Speech voice — written for the ear
The single test: can you deliver this aloud and hold an audience?
Speeches are different from every other form on Paper 2 because they are written to be heard, not just read.
What this means in practice:
- Sentences vary in length. A speech that's all 25-word sentences is exhausting to listen to. A speech that's all 5-word sentences is choppy. The mix is what carries an audience.
- Words are chosen for sound. Plosives carry. Sibilance hushes. Repetition emphasises. Read every paragraph aloud and adjust.
- The audience is included. 'You', 'we', 'us' — the audience is a participant, not an overheard observer.
- Rhythmic patterns are deliberate. Anaphora ('We can no longer…'), tricolons ('Less waste, more time, better grades'), antitheses ('not a luxury, but a necessity').
The aloud-test. After drafting, read your speech aloud quietly. Notice where:
- Your voice naturally rises (build) and falls (land).
- The rhythm flows or stumbles.
- An audience would naturally pause or nod.
If you stumble, the audience will too. Rewrite.
Cambridge tip. Mark schemes describe top-band speeches as 'sustaining engagement through varied rhythm and rhetorical devices'. The varied rhythm is the speech-distinctive feature — essay rhythm is more uniform.
- Speeches written for the ear, not the eye.
- Vary sentence length for rhythm.
- Words chosen for sound as well as meaning.
- Aloud-test catches rhythmic stumbles.