase or clause from the rest of the

sentence: a. The man, who nearly died because of her, has left her finally. b. Adewole, our faithful friend, gets married next week. c. The handset, which I actually did not request for, has been stolen. d. Chief Alaseju, our governor, has lost the ticket. e. The dog, which is more faithful than some humans, deserves to be honoured.     

· To separate short quotation from the rest of the sentence:

a. The pastor said, “Do your best and leave the rest”. b. He exclaimed, “I have got her”.

c. James declared, “I am more than conqueror”. d. The woman lamented, “He carted away everything”. e. Joseph said, “I will not contest for that post again”.

· To separate written conversation from the other parts of the

sentence; it could come before or after ‘said’ or any reporting

verb: a. “See me immediately,” she shouted. b. “Help them,” requested the man.

c. “Try more,” he said. d. He inquired, “Where is she?” e. They pledged, “We shall trace them.”

5. Colon (:)

The colon is used in the following ways.

· To introduce a list of items.

a. The following people are performing today: Adekanmi, Adekemi,

and Adeyemi. b. She has four children: Peju, Pelumi, Pemisire, Ponmile.

c. I want to travel to three places: Oluponna, Ikire, and Isoko. d. Adeseke has these virtues: honesty, sincerity, gentleness and diligence. e. These are our aims: to help others and to serve God.

· To introduce indented quotation:

According to Sunday (2011:1403-1404):

In the past, some Nigerian musicians went to any extent to express their grievances and rivalry. There were reported cases of musicians using diabolical means (particularly witchcraft) to make the engines and instruments of the rival musicians to malfunction when they met at occasions. (Some very rich Nigerians often invite two or more musicians to play simultaneously at their ceremonies.)

· To introduce a phrase or clause that gives more information about

the main clause: a. The woman is dejected: she needs a companion. b. We have to go now: it is getting dark. c. Nobody can deceive me any longer: I am wiser now. d. Be careful: humans are dangerous. e. I will succeed: God is on my side.

6. Semicolon (;)

· The semicolon is used to separate parts of a sentence that already

contains comma:                                                                     

a. Listen to this: watch, pray and help others; take care of your health; and eat sleep, and play well. b. Believe in God; trust no one, if you want peace. c. I am ready; I will help you, as long as I am able. d. Help us, Oh Lord; we need you, even now. e. The man will not listen to you; even if you are a prophet, he will snub you.

7. Apostrophe (’)

This mark is used in the following manners:

· To indicate letters or figures that have been omitted:

i. Can’t (Cannot) ii. She’s (she is/ it is) iii. It’s (it is/ it has) iv. The January of ’77(1977) v. I’m (I am)

· It is used with s to indicate possession:

i. My daughter’s friend. ii. Saint James’s Church or Saint James’ Church iii. In Jesus’s name/ In Jesus’ name(Notice that this’s may not be pronounced; that is, the name may also be pronounced as if it does not indicate possession) iv. The boy’s dress v. Nobody’s problem

· Sometimes, with s to form the plural of a figure, an abbreviation,

or a letter:     

i. in the 1960’s/1960s ii. His t’s are not clear. iii. Dot your i’s iv. Cancel all the p’s. v. He is in his early 40’s/40s.

8. Hyphen (-)

It is used in the following ways.

· To form a compound from a prefix and a proper name:

i. Pro-Jonathan ii. Anti-Christ iii. Pre-Obasanjo era iv. Pro-Nigeria

· To form a compound from two or more words:

i. half-hearted ii. open-ended iii. easy-going iv. hot-tempered v. father-in-law

· To write compound numbers between 21 and 99 words:

i. thirty-four ii. forty-four iii. seventy-nine iv. one hundred and sixty-two v. one million, two thousand, five hundred and eight-one.

· Used after the first part of a word that is divided between one line

and the next:

We should not be in a hurry to leave this place; so let us be ready to misconstrue issues.

· To separate a prefix ending in vowel from a word beginning with

the same vowel:

i. co-ordinate ii. co-operative iii. pre-eminence iv. de-emphasise

10. Dash (–)

The dash is used for the following purposes.

