Featuring a balance of practical advice and sound instruction, Speechwriting: A Rhetorical Guide provides readers with essential knowledge to prepare and deliver well-constructed and well-researched speeches appropriate for a variety of contexts.

The first part of the book discusses traditional rhetorical theory in a way that is direct and easy for students to understand. The chapters cover such topics as audience and the rhetorical canons of invention, elocution or style, disposition or organization, delivery, and memory. Chapters in the second part then apply the rhetorical principles to four different types of speeches: inaugural addresses, commencement addresses, a variety of persuasive speeches, and a number of ceremonial ones.

The text includes excerpts from actual speeches, illustrative speechwriting samples with commentary from a prospective speech writer, and a set of exercises that encourage readers to think about how the sample speech might be improved upon or modified if they were the one writing it.

Speechwriting connects rhetorical theory to modern situations and settings to emphasize real-world application. The text is an exemplary resource for courses in speech and writing as found in departments of communication studies, English and composition, political science, education, and any other discipline in which people are frequently asked to speak or address an audience.