Understand the assignment. Read and reread the instructions your teacher has given to you. Ask any questions you can think of. A full understanding of what you're being asked to do is key to writing a speech.
Choose a topic. Most school speeches are persuasive, informative or entertainment-based. This gives you a realm of topics to choose from. When considering which topic to select, think about what you are interested in because a speech on a topic that means something to you will be easier and more fun to write. You also should select a topic that is current enough to have recent research done on it.
Read everything you can get your hands on that is related to your topic. The Internet is a great place to start, especially if you have access to academic search engines such as EBSCO Host, Lexis Nexis and First Search. Preferred sources will be peer-reviewed academic journals, government or institutional websites and news articles. Avoid sources such as unaccredited blogs, Wikipedia and amateur websites.
Create a rough outline from your research, adhering closely to the requirements given by your teacher. Each point in your outline should include a full thesis, as well as short notes about content and the sources that support the content.
Write a rough draft of your speech, using the structure determined by your outline. Remember, each point must include a thesis for that individual point, a preview of the information that will be covered in the point and a review statement after the information has been thoroughly covered. Each piece of information should be backed up by illusory data such as statistics, expert opinions or anecdotes from appropriate sources.
Ask a peer, parent or teacher to read over and provide feedback and revisions for your speech. This will help you catch any grammatical errors and clear up confusing passages. Taking into consideration the suggestions of your volunteer editors, make any necessary revisions to create a final draft.