Response to Article 4

Learning Outcome 4 (Oral): Students are expected to demonstrate the ability to develop
and convey oral and written messages effectively.

The artifact above is a legal brief I created for my junior year communication law course. For this
class I had to act as the defending lawyer in the court case U.S. v Manning, and this legal brief shows the
facts of the case I had to argue. This case is a landmark case regarding whistle blowing policies on the
national level. After simply looking at the facts of the case I had to put together an argument defending
Manning. The process of laying out a legal argument was instrumental in the development of my
professional speaking skills, particularly in conveying concise oral arguments. With only a few minutes to
paint my argument, I went through the facts of the case through a lens friendly to my defendant and
eventually won the mock trial.

Although I had given speeches in classes before, this one in particular helped me develop my
oral skills. I may not be going into a law profession, but having the skills to take cold hard facts and turn
them into a narrative which successfully argues your point will be transferrable to any job I will work in
my future. Between my experiences arguing legal facts in (mock) court and the experiences I gained in
my public speaking course, I have developed the oral skills necessary to succeed in any situation I may
face.