EN

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Types of Special Occasion Speeches

Presenting an award warrants a presentational speech, during
which a speaker presents a person with an award or
Speech of Introduction
prize. The primary purpose of this speech is to give
Whoopi Goldberg
recognition to the recipient and his or her accomplishments
pertaining to that specific award. While presentational
A speech of introduction introduces the main speaker at an
speeches might vary in length and content, they all should
event and inspires the audience to listen to that speaker
contain a few key elements. First, the person presenting the
(O’Hair & Stewart, 1999). Any speech of introduction needs to be
award should not only highlight the merits of the award
brief. After all, the person making the introduction should not
recipient, but also point out the purpose and significance of
be the focus of attention. The introductory speech usually has
the award being given (O’Hair & Stewart, 1999). Another
three components: (a) provide a brief backdrop or background
element of the presentation is to personalise the speech to
of the main speaker, (b) introduce the speaker’s topic, and (c)
make the award and event more meaningful for the recipient
an invitation from the audience to warmly welcome the
and the audience.
speaker. Here is an example of a speech of introduction:

Acceptance Speech
Toast
A man giving another man an awardThe presentation of an
A toast is a brief tribute to a person or event (O’Hair &
award is usually followed by an acceptance speech, which the
Stewart, 1999). A toast also allows the speaker to acknowledge
recipient delivers upon immediate receipt of the award. This
accomplishments and express best wishes for the future
speech gives the recipient an opportunity to show
(Adler & Elmhorst, 2010). Besides being brief (about 30 to 60
appreciation for the award as well as humility and grace
seconds), a toast is a speech delivered at a well chosen time,
(O’Hair & Stewart, 1999). Such a speech should be prepared
which is when everyone is present, such as when guests are
ahead of time, if possible. In the preparation process, the
seated for a dinner or when everyone has a drink in hand.
recipient will have a general idea of who to thank, which should
not be overlooked during such an event
Roast
Keynote Address
A roast is a particular kind of toast that is humorous and
pokes fun at the honoured person in a friendly way. A roast
A woman giving a keynote addressThe keynote address is a
might be given for someone who is moving away or has
speech that represents the essential or common theme of a
achieved noteworthy success in her or his lifetime. It is
convention, conference, or other large gathering. Most
generally considered a high honour to be roasted, and in most
conferences, expositions, or conventions are usually organised
cases a roast is reserved for individuals who have achieved
around a central idea, and the keynote address is what
respect and a noteworthy reputation. One such individual is
summarises the central message revolving around the general
President George W. Bush, who was roasted by Stephen
theme. For example, organisers of a conference with the
Colbert during the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
theme “Looking Forward—Looking Back” might want the
keynote speaker to celebrate the history of that organisation,
A roast can contain tributes, admiration, comedic insults, and
recount its past accomplishments, predict future directions of
outlandish stories that are true or untrue. There is usually a
the organisation, and invite audience members to embrace the
roastmaster—someone who serves as master of ceremonies—
future mission and vision. Similar to this sample structure, most
and other individuals can take part in the roasting. It is often
keynote speeches contain common elements
the case that those involved in the roasting might expect to
bear the brunt of a few of the jokes.
The person giving the keynote address is usually a person who
has earned a national or international reputation within his or
The recipient or person being honoured deserves careful
her professional field. Such a person would likely be invited to
consideration. While a roast is intended to honour a person,
speak because of her or his expertise or particular claim to
the speaker should know for certain that the roastee is
fame, which would be alluded to in the speech. In addition, the
someone who can take a joke and show good humour when
keynote speaker is wise to be mindful of the conference theme
receiving humorous criticism. Regardless of the jokes and
and to incorporate that theme into the speech. Regardless of
comedic insults used, the ultimate goal is to pay tribute to the
the conference theme, the typical speech might allude to such
person being honoured, and a roaster should never lose sight
topics as organisational growth, team building, goals and
of that objective.
aspirations, leadership, change, or achievements (Speech
Topics Helps, Advice & Ideas, 2005).
Eulogy
Commencement Speech
Giving a eulogy means that you are sharing a remembrance
speech with the purpose of paying tribute to a loved one. This
Obama giving a commencement speech. The commencement
speech is given at the funeral or memorial service by a family
speech—which is a type of keynote speech—is given to mark
member or close friend.
the occasion of a school’s graduation ceremony during which
diplomas are awarded to graduating students. The
A good eulogy highlights the lasting impact of the person on
commencement speech is celebratory in nature in that it
their family and community. Through your speech, you’ll have
marks an important milestone in the graduates’ lives. At the
an opportunity to share their unique qualities, as well as the
same time it can be
ripple effect of positivity and change they created in the world
around them.