· It is used to separate a comment or an afterthought from the rest

of the sentence.

a. Driving carefully – which is a necessary for safety – should not be taken lightly.

b. I want you – if you care – to listen to this. c. The man – in my own estimation – is incompetent. d. Serving God – which I see as a privilege – should not be abused.

e. We shall – in view of his attitude – set up a panel of enquiry.

· It is also used in informal discourses, instead of a colon or a

semicolon, to show the summary of what has gone before.

a. Nobody passed – they all failed. b. We have money – we can sponsor you.

c. I got the award today – I am a victor. d. He doesn’t respect anybody – he is arrogant.

e. Carry out a thorough investigation – the initial report may be wrong.

11. Quotation marks (“”/ ‘’)

It is used in the following ways.

· To enclose words and punctuation in direct speech:

a. “What is your problem?” he asked. b. “If I don’t come, what will happen?” he inquired c. “I won’t do it,” he vowed. d. “I know the way,” he said. e. “I will repent later,” she promised.

· To enclose the titles of articles, songs, poems, short stories, etc.

a. J.P. Clark’s “Abiku” b. Wole Soyinka’s “Telephone Conversation” c. He wrote, “Now is our time.” d. I like Ebenezer Obey’s “Womanhood.” e. I know “I believe I can fly.”

· To draw attention to a word being used in a special way:

a. We want our share of the “national cake”.b. He is looking for “orijo.” c. I know her “source.” d. Seun is not ready for that “gift” e. Many people have “caring” leaders.

· To enclose short quotation and saying:

a. The man said “tough times never last.”b. He assured us that “the sky is not our limit.”

c. I now know that “when the going is good, you will have many friends.”

11. Dots/ Ellipsis (…)

It is used to indicate omission from a quotation or conversation.

a. …no controversy. b. Do it if…. c. We honoured them but…. d. She can read it… we are ready

e. Today history is made… our president has confessed to his offences….

12. Slash/Oblique

· This mark is used to separate alternative words or phrases:

a. You and/or your friend b. He/she must be cruel. c. Male/Female d. Present/Absent

e. Yes/No

· To separate the different elements in Internet and email

addresses:

http://www.google.com

http://www.yahoo.com

13. Brackets/Parentheses

These are used in the following ways.

i. To separate extra information or a comment from the rest of a

sentence:

a. NTA Ibadan (first television station in Africa) is crying for

attention. b. Cocoa House (the highest building in Ibadan) is a masterpiece.

c. He feels that Nigerian young politicians (those born after 1960)

are incompetent.

· To enclose numbers or letters in a text:

The winners are (i) Ademoyewa, (ii) Adeseke and (iii) Adetoke.

· To enclose cross-references.

The law is unambiguous on this (see Section 2.4)

14. Square Brackets ([ ])

(i)This punctuation mark is used to enclose words inserted to make a

quotation grammatically correct:

In [those] areas, watch what you do ….

· It is also used in referencing to insert authorial intrusion or

additional information.

According to Lucas (2002:119-120),

“Printed materials [books in particular] in libraries are superior to the

Internet in many ways.”

15. Italics/Underline

i. It is used to indicate emphasis

I will come but you will stay.

· It is also used to indicate title of books, magazine, newspapers,

films, paintings, operas, etc.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

The Guardian., Newswatch, Opera Wonyosi

· It is also employed to indicate foreign words:

a. He does have skonsko. b. Ebo are kept there every Friday.

THE SENTENCE

3.1 Def., a sentence is a group of related words that begin with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. Or A sentence is the highest grammatical unit of a language. Or, a sentence is the unit of grammar that expresses a complete thought/idea. It could be a word or a group of words.

Types of Sentence

There are two major approaches to classifying a sentence: form/structure

and function.                                                                                     

3.2.1 Classification Based on Structure/Form

Sentence classification based on form/structure considers two parameters:

1. Number of clauses 2. Types of clauses

There are four types of sentence based on structure or form:

Simple Sentence

A simple sentence has a main clause and no subordinate clause. This

means that it has only one finite verb.

