從大的方面看，英語演講詞實際上是屬于一種特殊的說明文或議論文，其基本組成部分是：

　　1)開始時對聽眾的稱呼語 最常用的是 Ladies and gentlemen，也可根據(jù)不同情況，選用 Fellow students, Distinguished guests, Mr Chairman, Honorable Judges(評委)等等。

　　2)提出論題 由于演講的時間限制，必須開門見山，提出論題。提出論題的方法有各種各樣，但最生動，最能引起注意的是用舉例法。比如：你要呼吁大家關心貧窮地區(qū)的孩子，你可以用親眼看到的或者收集到的那些貧窮孩子多么需要幫助的實例開始。另外，用具體的統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)也是一個有效的引出論題的方法，比如：你要談遵守交通規(guī)則的話題，你可以從舉一系列有關車輛、車禍等的數(shù)據(jù)開始。

　　3)論證 對提出的論題，不可主觀地妄下結(jié)論，而要進行客觀的論證。這是演講中最需要下功夫的部分。關鍵是要把道理講清楚。常見的論證方法有舉例法、因果法、對比法等等，可參見英語議論文的有關章節(jié)。

　　4)結(jié)論 結(jié)論要簡明扼要，以給聽眾留下深刻印象。

　　5)結(jié)尾 結(jié)尾要簡潔，不要拉拉扯扯，說個沒完。特別是不要受漢語影響，說些類似“準備不足，請諒解”，“請批評指正”這樣的廢話。最普通的結(jié)尾就是：Thank you very much for your attention。

　　附優(yōu)秀范文一篇：

　　Good evening, honorable judges, ladies and gentlemen! I’m very glad for being here on this beautiful Friday evening to share my thoughts with all of you on the topic of“make a change”. First of all,I really want to ask two questions: What is change,how to make a change.

　　Change is what keeps us fresh,change is what keeps us young,change is what keeps us from getting stale and stuck in a rut. I’d like to share a famous saying of Gandhi with all of you,what is, if you want to change the world, then you must change yourself first. Actually, we cannot change the past, but we can change the present, we cannot change the fact, but we can change our manner, we cannot change the weather, but we can change our mood, we cannot change life’s length, but we can change life’s width. Never complain that life is boring and the world is disappointing. If you don’t like the taste of your life, just change the ingredients.

　　Time files! Only once can we live. If you don’t want to leave any regret. Let’s start right now to make a change. We must realize that it is never too late to begin making changes that can change our life. The moral to it is to change what you see and don’t like. Don’t just sit there and think of how sad the place is. Make a change for the better. Don’t wait for the right time. There isn’t one.There is never a perfect time.Just time. Today always beats tomorrow. Today is the only day we have. Tomorrow is only a promise and may never come. Dream for tomorrow but live for today. Make your changes and do it now. Life makes no guarantees as to what you’ll have. It just give you time to make changes, and to take chances, and to discover what secrets might come your way. It is an honor to stand here and have this chance to say that we are the ones who can make a change and let a brighter day come.

　　That’s all.Thanks for your time!