Intro, body, conclusion

Let’s analyze the “Intro, Body, Conclusion” speech structure with a focus on Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Let’s get started:

We’ve broken this speech structure analysis into two sections: an overview of the “Intro, Body, Conclusion” structure and an analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech to see how he used it.

Overview

What is the “Intro, Body, Conclusion” structure and when do you use it?

The Intro, Body, Conclusion structure is the most time-tested way to organize a speech. It offers clarity, balance, and flow— making it ideal for formal, academic, or competitive environments where clarity and logic is more important than rhetorical flair. It’s also a powerful tool for new advocates, helping them take big ideas and distill them into a strong, persuasive arc.

This structure is perfect when clarity, logic, and persuasion are crucial. It helps you develop a full argument while keeping your speech accessible and professional.

  • Audience: Judges, peers, educators, competition panels.

  • Setting: Debate tournaments, civic orations, research-based advocacy.

  • Cause: Education, economic reform, healthcare, legal justice.

Introduction: Hook your audience—pose a question, share a story, or state a bold claim. Then present your thesis.

Body: Develop your thesis with evidence and examples. Address counterarguments if relevant.

Conclusion: Restate the core message and leave your audience with something to remember—an image, a quote, or a direct call to act.

Analysis

How did Martin Luther King Jr. use the “Intro, Body, Conclusion” structure in his “I Have a Dream” speech?

Intro

Martin Luther King Jr. begins his speech by establishing historical context:

"Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice."

King frames this moment as particularly significant due to its setting and historical resonance. He stands at the Lincoln Memorial, invoking Lincoln's legacy while pointing to the unfulfilled promise of emancipation. This creates an emotional anchor around the theme of promises made but not kept.

He then articulates the central tension that forms his thesis - the promise of freedom remains unfulfilled 100 years later:

"But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination."

To emphasize this, King creates a visual narrative—show, don't tell—using powerful metaphors that his audience can easily grasp:

"America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds."

This introduction works especially well because of the context. At this pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement, King can outline the problem as a moral leader speaking to both supporters gathered at the March on Washington and the broader American public. With the dehumanization of black people growing rampant, King must use logic to dismantle the opposition’s claims while also fighting back against hurtful rhetoric with an appeal to pathos.

Body

The body of King's speech methodically develops his thesis through several distinct segments:

King vividly describes the present conditions of injustice, repeatedly using parallel structure for emphasis:

"One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land."

He emphasizes that gradual change is insufficient, creating urgency through repetition:

"Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood."

King acknowledges potential criticism about his methods, addressing counterarguments directly:

"In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred."

Using the refrain "We can never be satisfied as long as..." King outlines specific conditions that must be met for true justice, providing concrete examples:

"We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: for whites only."

The famous "I have a dream" sequence transitions from critique to aspiration, building emotional momentum through repetition and vivid imagery:

"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood."

This speech is aimed at multiple audiences: the crowds physically present, the broader American public watching on television, and government leadership. King cannot give a technical speech with policy details, but must illustrate his points in broad, emotionally resonant strokes—which this structure facilitates perfectly.

Conclusion

King's conclusion transforms from a restatement of his thesis into a prophetic vision that leaves the audience with a powerful image of hope:

"When we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last."

The "Let freedom ring" sequence creates a geographic journey across America, emphasizing the universality of his vision:

"Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi."

Finally, his call to action comes in the form of a vision of unity through the powerful "Free at last" refrain. King couldn't offer a more simple and apt conclusion—one that encapsulates his entire message while providing a resolution to his emotional theme.

This works especially well because King ends by returning to his emotional anchor of perseverance and struggle, but transforms it into hope. His conclusion persuades the audience that they can overcome racial injustice through collective action and moral commitment—just as Americans have overcome challenges throughout history.

Read the full transcript of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Martin Luther King Jr. uses a lot of rhetorical techniques and tools in his speech. To learn more about rhetoric, click here.