Examples:

1. Cocks crow at dawn. 2. I am not ready for that now. 3. The man in that room is not committed to thorough scholarship. 4. I have experienced a lot of disappointment in life. 5. The man and his concubines are waiting for the man of God.

Compound Sentence

A compound sentence consists of at least two main clauses and no subordinate clause. This implies that it has at least two finite verbs. The clause could be joined by coordinating conjunction, comma, or semicolon.

Examples:

1. We have fought and won. 2. Deborah accepted her fault but she did not apologize. 3. Molade peeped, saw them, and screamed. 4. Man proposes; God disposes. 5. The man has arrived but his wife is yet to come.

Complex Sentence

A complex sentence comprises at least two main clauses and at least a subordinate clause.

Examples:

1. If you dare me, I will deal with you. 2. Don’t go into marriage unless you are fully prepared.

3. Because she knew her right, she did not succumb to the man’s threat even though nobody encouraged her. 4. Appreciate people whenever you have the opportunity.

5. Except you rely on God, your life may be miserable.

Compound-complex sentence

This sentence contains at least a main clause and at least a subordinate clause. In other words, it is a combination of a compound sentence and a complex sentence. A simple way of forming a compound-complex sentence is to add at least a subordinate clause to a compound sentence.

Examples:

1. We entered and sat down although she didn’t expect us. 2. Provided you are serious, I will come and teach you if you invite me. 3. I can accept you into the group and groom you for the next competition if you are ready to cooperate with us.

Classification Based on Function

This parameter considers the communicative role a sentence plays. There are four types based on this criterion:

Declarative Sentence

A declarative sentence makes a statement of fact, which may be true or false, in the negative, or in the positive.

Examples:

1. We are all gullible. 2. Nobody knows tomorrow. 3. We can’t rely on people like you. 4. All of us will soon see that you are a sellout. 5. The teacher is not to blame for his lack-lustre performance.

Imperative sentence

This sentence gives a command, makes an entreaty or a request. It does not have a covert subject because its subject, which is usually “you,” is often deleted because it is understood.

Examples:

1. Get out of my sight. 2. Don’t ever tell me that again. 3. May God save us from exploiters. 4. Let’s get out of here immediately. 5. Never trust a man like him.

Interrogative sentence

This sentence is used for asking questions. It usually ends with a question mark (?).

Exclamatory Sentence

This sentence expresses the strong feeling of a person. It ends with an exclamation mark.

Examples:

1. What a beautiful lady you are! 2. How fortunate we are! 3. What a powerful message it was!

4. How exceptional you were on that day! 5. What a disappointment to this generation she is!

TENSE, ASPECT AND CONCORD

 Aspect

Aspect is a grammatical category of verbs that considers the quality of the action of the verb independent of the tense. Simply put, aspect means the range of meanings expressed by the verb. In English, aspect is broadly categorised into progressive and perfective aspects. The progressive aspect takes the affix ‘ing’, while the perfective aspect takes ‘have’ (or its derivatives – has and had.

Tense

Tense means the linguistic way of expressing time dimensions. Each language has its own peculiar way of doing this. There are three main time dimensions: past, present, and future. English has three tenses: past, present, and future. However, some scholars have argued that English does not have future tense. They premise their argument on the fact that English does not morphologically show the future tense. We will not go into the argument for or against this view. We will adopt the traditional view that holds that English has three tenses, because it serves well our intension in this course. Each of these tenses could be expressed in four different ways: simple, progressive/continuous, perfect, and perfect progressive. To realise these different forms, the verb often takes some inflections, auxiliary verbs, and aspectual markers, as the case may be. Before considering these tenses in some detail, let us examine “aspect.”

Present Tense

Simple Present Tense

This tense uses the infinitive (without to) form of the verb. If the subject is third person singular, s, es, and ies are added, as appropriate. This tense is used to express the following:

· Present habitual action

i. She comes here weekly. ii. They pray every night. iii. He fast weekly. iv. Deborah sings daily.

v. These people plan evil.

· Present occurrence/state of being

i. I know Wumi. ii. The boy is insolent. iii. Paul and Peter are diligent. iv. Nike is humble.

v. They seem confused.

