342 INFORMATIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Ramadan
1 This past month, more than one billion people around the world skipped lunch every day.
They ate no food of any kind and drank no liquid of any kind from sunup to sunset. They did this
every day during the month, and they do the same thing every year. I myself did it. Why? Last
month was a time for tending to the mind, the body, and the spirit. Last month was the Muslim
holy month of Ramadan.
2 I’m sure most of you have heard of Ramadan, but you may not know a lot about it.
Ramadan refers to the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, when Muslims fast from sunrise to
sunset. But Ramadan is much more than a time of fasting. As Tariq Ramadan, author of Western
Muslims and the Future of Islam, explains, Ramadan is a time when “believers strengthen their
faith and spirituality while developing their sense of social justice.”
3 As a practicing Muslim, I have observed Ramadan my entire life. My parents moved to
the United States from Pakistan shortly before I was born, and I remember going to the mosque as
a child and breaking my fast at the end of the day with my family and friends. Nowadays, I get
together with other students here on campus.
4 The goal of my speech today is to inform you about Ramadan—specifically its history
and practices. In the end, I hope you’ll have a better understanding of this sacred time for
Muslims in the United States and around the globe. Let’s begin by exploring the history of
Ramadan.
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9 Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, and it becomes especially important during
Ramadan. The Ramadan fast, known as the Sawm, begins at sunrise and ends at sunset. Seyyed
Nasr, author of Islam: Religion, History, and Civilization, explains that “the fast is required of all
Muslims, male and female, from the age of adolescence until one no longer possesses the physi-
cal strength to undertake it.” The only exceptions are for the sick, the elderly, travelers, and preg-
nant women.
10 At the end of daylight hours, Muslims break the fast with Iftar—the evening meal, during
which families, friends, and communities gather. As Donna Bowen and Evelyn Early explain in
their book Everyday Life in the Muslim Middle East, Iftar usually begins with eating a date,
which is what the Prophet Mohammed is said to have done. After eating a date and drinking wa-
ter, my family would eat the Iftar dinner my mother cooked for us. We would always marvel that
even though she was fasting and couldn’t taste what she was cooking, she still somehow got the
spices just right.
11 Prayer is also central to Ramadan. Muslims traditionally pray five times a day, but during
Ramadan prayer is encouraged even more. Ramadan prayers are often tied to oral readings of the
Quran—a practice known as Tarawih. The goal is to read and recite the entire Quran over the
course of the month.
344 INFORMATIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Ramadan
Commentary
Highly informative, clearly organized, and effectively delivered, “Ramadan” is a good example of how
speakers can combine personal experience with more traditional research materials to create an effective
speech. A video is available online and on the DVD of student speeches that accompanies this edition of
The Art of Public Speaking. Below is a synopsis.
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the history and practices of Ramadan.
Central Idea: Ramadan’s rich history and sacred practices make it meaningful for Muslims around the
globe.
Method of Organization: Topical
Introduction: The introduction consists of paragraphs 1–4. In paragraph 1, the speaker gains attention
by mentioning that one billion people around the world skipped lunch during the previous
month. Because the audience is composed mostly of non–Muslim American college students,
who would not immediately think of Ramadan from such a perspective, the speaker’s opening
generates curiosity about her topic. At the end of the opening paragraph, she reveals that “last
month” was the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Paragraph 2 provides additional background
for an audience unfamiliar with Ramadan.
Paragraph 3 opens with the speaker’s credibility statement. Explaining her background and
religious affiliation helps establish her personal expertise on the topic, while noting that she now
celebrates Ramadan with other Muslim students “here on campus” relates the topic to the audi-
ence. Paragraph 4 states the speaker’s specific purpose and previews the main points she will
discuss in the body.
Body: Arranged in topical order, the body of the speech consists of two main points. The first is devel-
oped in paragraphs 5–7 and explains the history of Ramadan. Even though the speaker could re-
cite this history from memory, she cites Karen Armstrong’s history of Islam, thereby enhancing her
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In paragraphs 11–12, the speaker deals with two other aspects of Ramadan—prayer and
charity. Once again, she uses PowerPoint to display a potentially confusing term (Tarawih). She
further builds common ground with the audience by noting, in paragraph 12, that gift giving at
the end of Ramadan is comparable to gift–giving at Christmas. Paragraph 13 continues in the
same vein by relating Ramadan to religious celebrations with which most non–Muslims in the
audience are familiar.