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Brennan Counts

Informative Outline

Topic: Taking Risks

Audience: Peers and Ms. Gordon

General Purpose: To Inform

Specific Purpose: inform audience about taking risks

Thesis: Taking risks are an essential part of life, and when we look at examples from works like

Beowulf and The Mosquito Solution, we can truly understand the nature of risk.

I. Introduction

a. Attention getter: Why arent we living life to the fullest?

b. Reason to listen: Risk is an essential part of life

c. Thesis Statement: Taking risks are an essential part of life, and when we look at

examples from works like Beowulf and The Mosquito Solution, we can truly

understand the nature of risk.

d. Credibility Statement: Risk is an essential part of life, and I have read several

literary pieces that involve risk.

e. Preview of Main Points: Risk is something that we all will come to in life, and we

need to be able to take risks.

II. Body

a. Why are we hesitant to take risks?

i. What stops us from taking that leap?

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ii. Afraid to make mistakes

iii. Fear of failure

iv. Ex. We spend our high school years trying to be perfect

1. As and B on our report cards

2. High ACT scores

3. Stellar resumes for college

b. Risks are essential to life

i. In the real world, perfection does not exist

ii. We need to take risks

1. How will we ever advance if we are stuck to a ball and chain of

fear

iii. Ex Beowulf

1. Beowulf risk humiliation and failure when he decided to defend

the people of Herot

2. In the end, he defeats Grendel

c. What do we have to lose

i. Life is not fair

ii. Life is not perfect

iii. Failure and mistakes are inevitable

iv. Ex. Mosquitos

1. The scientists weigh out the pros and the cons of releasing the

synthetic mosquitos
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a. The come to the conclusion that they should take the risk

and what do they have to lose.

i. They already have people being hospitalized from

infected mosquitos

III. Conclusion

a. So take the risk

b. Its essential to life

c. A ship in a harbor is safe, but thats not what ships are built for
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Works Cited

Beers, G. Kylene, et al. Beowulf. Collections, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.

Beers, G. Kylene, et al. The Mosquito Solution. Collections, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.