Topic: Titanic
General Purpose: To inform
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the Titanic tragedy
Thesis Statement: The sinking of the Titanic remains one of the most famous tragedies in history.
INTRODUCTION
I. (Attention material) Morgan Robertson wrote a book called The Wreck of the Titan. It was about a so called “unsinkable” ship named the Titan that set sail from England to New York. There were many rich and famous passengers on board. On its journey, the Titan hit an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean and sunk. Because of the lack of lifeboats, many people died. If this sounds familiar, get this. The Wreck of the Titan was written 14 years before the Titanic sank.
II. (Thesis statement) The sinking of the Titanic
D. The ship eventually disappeared out of sight.
1. Tibbals (1997) explains that Monday at 2:20 am the ship broke in half and slowly sank.
2. Lynch (1992) reported that 1,522 lives were lost.
Transition: Now that we’ve learned about the history of the Titanic, I will discuss the movie made about it.
III. In 1997 James Cameron wrote, produced, and directed the movie Titanic.
A. Making Titanic was very expensive and involved a lot of hard work.
1. According to Peter Kramer in a 1998 article from the Historical Journal of Films, Radio, and Television, he states the movie had a 250 million dollar budget.
2. A full-sized replica of the ship was constructed in Baja California, Mexico in a 17 million gallon oceanfront tank.
3. Cameron assembled an expedition to dive to the actual wreck on the ocean floor for original footage for the opening scenes of the movie.
4. Ed Marsh’s 1997 book James Cameron’s Titanic explains that the smallest details were remade including imprinting thousands of pieces of china, crystal, and silverware used in the dining room scenes with White S/tar’s emblem and pattern.
B. The movie was a complete success.
1. Kramer (1998) reported that Titanic made around 600 million dollars in the United States, making it the number one movie of all time.
2. It made about 1.8 billion dollars worldwide.
3. A few weeks after its release it was