Speech to Present an Award

a call to action for its audience (Fly Little Bird, 2007). Many Begin writing your ending by identifying the call to action that
commencement audiences may appreciate a speech that is should close your speech. You may have to go back to your
relatively brief and to the point, and many speakers provide purpose to figure this out. Your closing depends on whether
practical, yet memorable, advice. For instance, Billie Jean King you want to motivate or inspire your audience, persuade them
once said, “Find a mentor and be a mentor. Give back. And to your point of view or to honour or celebrate a person or
when people tell you not to believe in your dreams, and they event. John F. Kennedy's inaugural address is a good example
say, “Why?” say, “Why not?” (Wisdom Engine, 2006). of a motivating conclusion. Kennedy closed his speech by
This type of speech is usually given by a person who is well- reminding the American people to "go forth to lead the land we
known in the community or by someone who has achieved love..."
national or international recognition for her or his
contributions to society. The speaker might be a politician, an Step 5
alumnus from the institution, a famous speaker, or other
noteworthy figure. The speaker might be chosen by the school Summarise the main points of your speech and provide some
administration or by the graduating students themselves further food for thought for your listeners. Leave your
audience with positive memories of your speech. End with a
Commemorative Speech and Tribute final thought or emotion, which can take the form of an
inspiring quote, personal anecdote or call-back to an earlier
Commemorative speeches and tributes are speeches that pay point in the speech.
special accolades to an occasion, extraordinary person, event,
idea, or monument. The purpose or scope of this speech is to
reflect the emotions felt by the audience as well as
underscore the reasons for the speaking event. Delivering a
tribute and commemorative speech involves careful attention
to language. These speeches are intended to inspire the
audience, and the use of the richness of language should
serve to evoke the appropriate emotions within the audience
as well as the honoured person(s)

How to Write Opening & Closing Remarks of a Speech

When writing a speech, the introduction and the ending are

just as important as the body of your speech. The first 30
seconds of your speech must grab your audience immediately.
Your ending should be strong and powerful and leave your
audience with something to remember, whether it be a
thought, idea or feeling.

Step 1

Define your audience for the speech, what is the topic and
focus and how long does it need to be. Make an outline of your
ideas for the speech. Be specific and clear about each point
that you wish to speak about. Identify what the theme and
purpose is.
Step 2

Create a statement that captures your audience's interest

immediately. Make it dramatic or humorous, depending on the
type of talk you are giving. The opening statement should
capture your audience's attention or "hook" them. For example,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech captured the
audience by stating the date, along with the dramatic words, "a
date which will live in infamy."

Step 3

Go back to your main ideas and review what result you wish to
have by the end of your speech. Determine how you want the
audience to feel in the beginning, middle and end of the
speech. A good example is famous baseball player Lou
Gehrig's farewell speech. He closes his speech by referencing
his bad break, but that he still has a lot to live for, which
offered encouragement to him and to his fans.

Step 4
 APA and MLA Format
Writing a Bibliography: APA Format
Below are standard formats and examples for basic bibliographic information recommended by the American Psychological Association
(APA)

American Psychological Association (APA)

Type of Source APA Format Bibliography

Book (single author) Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Title of the Book. City/State: Publishing Company.

Book (2 authors) Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial., and Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Title of the Book.
City/State: Publishing Company.

Book (3 authors) Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial., Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial., and Last Name, First Initial.
Middle Initial. (Year). Title of the Book. City/State: Publishing Company.

