Skeleton Outline for Persuasive Speech

Type of motivational strategy: Fear Appeals

Type of reasoning: Deductive Reasoning
Type of audience: Mixed, leaning towards hostile according to poll, a lot neutral
I. INTRODUCTION (consider ethos and pathos)
A. Attention Getter
Here are the horrible mass killings in recent memory.
B. Credibility
I only found Washington Navy Yard in my research
C. Audience Relation
Even I forgot about some, so I am in the same boat as you.
D. Purpose Statement
Gun violence doesnt have to be a norm in this country.
E. Central Idea
Certain gun restrictions are our best bet to keep ourselves safe.
Transition #1 (previews 3 main points)
-

Higher access to guns leads to higher rates of gun violence

These laws have been used in other countries and worked.

Assault weapons are unnecessary for the average American anyway.

II. MAIN IDEA #1: Higher access to guns leads to more gun violence
A. More guns means more homicide
1. 3 deaths an hour to guns
2. Harvard School for Public Health has said this

B.

More guns also lead to more suicides

1.
Gun suicide is the most deadly and the most popular
2.
Boston Globe says that suicide victims 17x more likely to live in a
house with a gun

Transition #2
Limiting access to guns could be hard and expensive. How can we know
it works? Because it worked in Australia.
MAIN IDEA #2: It worked in Australia!
A.

After Port Arthur, Australia put into place a lot of these gun restrictions
1. Homicide went down 59% within the first 10 years of the law
2. There have been zero mass shootings since.

Transition #3 Some say that the risk is necessary and that guns, especially highly powered ones
are needed. I say otherwise.
IV. MAIN IDEA #3: American civilians do not need to be as armed as we are to be safe.
A. Civilians dont stop shootings.
1. Higher gun ownership rates means higher homicide/suicide rates.
2. In nearly 35 years, an armed civilian has never stopped a shooter except
for once. Thats 1.6% of mass shootings since 1980.
B. You dont need military hardware to protect your home.
1. Stephen King-If you cant kill an intruder with 10 rounds, you need to
go back to the shooting range.
C. You will not be able to make a last stand against an out of control government.
1. The US military can destroy the world many times over. A fancy shotgun
will not do you any good.
Transition #4 I hope youve come to at least understand my point of view on this.
V. CONCLUSION (consider ethos and pathos again)
A. Summarize main points
-Access and Prevalence of firearms lead to homicides

-That laws like these were used in Australia and worked perfectly.
-The guns designed to kill humans with maximum efficiency have no place in the homes
of ordinary Americans.
B. Go out with a compelling, persuasive statement
If you disagree, that is perfectly understandable, but I ask that if you do, really examine
why you believe that. Is it because you truly think that arming more people
will make you safer? Or because it is fun to shoot things in the backyard. Think
carefully. At our present rate, were due for another mass shooting any day now.