· Document literary works, holy books, and constitution. 

i. In The Road, Soyinka emphasizes communication. ii. The Bible presents God from different angles. iii. Our constitution is defective. iv. This poem has enjambment. v. The novel makes a good reading.

· Run commentary

i. Now Okocha is ready to fire a shot. ii. Kanu gets the ball; passes it to Aghowa; Aghowa dribbles one, dribbles two; aims at the post; oh no, over the bar! iii. The President goes to the lectern to read his address.

· Future occurrence

i. Lawale gets married next month. ii. The programme begins tomorrow. iii. The spies leave for the place tonight. iv. My examination holds soon. v. Our review end next year.

Present Progressive Tense

This tense uses a present auxiliary verb with the present participle form of the main verb. It is used to express the following.

· An ongoing action/event

i. We are reading our books. ii. Osarume is waiting for you. iii. Olusayo is writing the memo.

iv. Pelumi and Yetunde are dancing naked. v. Nobody is cooking your food.

· A future occurrence

i. They are going to the altar soon. ii. Our boy is coming back next year. iii. My friend is doing the work tomorrow. iv. We are planting the seeds next month. v. Juliana is presenting next.

Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect tense uses the perfective aspectual marker have (or has) with the past participle form of the verb. This tense is used to express: An event that has started and has been completed but has not been overtaken by another event

i. We have done the work. ii. Ogazie has eaten your food. iii. Ozioma has written her dissertation. iv. Chioma and Chuka have not seen the man. v. This is the first time that I have come here.

Present Perfect Progressive Tense

This tense is a combination of the present progressive tense and the present perfect tense. Therefore, it uses have/has + been + past participle verb to express an event/action that has started and is still in progress as at the time of speaking/writing.

i. The men have been praying for you. ii. Jumoke has been cooking your food. iii. Samson has been reading the wrong thing. iv. They have been deceiving you. v. Tolulope has been expecting Temitayo.

 Past Tense

Simple Past Tense

This tense uses the past form of the verb to show:

· Past action

i. Joke read the address. ii. Those boys brought the car. iii. They hit the right mark. Iv. Joshua went there. v. She did the evil

· Past habitual action

i. He used to go there everyday. ii. She often played the guitar. iii. He often did it. iv. Damilola usually served us. v. Kate always followed that lady.

· Impossible wish

i. If I were you, I won’t marry her. ii. If I were God, I will kill all evil people. iii. If you were that boy, you wouldn’t have returned that money. iv. If she were your daughter, she would have catered for you. v. They will hoard the air, if they controlled life.

Past Progressive Tense

The past progressive tense combines a past auxiliary verb with the present participle form of the main verb to indicate the following.

· An event/action that was going on at a particular time in the past

i. He was singing when I saw him. ii. They were shouting when we caught them. iii. As I was reading, they were planning how to escape. iv. While she was grinding the pepper, Yomi was washing the pot. v. Nifemi and Abiodun were sweeping the floor while Tunde and Bidemi were playing.

· Past habitual action/relationship

i. Sayo and Gbemisola were always reading together last year. ii. He was always taking that lady out last month. iii. Kunle was usually singing that anthem. iv. The boys were always waiting for you there. v. I was always praying for two hours daily

· Impossible wish

i. If pen were talking yours would have protested. ii. If humans were flying, I would have got home now. iii. If doors were crying, that door would have cried uncontrollably

Past Perfect Tense

This tense makes use of had and the past progressive form of the main verb to express the following.

· Indicate a past action that took place before another past action

i. No sooner had he gone than I arrived. ii. She had slept before I prayed. iii. I thought you had paid her. iv. Nobody had attempted this before your arrival.v. When I arrived they had slept.

· Express regret

i. If I had known I would have stayed. ii. Had he come, we would have protected him. iii. If you had been told, you wouldn’t have left. iv. She would have not married you if she had known your secret. v. The girls wouldn’t have undressed if they had known you plan.

Past Perfect Progressive Tense

This tense uses had + been + past participle verb to show an action/event that had started and was in progress before another past action.

i. They had been singing before they joined our choir. ii. We had been praying here before you built your church. iii. They had been packing the belongings before we stopped them. iv. Everybody had been writing the play before you met them. v. Similolu had been laughing before you came in.

