ch. It could
be used near the conclusion where Burke planned to answer all the
supporters of plans other than his own. That would be a good place for
it. But Burke found a better one. He separated this from his other
remarks against his opponents, and brought it in much earlier, thereby
linking it with what it most concerned, emphasizing it, and disposing
of it entirely so far as his speech was concerned. He had just
enumerated the wealth of the colonies as represented by their
commerce. He knew that the war party would argue, "If America is so
wealthy, it is worth fighting for." That was the place, then, to
refute them. To introduce his material he had to make clear the
transition from the colonial wealth to his arguments. Notice how
plainly the first paragraph quoted here does this. Having given his
four reasons against the use of force, notice that he must bring his
audience back to the theme he has been discussing. The last paragraph
does this in a masterly manner. He has cited two facts about the
colonies. To make understanding doubly certain he repeats
them--population and commerce--and passes to the next, plainly
numbering it as the third.

This recital of the process is not an account of what actually took
place in Burke's preparation, but it will give to the student the
method by which great speakers _may_ have proceeded; we do know that
many did follow such a scheme. No amateur who wants to make his
speeches worth listening to should omit this helpful step of outline
or brief making. Whether he first writes out his speeches in full, or
composes them upon his feet, every speaker should prepare an outline
or brief of his material. This is a series of entries, so condensed
and arranged as to show the relative significance of all the parts of
the speech in the proper order of development.

Outline, Brief, Legal Brief. An outline contains entries which are
merely topics, not completed statements or sentences.

A brief contains completed statements (sentences).

A legal brief is a formally prepared document (often printed)
submitted to a certain court before a case is tried, showing the
material the lawyer intends to produce, citing all his authorities,
suggesting interpretations of laws and legal decisions to support his
contentions, and giving all his conclusions. It is prepared for the
use of the court, to reduce the labor in examining records, etc.
Practice in the drawing up of such briefs is an important p