Mount St Mary Academy Forensics Festival
2025 — Little Rock, AR/US
JH Oratory
Event Description:
CRITERIA: If a rule is broken, judge should lower performer one ranking and rating
*The general purpose of the speech is to persuade. Any other purpose such as to inform or entertain shall be secondary.
*Speech should be well researched and organized with evidence, logic, emotional appeals, and sometimes humor to convey a message
*The content of the speech should be the original work of the speaker with no more than 150 direct quoted words. Extensive paraphrasing from other sources is prohibited.
*The speech must be completely memorized and delivered without a manuscript.
*No visual aids are permitted.
*The time limit is 5 minutes with a 30 second “grace period.” Should a student go beyond the grace period, the student may not be ranked 1st. There is no time minimum.
*Movement is optional.
Note: It is the expectation that performances are the artistic creation of the performer(s). It is plagiarism to copy a performance in detail from a video online. If there is suspicion ofplagiarism, please be prepared to cite the source that was copied and consult with the tournament director. The tournament director will then consult with the coach of theperformer(s) concerning consequences, which may result in their disqualification from the tournament.
COMMENTS:
Introduction: Did it capture your attention?Did it establish background information?
Organization: Were the points clear and concise? Did it follow a logical order? Was the languageclear and concise?
Topic Selection: Was it timely and worthwhile? Did the speaker understand the issues the topic deals with?
Conclusion: Did the speaker conclude the speech effectively?Were all points revisited and summed up?
Overall Impression: Did you feel that the speech persuaded you to think or do something differently? Did the speech inform you over the chosen topic?