Book (4 authors) Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial., et al. (Year). Title of the Book. City/State: Publishing Company.

Book (chapter from an Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Title of the Chapter. In Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial.,
edited book) (Ed), Title of the Book (inclusive pages). City/State: Publishing Company.

Journal (printed) Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Title. Journal Title, Vol. No (Issue No), Inclusive Pages.

Journal (online/pdf) Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Title. Journal/Website Title. Month/ Date Published.
published or not Retrieved from URL/LINK. (accessed date)

newspaper Last Name, First Initial. (Month Year). Title. Newspaper Title, Vol No. (Issue No.), page.

Article (online) Last Name, First Initial. (Month/Year). Article Title. Website Title. Retrieved from URL/LINK (accessed
date).

Thesis ONLINE PUBLISHED

Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title. (Type of Thesis, University and Place). Retrieved from URL/LINK
(accessed date)

PRINTED/HARDBOUND PUBLISHED

Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title. (Type of Thesis, University and Place). City/State: Publisher, Year of
Published.

Pictures and films IMAGE

Creator’s Last name. First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Title of image [Format]. Publisher. URL (accessed
date)

FILM

Producer Last Name, First Initial. Middle initial. (Producer), & Director Last Name, First initial. Middle
initial. (Director). (Year Released). Title of film [Film]. Studio.
FILM ONLINE

Producer Last Name, First Initial. Middle initial. (Producer), & Director Last Name, First initial. Middle
initial. (Director). (Year Released). Title of film [Film]. Studio. URL/LINK (accessed date)

Magazine articles Author Last Name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year, Month Published). Title of article. Title of Magazine,
Volume(Issue), page range.

Blogs Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year, Month, Date of blog post). Title of blog post. Title of the Blog.
URL (accessed date).

Songs and musical Last name, First initial. Middle initial. Songwriter. (Year created). Song title [Song recorded by First initial.
recordings online Middle initial. Last name of the performer’s name or the name of the band]. On Album title [Medium].
URL (accessed date)

