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COMM-105 Speech Sources

This guide serves as a jumping off point for COMM-105 students who are researching and preparing to give an Informative Meeting Speech or a Speech to Actuate. For more help, contact your friendly neighborhood librarian!

Speech to Actuate Guidelines

Specific Requirements: A minimum of 5 sources (no more than two may be Internet sources), extemporaneous delivery, a typed labeled manuscript with works cited. Visual aids are required.

 

Finding Sources

In the boxes below you will find links to sources by format type. For your Speech to Actuate, you will benefit from choosing a variety of sources. For example:

  • News articles about an event or topic can help set the stage for why action is needed.
  • Consider encyclopedia articles for general background information about 1) issues that cause the problem you wish to solve, 2) solutions people have tried in the past, 3) activists or inventors who tried various solutions. 
  • Official websites from credible organizations can provide background information that defines a problem and suggests paths of action.
  • Book chapters and introductions can define a problem and give background information and historical context for the actions you are suggesting. 
  • Articles from magazines, newspapers, and journals can define a problem and give examples of active solutions. 
  • Don't forget the sources that are not linked here, such as credible websites, Podcast episodes, in person interviews, artwork, music, digitized primary sources at museums and archives, and so much more.

Message your librarian if you need or want help with any stage of your research. I can also help with narrowing or broadening your research topic, fixing technical difficulties with ebooks or online articles, and any citation questions. 

Websites Previewed by a Librarian

The websites I'm sharing here will give you an idea of how I recommend you select credible sources online using the CRAAP Test. These websites are examples that obviously do not cover your topic, so you will want to apply the CRAAP Test yourself to searches using your own keywords. I can help you if you have any questions. 

In the Speech to Actuate assignment description, your professor gives examples of specific, observable, and measurable actions or behaviors. I chose one of those examples--write to your Congressman--as my sample topic to search. The sources I share below fit that sample topic. 

Remember:
C- Currency

R- Relevancy

A- Authority

A- Accuracy

P- Point of View

Encyclopedias

Unlike Wikipedia, these Encyclopedias are trustworthy and have editors and qualified authors who check the accuracy of the information they contain. 

Books and Ebooks

Use keywords to search any of these collections for a book about your topic. All of these books can be read online, however they count as "non-Internet" sources because they have been published in print somewhere. 

Magazine, News, and Journal Articles

You can find credible newspapers, magazines, and journals through the PUC website and online. If you use a source that also has a print version, such as the New York Times, it will count as a "non-Internet" source. News sources that appear only online such as the Huffington Post or BuzzFeed are unlikely to be a good fit for your speech as they tend to be less credible. However, if they fit your subject and you wish to use them, remember to apply the CRAAP test for credibility and note that they will count as an Internet source. 

Streaming Video

Search here for clips from news and television broadcasts as well as full-length documentaries about your topic. Some of the streaming services listed here do contain feature films (meaning movies you'd see at the theater), which are unlikely to be useful for this assignment. 

Images

Google Images often turns up results that are unclear about their origin, content accuracy, or copyright status. Rather than pulling visual aids from Google, try searching for your subject in these online collections. As long as you give proper credit to the source (which you will know), you can use the images from these online collections for educational purposes.