As a result of their major in Speech Communication, students will:

A. Theory/History

1. Define major rhetorical terms, trace their history, and explain their role within the discipline.
2. Recognize the roles of language and speech in constructing meaning, and articulate their own view of rhetoric.
3. Apply contemporary rhetorical theories to analyze and contribute to issues of politics, culture, and the educational systems and workplaces in which they take part.
4. Using appropriate theoretical vocabulary, explain the choices they have made in crafting discourse.
5. Articulate the role that civic discourse has played in U.S. history, identifying key moments, speeches and speakers, assessing the relationship between rhetoric and social change, and giving an account of the interrelationships among rhetorical events, historical settings, biographical factors, and audiences.
6. Recognize ethical and civic issues in rhetorical practice, including their own, analyze them from multiple perspectives, and make reasoned ethical commitments.

B. Practice

1. Apply rhetorical principles in creating discourse in their own civic, professional and academic lives, including: (a) analyzing a target audience and adapting discourse to it; (b) generating sound arguments, and anticipating and responding effectively to counterarguments; (c) manifesting an appropriate ethos; (d) organizing ideas in a way that increases the effectiveness of discourse; (e) using language with precision and rhetorical sensitivity; (f) using the voice and body effectively in the delivery of discourse.
2. Understand different listening techniques and apply them appropriately in a variety of situations.
3. Possess the justified self-confidence and the understanding of the responsibilities of a skilled speaker, that will lead them to become active participants in all the communities in which they will find themselves—civic, professional, academic and personal.

C. Criticism/Critical Thinking

1. Identify assumptions, premises, and conclusions in discourse and assess evidence, sources and reasoning.
2. Recognize persuasive strategies in rhetorical artifacts, describe them accurately using appropriate theoretical vocabulary, and explain cogently how they work.
3. Locate in rhetoric journals research articles relevant to a topic, and identify the author's justification for study, overall conclusion and main arguments.