Youtube Last name, First initial. Middle initial. [YouTube username]. (Year, Month, Day of posting). Title of
YouTube video [Video]. YouTube. URL (accessed date).
Bibliography
● The author with the second name, no need to put
periods between the first initials just put the period
after the second name.
Ex.
Dela Paz, Danica Marie R.
Dela Paz, DM. R.
● The following line of the citation is always indented to
the first name of the author.
Ex.
Ariola, Mariano M. (2017). Trends, Networks, and Critical
Thinking in the 21st Century. Manila, Philippines: Unlimited Books
Library Services and Publishing Inc.
● The bibliography is always in alphabetical order.
● If the author of the books are the same, no need to
mention the last name again, just use the hypen (--.)
and proceed to the year and title of the book, etc.
Ex.
Ariola, Mariano M. (2017). Trends, Networks, and Critical
Thinking in the 21st Century. Manila, Philippines: Unlimited Books
Library Services and Publishing Inc.--. (2017). Trends. Manila,
Philippines: Mindshapers Co., Inc.
● Always put the accessed date for the sources with
URLs.
● If the bibliographic entry is incomplete, make sure to
have the other important details such as the author
and the title. If the source does not have date/year
of published insert (n.d).
Writing a Bibliography: MLA Format
Below are standard formats and examples for basic
bibliographic information recommended by the
Modern Language Association (MLA).
Basics
Your list of works cited should begin at the end of the paper
on a new page with the centered title, References. Alphabetize
the entries in your list by the author's last name, using the
letter-by-letter system (ignore spaces and other punctuation.)
Only the initials of the first and middle names are given. If the
author's name is unknown, alphabetize by the title, ignoring any
A, An, or The.
For dates, spell out the names of months in the text of your
paper, but abbreviate them in the list of works cited, except
for May, June, and July. Use either the day-month-year style
(22 July 1999) or the month-day-year style (July 22, 1999) and be
consistent. With the month-day-year style, be sure to add a
comma after the year unless another punctuation mark goes
there.
Underlining or Italics?
When reports were written on typewriters, the names of
publications were underlined because most typewriters had no
way to print italics. If you write a bibliography by hand, you
should still underline the names of publications. But, if you use a
computer, then publication names should be in italics as they
are below. Always check with your instructor regarding their
preference of using italics or underlining. Our examples use
italics.
Hanging Indentation
All APA citations should use hanging indents, that is, the first
line of an entry should be flush left, and the second and
subsequent lines should be indented 1/2".
Capitalization, Abbreviation, and Punctuation
The APA guidelines specify using sentence-style
capitalization for the titles of books or articles, so you
should capitalize only the first word of a title and subtitle.
The exceptions to this rule would be periodical titles and
proper names in a title which should still be capitalized. The
periodical title is run in title case, and is followed by the
volume number which, with the title, is also italicized.
If there is more than one author, use an ampersand (&)
before the name of the last author. If there are more than
six authors, list only the first one and use et al. for the rest.
Place the date of publication in parentheses immediately
after the name of the author. Place a period after the
closing parenthesis. Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes
around the titles of shorter works within longer works.
Format Examples
Books
Format:
Author's last name, first initial. (Publication date). Book title.
Additional information. City of publication: Publishing
company.
Examples:
Allen, T. (1974). Vanishing wildlife of North America.
Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.
Boorstin, D. (1992). The creators: A history of the heroes of
the imagination. New York: Random House.
Nicol, A. M., & Pexman, P. M. (1999). Presenting your findings: A
practical guide for creating tables. Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
Searles, B., & Last, M. (1979). A reader's guide to science
fiction. New York: Facts on File, Inc.
Toomer, J. (1988). Cane. Ed. Darwin T. Turner. New York:
Norton.
Encyclopedia & Dictionary
Format:
Author's last name, first initial. (Date). Title of Article. Title of
Encyclopedia (Volume, pages). City of publication: Publishing
company.
Examples:
Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new encyclopedia
britannica (Vol. 26, pp. 501-508). Chicago: Encyclopedia
Britannica.
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). (1993).
Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.
Pettingill, O. S., Jr. (1980). Falcon and Falconry. World book
encyclopedia. (pp. 150-155). Chicago: World Book.
Tobias, R. (1991). Thurber, James. Encyclopedia americana. (p.
600). New York: Scholastic Library Publishing.
Magazine & Newspaper Articles
Format:
Author's last name, first initial. (Publication date). Article title.
Periodical title, volume number(issue number if available),
inclusive pages.
Note: Do not enclose the title in quotation marks. Put a period
after the title. If a periodical includes a volume number,
italicize it and then give the page range (in regular type)
without "pp." If the periodical does not use volume numbers, as
in newspapers, use p. or pp. for page numbers.
Note: Unlike other periodicals, p. or pp. precedes page
numbers for a newspaper reference in APA style.
Examples:
Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing psychology
journal articles. Journal of Comparative and Physiological
Psychology, 55, 893-896.
Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in today's
schools. Time, 135, 28-31.
Kalette, D. (1986, July 21). California town counts town to big
quake. USA Today, 9, p. A1.
Kanfer, S. (1986, July 21). Heard any good books lately? Time, 113,
71-72.
Trillin, C. (1993, February 15). Culture shopping. New Yorker, pp.
48-51.
Website or Webpage
Format:
Online periodical:
Author's name. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of
Periodical, volume number, Retrieved month day, year, from full
URL
Online document:
Author's name. (Date of publication). Title of work. Retrieved
month day, year, from full URL
Note: When citing Internet sources, refer to the specific
website document. If a document is undated, use "n.d." (for no
date) immediately after the document title. Break a lengthy URL
that goes to another line after a slash or before a period.
Continually check your references to online documents. There
is no period following a URL.
Note: If you cannot find some of this information, cite what is
available.
Examples:
Devitt, T. (2001, August 2). Lightning injures four at music
festival. The Why? Files. Retrieved January 23, 2002, from
http://whyfiles.org/137lightning/index.html
Dove, R. (1998). Lady freedom among us. The Electronic Text
Center. Retrieved June 19, 1998, from Alderman Library,
University of Virginia website:
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/subjects/afam.html
Note: If a document is contained within a large and complex
website (such as that for a university or a government
agency), identify the host organization and the relevant
program or department before giving the URL for the
document itself. Precede the URL with a colon.
Fredrickson, B. L. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive
emotions to optimize health and well-being. Prevention &
Treatment, 3, Article 0001a. Retrieved November 20, 2000,
from
http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre0030001a.htm
l
GVU's 8th WWW user survey. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2000,
from
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/usersurveys/survey1997-10/
Health Canada. (2002, February). The safety of genetically
modified food crops. Retrieved March 22, 2005, from
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/protection/biologics_genetics
/gen_mod_foods/genmodebk.html
Hilts, P. J. (1999, February 16). In forecasting their emotions,
most people flunk out. New York Times. Retrieved November
21, 2000, from http://www.nytimes.com
Structure of Modification
Structure of Modification
It is composed by Head and Modifier. This structure may
enlarge, choose, change, or even describe the Head. Both
the Head and Modifier are not always single words. They
may be structures with more or less complexities.
Noun as Head
Noun very frequently can be found as Head of Structure of
Modification. There are five parts of speech, including the
noun itself, that can modify the noun.
Adjective as Noun Modifier
Adjective precedes the noun (Head) constantly except if the
adjective is not a single word but structure.
Modifier Head
Fried chicken
A great calamity
Head
A figure vague and shadow
A house bigger than I thought
Noun as Noun Modifier
This modifier also precedes the Head (noun) constantly. It
can be a possessive form or basic form (Noun Adjunct)
Possessive Noun
Kid’s play
A week’s holiday
The woman’s friend
Noun-Adjunct Noun Prepositional phrases consist of prepositions and their
Bus station objects. The preposition can be in a simple, compound or
That woman doctor phrasal form.

