scott joplin

General Purpose: To inform my audience.

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience Scott Joplin was the principal black composer of ragtime, and one of America’s great composers.

Introduction:

I. “He just pulled his music out of the air.” said a neighbor. One cannot hear the word “ragtime” without thinking about Scott Joplin.

II. Scott Joplin was the principal black composer of ragtime music. He was a great improviser, and had remarkable creative genius, which was not fully recognized until nearly fifty years after his death.

III. To fully appreciate Scott Joplin’s life, I will tell you about.
1. His childhood
2. His adult personal and professional life
3. His posthumous recognition as a great African-American composer.

Transition: First, I will begin by telling you about his childhood in Texarkana.

Body:

I. Scott Joplin was the second of five children who were musical, but Scott stood out above from the rest.
A. At an early age he cou...