Future Tense

Future occurrences can be expressed using either the simple present tense or the present progressive tense, as mentioned earlier. However, by a combination of will/shall and other auxiliary verbs with the main verb different future tenses can be derived.

Simple Future Tense

This tense uses will/shall with the main verb to express an incident or action that is expected to take place in the future.

i. I will not go there. ii. She will meet us. iii. They shall help us. iv. Dayo will try that option. v. The boy will run away.

Future Progressive Tense

This tense employs will/shall and ‘be’ as auxiliary verbs before the main verb. The tense expresses an event or action that is expected to be taking place at a given time in the future.

i. I shall be going to Lagos next week ii. She will be addressing the press tomorrow. iii. Tomipe will be completing her programme next year. iv All of them shall be waiting for you there.

v. My sister will be getting married next Saturday.

Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense deploys shall/ will+have+been as auxiliary verb before the past participle form of the main verb. It indicates an event or action that is expected to have been completed at a particular time in the future.

i. The guilty lawyers will have been derobed by this time next

month. ii. Yemi shall have been given the award by 7:30 pm tomorrow. iii. Tofunmi will have been crowned the queen by this time today. iv. Our lecturer shall have been appointed by this time next week. v. Those ladies will have been discovered by this time next year.

Future Perfect Progressive Tense

The future perfect tense deploys shall/ will+have+been as auxiliary verb before the present participle form of the main verb. It indicates an action or event that is expected to have started and be in progress at a given time in the future.

i. Tricia will have been taking her final examination by this time next month. ii. The students shall have been clearing your office by 9.00 am tomorrow. iii. We shall have been discussing with the president by 2.00pm next Monday. iv. Funke shall have been feeding the chicken by this time tomorrow. v. Those boys will have been doing the assignment by this time on Wednesday.

ASSESSMENT

1. What is tense? 2. What is aspect? 3. Differentiate between tense and aspect.

Concord

Concord is the grammatical notion used to denote the agreement among the components of a sentence.

Subject-Verb Agreement

There are two main types of concord: grammatical concord and notional concord.

Grammatical Concord

This is the concord that strictly adheres to the principle of the verb agreeing with the subject.

· A singular subject takes a singular verb.

i. The leader of the boys is around. ii. She knows me. iii. Theophilus cares. iv. The man sings well. v. Bolu fights a lot.

· A plural subject takes a plural verb.

i. The minutes have been adopted. ii. We are ready. iii. Our governors are corrupt. iv. Many people deceive themselves. v. We need a good leader.

· A compound subject that is plural in meaning takes a plural verb.

i. The man and his wife are around. ii. Seun and Sola follow us. iii. The boy and the girl are unserious. iv. That man and his friend control the children. v. Our teacher and his daughter play the keyboard.

· Indefinite pronouns used as subjects take singular verbs.

i. Nobody cares for you. ii. Everybody sees them. iii. Something is missing. iv. Everything is wrong with you. v. Nothing stops you from going there.

Notional Concord

This is concerned with the idea being expressed; grammatical markers are set aside in this case.

· “A number --- ” takes a plural verb.

i. A number of boys are missing. ii. A number of us are insensitive. iii. A number of books were lost last week. iv. A number of magazines are biased. v. A number of ladies want good husbands.

But “The number ---” takes a singular verb.

i. The number of my cars is now twenty-two. ii. The number of his enemies has increased.

iii. The number of our departments has reduced. iv. The number of her grammatical errors has not decreased. v. The number of their friends is three.

· “One of ---” takes a singular verb.

i. One of the ladies is beautiful. ii. One of the men is around. iii. One of the cars has been stolen. iv. One of the eggs is rotten. v. One of the rogues has apologized.

· “One of --- who/whom/that etc. ---” takes a plural verb after the

relative pronoun and a singular verb for the main clause.

i. One of the girls who follow him is a Ghanaian. ii. One of the women who respect us has travelled. iii. One of the cars which are red belongs to me. iv. One of our sisters who tell stories is in London. v. One of your friends who believe in hard work knows you.