Noun adjunct
is a noun that has a function like an adjective (to modify a
noun). It is always in a singular form, not plural form. Simple Prepositions Compound
After Across From
Ex. As Along with
Book shops (not ‘Books Shop’) Against alongside of

Noun as Noun Modifier Phrasal Prepositions

can be from appositive words. The position still keeps In regard to
preceding the Head. Appositive form never follows the Head. By means of

Object of preposition usually is a noun. Sometimes it also can

Noun Appositive
be a pronoun, or structure of modification with a noun as the
My Uncle Zakki
Head.
The disease influenza
The River Gangga
● Above suspicion (Noun)
● Because of that (pronoun)
Verb as Noun Modifier
● In actual practice (Structure of modification)
It can be from Present Participle (V-Ing), Past Participle (V-ed),
or to-infinitive. These verb positions may precede or follow the
Head if they are parts of larger structures, though there are Verb as Head
many exceptions to both these generalisations but to- Verb has a function repeatedly as Head
infinitives always follow the noun-Head.
Adverb as Verb Modifier
All of the adverb kinds can modify the verb. The position
Verb Noun Noun Verb may be after or before the verb; or between the verb
auxiliaries.
Running water Water running in the street
After verb Before the verb
Baked potatoes Potatoes baked slowly He works successfully He successfully tried
He drives rapidly He slowly drove
Money to buy
He is moving ahead
He was looking sidewise Between Auxiliary-Verb
The man to see
He can swim backward He has sometimes seen
He has looked everywhere He has seldom been
Since verbs in (-ing), Nouns in (-ing), and Adjectives in (-ing) can heard
all modify nouns and all appear in the position between noun He stepped inside It may even rain
determiners and noun, ambiguity is a strong possibility in such
cases. Since a particular adverb can also modify the noun, it is
often ambiguous.
(1) A pleasing table
(2) A dining table Ex.
(3) A rotting table Children have nowadays many kinds of toys

