Assignment: "Good Failure"
Read the article Why Failure is Good for Success found.
Your assignment is to write and deliver a speech in which you take a position on whether failure is truly good for success.
Use Microsoft Word to prepare your essay.
Remember to include the following information at the top of your paper and in your speech:
Writing the Speech:
• Paragraph one is your introduction. It should introduce the topic and contain the thesis statement which contains your position on the topic.
• Paragraphs 2-4 are the supporting paragraphs for your thesis. They should support your thesis statement, have topic sentences that relate to the thesis statement, and contain additional information that further supports the thesis. You should use personal experiences from your life that demonstrate how you have failed, what you have learned from failure, and how you bounced back after failure.
• In this paper, you must incorporate one paraphrase from the article and cite it in text and on the Reference page properly using APA citations. This paraphrase must be highlighted in yellow.
• In this paper, you must also incorporate one short, direct quote from the article and cite it in text properly using APA citations. This direct quote must be highlighted in blue.
• The final paragraph is the conclusion. It should connect to the introductory paragraph and summarize the main points of the paper.
• Sources/References: List the author, title of article and source information. Refer to the Pocket Keys for Writers to help you prepare your source list.
Recording the Speech:
You will need to make sure you have the hardware (i.e. a webcam on your computer, or a cell phone that can take videos). If you need to download an app to make videos, try screencastomatic.com which is a free app that includes a tutorial on how to record videos.
You will save the video recording as an MP4 file. If you are using a Mac, you will need to make sure your file is converted to an MP4 file (search the internet for file conversion apps that can help you convert video formats into MP4).
Delivering the Speech:
Practice delivering your speech so that you are not just reading from the essay. You will want to make eye contact with the webcam so that your viewer feels you are addressing him/her. Note that it is easy to edit your video file in screencastomatic.com - you can watch the tutorial to see how to remove a segment from the recording.
For your delivery of this speech, focus on eye contact and speaking with conviction (use some inflection in your voice rather than reading in a monotone).