· “Many a/an ---” takes a singular verb.

i. Many a teacher is lazy. ii. Many a politician is corrupt. iii. Many a lady is gullible. iv. Many a pastor is fake. v. Many a driver is incompetent.

· Measurements of time, weight, capacity take a singular verb, because each measurement is seen as a unit.

i. Thirty minutes is enough for this exercise. ii. Four litres of petrol was wasted. iii. Seventy kilogrammes of pork has been brought. iv. Twelve kilogrammes of garri is in your cupboard.

v. Thirty-four litres of palm oil is missing

a. A compound subject that is singular in meaning takes a singular verb.

i. Rice and beans is good for lunch. ii. Bejide and Sons is selling shares. iii. Akinola and Associates is handling the case. iv. Dambaba and Sons helps northerners. v. Agnes and Co. is ready to assist us.

b. When “in collaboration with”, “together with” etc. are used aftera subject, the verb still agrees with the subject.

i. The president, in company of his ministers, comes here today. ii. Our church, in collaboration with NTA and AIT, organizes a two-day marriage seminar. iii. The man, in company of his friends, is going to the pastor. iv. James, alongside the three of us, is planning the reception. v. The pastor, in conjunction with the media houses in the state, is planning the rally.

c. When a premodifier is used for a coordinated subject, a singular verb follows.

i. The founder and pastor of the church is too dubious. ii. My friend and confidant knows you. iii. Her teacher and sponsor hates her.iv. Your trainer and captain trusts you.

d. When a correlative conjunction is used, the subject close to the

main verb dictates the verb to be used.

i. Either the boys or the girl keeps the record. ii. Neither the commissioners nor the governor has seen this. iii. Neither Thomas nor his antagonists speak the truth.

SPEECCH

There are different types of speech. The major ones include:

Expository Speech

An expository speech aims at revealing some facts on a concept or personality.

Analytical Speech

In an analytical speech, attempt is made to break down a concept or phenomenon to its component parts and then explain how these parts constitute the whole. It may involve giving reasons why a particular policy is right or wrong.

Speech of Introduction

This is a speech, which introduces the main speaker to the audience.

Speech of Presentation

This is a speech used when, which presenting someone a gift, an award, or some other form of public recognition (Lucas, 2001:440). In this kind of speech, the focus is on the personality to be honoured.

Speech of Acceptance

This speech shows appreciation for an honour or award or any form of recognition.

Commemorative Speech/speech of Tribute

It is a speech written to  informs and inspires, the audience to appreciate the entity being praised.

After-Dinner Speech

This is a speech meant to entertain, making a thoughtful point about its subject in a lighthearted way.

Persuasive Speech

This is a speech that attempts to convince others to accept the writer /speaker’s view of the way things are.

Inspirational Speech

This is a speech, which tries to stimulate listeners to a high level of feeling or activity.

3.2 Ethics of Speechwriting/Speechmaking

Each profession is backed up by ethics. Speech writing/making is guided by the following ethics as identified by Powers (1993:72):

1. No one should knowingly promote something as true that they honestly believe to be fake

2. No one should suggest a greater degree of certainty about their beliefs than their evidence will actually support.

 3. No one should misuse the available facts to support their cause.

4. No one should withhold information that might be relevant to the issue under discussion.

5. No one should distort information to make it conform to his or her own position.

These are the ethics guiding each occasion for which the speech is meant. Each gathering has what it permits and what it forbids. Therefore, a speechwriter should take note of these too, as they could determine the reception of his/her speech.

ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

List the types of speech discussed so far. 1. Discuss the relevance of the ethics of speech writing to a speechwriter. 2. Explain the features of four types of speech. 3. What are the steps a speechwriter needs to take to make a speech of introduction effective? 4. List the ethics of speech writing a writer must take note of.

AUDIENCE ANALYSIS

The Audience; The audience is the receiver or target of a particular speech. You may wonder why some seemingly fantastic speeches and some eloquent speakers fail to make impressive impact on their audience.

