Speeches: same techniques, HL later: Direct address, a clear sense of audience, helpful signposting and a powerful close are speech skills that SL and HL learn together.
The speech: A speech (el discurso) is a text written to be spoken aloud to an audience — your class, an assembly, an event.
In Paper 1
- You choose it when the task tells you to address an audience or give a talk (a presentation, an assembly speech, a campaign).
- It's part of Unit 2: Text Types.
- The marks come from getting its conventions and register right (Criterion C), not just the message.
What HL adds later
- That persuasive, spoken-feel voice has to sustain a 450–600-word piece.
- Practise gripping an audience and landing a strong ending here. You'll then command the form whatever the prompt.
- el discurso
- the speech
- el público / la audiencia
- the audience
- el saludo al público
- the greeting/address to the audience
- el gancho
- the hook (what grabs attention)
- la llamada a la acción
- the call to action
- el cierre memorable
- the memorable closing
Spot it in the task: The task tells you to speak to a group. "Vas a dar un discurso…", "Pronuncia unas palabras ante…", "Prepara un discurso para…" → an audience → a speech. If it said "Escribe a tu amigo/a" you'd switch to an informal email (a different text type). Always read who the audience is first.
Tasks where it fits
- Speaking at a school assembly or for Mental Health Week
- Presenting a festival or a campaign to the school community
- Persuading classmates to vote, volunteer or give blood
Conventions the examiner checks
- A greeting to the audience and who you are
- Signposting: «En primer lugar...», «Por último...»
- A call to action, a memorable last line and thanks
Traps that cost Criterion C
- Writing it like an essay, with no audience
- «Estimado señor» or «Atentamente»
- Forgetting to thank the audience
También aparece como: presentación, charla, intervención en un debate (presentation / talk)
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Speak to the room: Speak to the room in an energetic, persuasive tone.
How to speak to the room
- Use direct address (here, vosotros to a group).
- Use signposting (en primer lugar…).
- Use repetition to drive the message home.
- Speak to people: ask them questions, use exclamations.
- Consistency matters — drifting into a flat, written report tone breaks the register and costs you Criterion C.
Speech — do this
- Buenos días a todos. Hoy quiero hablaros de…
- En primer lugar,… En segundo lugar,…
- Os animo a… ¡Muchas gracias!
Report tone — avoid here
- El presente informe expone los datos.
- Se observa que el problema persiste.
- Sin más, se da por concluido el texto.
Stay consistent: Pick your form of address (vosotros for a group) and keep it from the greeting to the close. The verbs, pronouns (os, vuestro) and the closing all have to agree with that choice — never mix in tú or usted.
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The five parts: Every speech follows the same shape. Hit all five parts and you've covered the conventions the examiner is looking for.
Speech — 5 parts
1
Address
Greet and name your audience. Buenos días a todos, queridos compañeros.
2
Hook
Grab attention — a question or a striking idea — and announce your topic. ¿Cuántos de vosotros…? Hoy quiero hablaros de…
3
Main points
Your message in clearly signposted points — the longest part. En primer lugar,… En segundo lugar,… Por último,…
4
Call to action
Tell the audience what to do. Por eso os animo a sumaros desde mañana.
5
Memorable close
A short, repeated, memorable ending + thanks. ¡Cuidémoslo juntos! Muchas gracias.
Address → Hook → Points → Call to action → Memorable close
Don't skip the frame: Students lose easy Criterion C marks by forgetting the address or the closing thanks. They take seconds and show you know the text type — never leave them out.
A model, part by part: Here's a complete speech built from the five parts above. Read it once for the message, then tap Ver traducción to check the English or the audio button to hear it.
Modelo: las 5 partes en acción
El discurso escrito, parte por parte
- Buenos días a todos, queridos compañeros y profesores.
- ¿Cuántos de vosotros tiráis un papel a la basura sin pensarlo dos veces? Hoy quiero hablaros de algo que está en nuestras manos: cuidar nuestro instituto.
- En primer lugar, podemos reciclar en cada aula. En segundo lugar, podemos apagar las luces al salir. Y, por último, podemos cuidar el patio entre todos.
- Por eso os animo a sumaros desde mañana mismo. Un pequeño gesto de cada uno se convierte en un gran cambio para todos.
- Nuestro instituto está en nuestras manos. ¡Cuidémoslo juntos! Muchas gracias.
Por qué puntúa — why it scores: This short speech earns marks on all three Paper 1 criteria — here's how:
A — Language /12
- Energetic, accurate language; vosotros throughout
- Signposting connectors: en primer lugar, por último, por eso
- Rhetorical question + imperative (cuidémoslo)
B — Message /12
- Clear purpose: persuades AND calls to action
- Ideas developed (three concrete points)
C — Conceptual /6
- Speech conventions: address + closing thanks
- Direct address to the audience (vosotros)
- Energetic, persuasive, memorable tone
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A toolkit you can reuse: Learn a few ready-made phrases for each part. They make your speech sound natural and save time in the exam. Tap the audio button to hear them.
Para empezar (address & hook)
- Buenos días a todos. — Good morning everyone.
- Hoy quiero hablaros de… — Today I want to talk to you about…
- ¿Cuántos de vosotros…? — How many of you…?
Para los puntos (signposting)
- En primer lugar,… En segundo lugar,… — Firstly,… Secondly,…
- Por último,… / Para terminar,… — Finally,… / To finish,…
- Por eso… / Por esa razón… — That's why… / For that reason…
Para terminar (call to action & close)
- Os animo a… — I encourage you to…
- ¡Sumémonos todos juntos! — Let's all join in together!
- Muchas gracias por vuestra atención. — Thank you very much for your attention.
Use one from each: One address + hook, one or two signposted points, and a call to action + thanks is plenty — and instantly makes the text feel like a real speech.