To study: Obviously you cannot memorize all speeches. But no need to. There are a number of cues available to you including subject matter, style of speaking, motivational quality, attitude toward authority and so on. Know these for each of the speakers. I should also tell you that I will not be picking obscure passages either, but typical passages. So as you go through the speeches, ask yourself which characteristics seem typical to you.
To study: I recommend you make charts comparing and contrasting the characteristics of the discourse of the various communities. This chart should include things we have talked about in class but also your own observations from your reading. You have a list of characteristics that we are asking about each community. Use it and ask those questions about each community.
To study: Read the commentaries and the speeches in the book. Go over your class notes. Understand the characteristics of speaking in the communities. Also review the material on our objectives and methods in the course.
To study: Added to the strategies on Part III is the need to talk about the speeches you have read using the knowledge that you have learned. Go over your abstracts. If you have done them well they do what these type questions ask you to do. If you are studying with others, ask each other questions about how particular speeches do or do not succeed in meeting their objectives.
To study: No substitute for giving speeches to another student from the class and let them tell you how you sound. Create situations from those that were typical in each culture. As you read the discourse of speakers, study it with an eye toward using its style and motivational quality in new situations.
To study: Begin by selecting the possibilities from the discourse you have read. What passages are memorable as great examples of American speaking. When you isolate these sections, memorize them.
Overall: My objective is to have you know the discourse of each community thoroughly enough that you can identify it with that community, hear it as if you were a member of the community, and reproduce it so it would fit into the general flow of discourse is that community. If you can do so, you will do well on the exam.