Audience-Centeredness;Any speaker/writer that has little or no regard for the audience is both fail in his/her speech Endeavour. A good speechwriter must beaudience-centred. This means that such a writer keeps  the audience foremost in his/her mind at every stage of the speech preparation and presentation. Such a writer asks himself/herself the following basic questions.· To whom am I writing/speaking? · What do I want them to know, believe, or do because of my speech? · What is the most effective way of writing and presenting my speech to accomplish this aim? · What is my audience’s relevant demographic involvement? · What are my audience’s social involvements? · What are my audience’s relevant topical involvements? (Powers, 1993:61)

3.3 Issues in Audience Analysis

Audience analysis is “the process of examining about the expected listeners of a speech.” (Beebee & Beebee, 1994:64).: You select what you are going to say and how

you are going to say it based on your best evaluation of your audience’s prior constructions concerning the topic (Powers, 1993:59).

There are two basic manners of audience analysis: spontaneous and

self-conscious. The former involves focusing on “what is unique about the other person as an individual.” The latter focuses on what is common to the audience members as a group (Powers, 1993:59).

Types of Audience Analysis

The different pieces of information needed about the audience could be grouped under the following types of audience analysis:

Demographic Analysis

Demography refers to information relating to the biodata of an individual or a group of people. Demographic analysis of the audience, therefore, concerns seeking information about age, religion, gender, educational background ethnic background, and cultural background,

among others, of the audience.

Age

This presupposes that there is direct relationship between age and experience. Once the age of the audience is known, the writer can convenientlychoose the most appropriate topic and the best approach to use in presenting it.

Gender It deals with how the society assigns roles to individuals based on their sexes. This varies from one culture to another. Besides, there is now a shift in professional demarcations. Some jobs once seen as exclusive preserves of men are now being undertaken by women. In doing audience gender analysis, it is important to ascertain the ratio of males to females. Generally, take note of the following points:

· Avoid making sweeping judgements based on gender stereotypes.

· Ensure that your speech relates to both genders.· Avoid jokes and other tactics, which are derogatory to either gender.· In your illustrations and stories, do not cast either gender in

stereotypical roles.· Take care of the similarities and differences between the two

sexes.· Avoid sexist language.· Do not cast aspersion on some seemingly deviant groups, such as gays, lesbians, and shemales. (cf. Beebee & Beebee, 1994:67-68; Lucas 2001:104).

Ethnic, Racial and Cultural Backgrounds                         

Each ethnic group, race and culture has its own unique features, although there are some features, which cut across all of them. A good writer should find out the ethnic, racial and cultural peculiarities of the segments of the audience. This will help him/her to know how not to say what will put off a particular ethnic group.

Religion

Currently, religion is one of the most divisive factors all over the world. It is so powerful that, on a slight provocation on religious issues, whether wittingly or unwittingly done, some religious bigots are ready to foment trouble. There is mutual suspicion among the various religious sects. Since a writer belongs to or is endeared to a particular religion,he/she needs to exercise caution so that he/she will not be seen as unduly religious in his/her speech. The audience is seldom

homogeneous. Even among the same religion, there are different denominations or sects.

Group Membership

Members of the audience may belong to some groups that have certain values they cherish. Such groups may be social, professional or voluntary. The group affiliation of the audience may inform the writer on what to emphasise, what to de-emphasise, and what not to mention at all.

Other Demographic Variables

Apart from the demographic variables discussed above, there are some other ones that could shape the speech and its reception. They include academic qualification, social status, economic position, marital status and intelligence.

How to Gather Demographic Information

There are both formal and informal ways of gathering demographic information about the audience. The informal way entails simply observing them and asking information about them.

The formal method of gathering demographic information deploys mainly questionnaire. This questionnaire should be brief but it must address what you need. It should be administered before you begin to write the speech. Below is a sample:

Name: (optional)______Sex: Male Female Age:________Educational qualification__________Occupation:______Marital status________State of origin __________Language(s) spoken:_______Nationality:____________Religion:_____

The two methods should be used because where one is inadequate, the other will complement it. The information gathered should be taken as a means to an end. This is because “inferences based on generalized information may lead to faulty conclusions

ASSESSMENT

1. What is audience? 2. Define audience-centredness. 3. Mention some of the things to note in demographic audience analysis.

