C.

Hines
Analyzing Structure of Speeches
• Who is the speaker’s audience? (NOTE: the speaker plans a specific time,
place and group of people to address.)
More than 200,000 people-black and white-came to listen.

• How does the speaker address their audience? (HINT: How does the
speaker get the audience’s attention, respect, and interest?)
«I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its
creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.»He tells
that his speech will change the world and relationship between black and white people.

• What is the speaker’s main idea or purpose[1]? (HINT: A thesis statement is

a main idea or purpose. Everything the speaker says connects to this main idea.)
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He wants to tell people that, all people now can
have equal rights and freedom. The black people rights are the same as White people
rights.

• What are the supporting ideas for the speaker’s main idea or purpose
(thesis statement)?

• I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia the sons of former
slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of
brotherhood.

• I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with
the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

• I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they
will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character.

• How does the speaker conclude their speech? What is their take-away
message? What do they want their audience to remember?

He asked audience to remember all his words that he said about black and white
peoples and their freedom and rights, that we all equal and we all are people.

• How does the audience know the speech is finished? What is the call to
action and/ or the high note that ends the speech?
«I have a dream that one day every valley shall be engulfed, every hill shall be exalted and
every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places
will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it
together.» this was his last words to audience.
[1]
How to know your life purpose in 5 minutes | Adam Leipzig | TEDxMalibu