● Pleasing in the example (1) is an adjective because a In this sentence, the word ‘nowadays’ can modify the word
qualifier like ‘very’ can precede it, and the phrase ‘children’, or it may modify the word ‘have’.
means ‘a table that is pleasing’.
Noun as Verb Modifier
● Rotting in the example (2) is a verb because it cannot
Several particular nouns can be verb modifiers. The position is
be preceded by a qualifier ‘very’ while it also does
after the verb and this noun has a noun determiner because
not have a meaning ‘a table for rotting’.
the noun after verb also can be an object of the verb. If the
noun can be changed by it or them, the noun must be an object
● Dining in the example (3) is noun because it has a
not a modifier.
meaning ‘a table for dining’
Structure of Modification Structure of
Adverb as Noun Modifier
Complementation
Adverbs rarely function as noun modifiers. The position is
always directly after the noun (Head). (Noun as Verb Modifier) (Noun as The Object)
He walked this way He likes his own way
He saw a mile He measured a mile
Head Modifier
The temperature inside
Heavens above Adjective as Verb Modifier
The conversations afterwards There are some kinds of adjectives that have the purpose to
The questions below modify a verb and give a special expression.

Ex.
Prepositional Phrases (Functional Words) as Noun Modifier
 ● The machine ran true
● The dog went crazy Verb as Adjective Modifier
● The show fell flat Adjective can be modified by the verb in present participle
form (-ing) that usually precedes the adjective, or by to-
The same verb can be followed by an adjective if they are infinitive that follows adjective
intransitive verbs.
freezing cold hard to say

Verb as Verb Modifier boiling hot good to see

Some structure of Modification with a verb as the Head can be
followed by another verb as modifier. The verb modifier can
be present participle or infinitive form. Adjective as Adjective Modifier
For special expression, adjective can modify the other
Ex. adjective
● The children came running
● He lives to eat Ex.
Icy cold dark blue deathly pale
In some cases, there can be an ambiguity between verbs as
modifiers and verbs as objects.
Prepositional Phrases as Adjective Modifier
As modifier As Object The position of the prepositional phrases as adjective
He works to succeed He wants to succeed modifier is after the adjective
easy on the eye good for nothing stronger than ever
Verb as Object
can be changed by ‘it’ while verbs as modifiers cannot be
changed by ‘it’. However, some structures of modification may Adverb as Head
have verbs which can be both modifier and object. There are four class words that can modify the adverb

Ex.
Qualifiers as Adverb Modifier
● He loves to live
● He studies to succeed very easily rather slowly happily enough

Prepositional Phrases as Verb Modifier Adverbs as Adverb Modifier

It is frequent for prepositional phrases to modify the verb.
far away sometimes below
Ex.
● (He) spoke about his work
Noun as Adverb Modifier
● (He) came rapidly down the street on a bicycle
a meter away some way up
Adjective as Head
Adjectives that habitually modify nouns or verbs also become
Prepositional Phrases as Adverb Modifier
the Head of structure of modification.
away for a week behind in his work outside in the cold
Qualifier as Adjective Modifier
The word that is mostly used as a modifier of Adjective is
Qualifier such as very, rather, pretty, etc. Function Word as Head
Functional words can form a structure of modification by
Ex. using qualifier as modifier.
● She is very pretty
● The sound was loud enough ● very much more (easily)
head
● Rather too (strong)
Adverb as Adjective Modifier
head
Adverb that can modify the adjective is adverb that is
● Not quite (well)
ended by {-ly}
head
Ex.
● The widely famous (singer) Prepositions as Head
Prepositions can be a Head of Structure of Modification.
If an adjective comes after the linking verb, the adverb does Modifiers of prepositions are qualifiers, adverbs, or particular
not modify the adjective anymore. The function is as the nouns.
modifier of the structure of complementation.
Ex.
Ex. very like (a whale) almost beneath (notice)
● The house seems clean everywhere
Noun as Adjective Modifier
In some special expressions, nouns can modify the adjective. - Adverb that follows the prepositional phrases
becomes the modifier of prepositional phrases, while
Ex. the adverb that precedes the prepositional phrases
● Stone cold (coffee) becomes the modifier of the preposition only.
● Sea green (cloth)