Psychological Audience Analysis

The audiences have different frames of mind because they are made up of people from different worlds of experience. This manifests in their disposition to a topic and to a speaker/writer. What interests A may not interest B; one man’s food is another man’s poison. To understand the psychology of the audience, Gregory (2002:82) suggestsassessing the audience’s level of;

Interest Level

In order to avoid making your speech boring to the audience, the following steps should be taken.

(i) Assess the interest of the audience in your topic: An average human being pays attention to topics that are of interest to him/her.

(ii) Maintain interest throughout the speech: You can maintain the interest of the audience by using examples.

(iii) Create interest: One of the best ways to do this is to relate the topic to the needs and desires of the audience.

Needs and Desires

A good speech should try to meet the needs. Topics that treat reaching peak of one’s career address self-actualisation needs. “The more needs and desires you can help listeners satisfy, the stronger your speech” (Gregory, 2002:85). Generally, audiences are interested in the following, as stated by Powers (1993:68): · What other people are doing and how they live their lives · Things that improve their competence · Things that give them a greater appreciation of commonplacethings in their world, particular new insights into their everyday

World · The unusual and the extraordinary, such as adventure tales, you can include the mysterious, strange or unusual about your topic · Something now.

Attitudes

An attitude focuses on an individual’s like or dislikes; a belief is “the way an individual structures reality to determine what is true and false”; while value refers to “enduring concepts of good and bad, right and wrong”.

Attitude towards the Writer/Speaker

The reader/writer may have either a positive or a negative attitude toward the writer/speaker. Each attitude is informed by different reasons, such as:

· Previous knowledge of the writer/speaker: The audience based on what they have heard or read about the writer/speaker forms some biases. If a speaker/writer is known for using difficult language, the audience may lose interest in his speech. Conversely, a writer or speaker that has been known to always make his/her audience feel at home is likely going to have the

attention of the audience.

· The name of the writer/speaker: Some people have some stereotypes on some names. Certain names are easily identified with some tribes, religions, and ideologies. Without having had any previous contact with the writer/speaker, some people would have already formed some attitudes on the writer/speaker based on this criterion.

· Spontaneous and unwarranted views: Some people justdevelop some attitudes, love or hate, toward people without any particular obvious reasons

· Appearance: This affects only speakers. The way the speaker appears during speech presentation may influence the attitude of the audience.

Attitude toward the Goal

There are three main attitudes toward the goal: favourable, unfavourable and neutral. An audience’s positive attitude toward you as a speaker can overcome negative or apathetic attitudes they may have toward your topic or purposes.

 Attitude toward the occasion

Each occasion has some expectations attached to it. If the audience expects to hear motivational speech but they are given a sermon, they will be disappointed. This affects their attitude toward the speaker.

ASSESSMENT

1. Mention the forms attitude could take in relation to speech. 2. Define attitude.

3. What are the three major points to consider while doing psychological audience analysis?

3.3 Environmental/Situational Analysis

Environmental/situational audience analysis refers to that analysis which “focuses on situational factors such as the size of the audience, the physical setting for the speech, and the disposition of the audience toward the topic, the speaker, and the occasion.” This implies that this analysis also involves doing some attitudinal analysis.

Size

You need to have some idea of the size of your audience. If the audience is expected to be 1000 people but you have 100 people in mind, in the case of delivery, you might be thrown off balance initially because the kind of mind frame needed for each audience differs. Even in writing, the size of the audience could influence the choice of the linguistic items and visual aids to be used.

Time limit

It is not common to find speakers who keep to the time scheduled for a speech. Some speakers elongate their speeches unnecessarily. As much as possible, get information on the time allotted to your speech. Make attempt not to exceed the time limit. There is even greater reward in

finishing your speech before the specified time. In some situations, you may have to adjust your speech to suit the prevalent situation.

Physical Setting

This also affects only the delivery aspect of the written speech. You need to check the sitting arrangements and the position of the lectern for you to be sure that your audience can see you

properly.