Informative Speech Outline
General Purpose: To inform the class
Specific Purpose: To describe to the audience a brief history of Alcatraz.
Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows.
INTRODUCTION
I. If you disobey the rules of society, they send you to prison; if you disobey the rules of the prison, they send you to Alcatraz.
II. Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories of mistreatment and escape attempts exaggerated in movies and television shows.
III. Alcatraz served as the federal government’s response to post-prohibition America. Both the institution and the men confined within its walls are a part of this era. The most famous inmate being, Al Capone and others like George “Machine Gun” Kelly and Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz”.
A. First, I will talk about the penitentiary opening where difficult prisoners from other institutions would be transferred to Alcatraz, also known as “The Rock”. B. Then, I will discuss life on the island and as an inmate in the prison. C. And last, I will discuss the popular culture of Alcatraz; including some failed escape attempts before the closing of the prison.
BODY
I. First, I will talk about the penitentiary opening where difficult prisoners from other institutions would be transferred to Alcatraz. A. Alcatraz opened in 1934, as a wave of gangsterism and violence was sweeping the country. Alcatraz had served as an army prison in years prior, and its remote site proved to be an ideal location. After thorough renovation of the prison, they began to ship prisoners to the island.
B. Most prisoners were sent to Alcatraz that could not be handled in the other institutions. For example, Al Capone was transferred there because when stationed in