¶ … Banning/Restricting the sale of Violent Video Games to Minors Persuasive Speech Outline Template

Organization:

This speech uses problem-solution organization.

Audience analysis:

The average age of the audience is between 30 and 55 years of age with ages ranging from 14 to 59. There is roughly an even balance

of males to females; the main ethnic background is Caucasian.

Some of the audience members are still in high school, some do not work outside the home, and some work full time jobs. Most are from conservative religious backgrounds. As to this speech topic, most of the audience members are of childbearing age or have children themselves. This speech is given during the late afternoon.

Central Idea:

Banning or restricting the sale of violent video games

Specific Purpose:

To inform my audience of the dangers of selling violent video games to children, and persuade them to support legal action against merchants who do so.

Introduction:

I. Attention-getter

A. A friend of mine used to work in the video games department at Wal Mart. He still loves to tell stories about kids trying to buy R. Or even M. rated video games, often with their parents in tow.

B. The store policy was that such games could not be sold to minors without parental permission. To follow the policy, he always made it a point to say something like, "Are you aware that this game is rated R. For blood and gore?" Most horrified parents would immediately refuse to buy it and drag the child out of the store. He earned more than one dirty look from a preteen or two because of it.

Establish Credibility -- My friend felt that he had a duty to parents to ensure that these games were not sold to their children.

II. Thesis Statement -- Violent video games can have negative effects on minors, and merchants...

Preview Statement -- Today I would like to give you some information about the following:
A. The gaming industry and stores are aware of the relationship between game violence and sales of those games.

B. Violent games have a negative effect on children.

C. Stores should experience legal ramifications for selling violent games to minors.

Body:

I. The gaming industry and stores are aware of the relationship between game violence and sales of those games.

A. "Death Race," a driving simulation first distributed in 1971, was the first violent video game to receive attention. The objective was to run over pedestrians, who would scream and turn into gravestones.

B. Some communities were so disturbed by the game's content that they banned it outright. However, the free publicity increased sales of the game to ten times its normal rate.1

C. The video game industry created a ratings system for games in the mid nineties, with the goal being to force the industry to produce less violent games. In fact, the number increased, since creators no longer had to worry about general audiences.2

D. In the late nineties, Nintendo and Sega both created versions of the popular game "Street Fighter"; the Sega version sold more than its competitor, mainly because of its increased gore factor.1

Violent video games have an effect on children.

A. Image 1 shows the risk factors for violence in children.

B. According to the chart, those with the highest risk factors are those who play violent games and have very little parental involvement..2

C. In a longitudinal study, 364 United States 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-graders ranging in age from 9 to 12 years were tested for increased aggression while playing violent games.

D. Image 2 shows that the students…