Huang Louise, a junior geology major, decided to give an informative speech about how earthquakes occur. From his audience analysis, he learned that only two or three of his classmates knew much of anything about geology. Huang realized then that he must present his speech at an elementary level and with a minimum of scientific language. As he prepared the speech, Huang kept asking himself: “How can I make this clear and meaningful to someone who knows nothing about earthquakes or geological principles?” Since he was speaking in the Midwest, he decided to begin by noting that the most severe earthquake in American history took place not in California or Alaska, but at New Madrid, Missouri in 1811. If such an earthquake happened today, it would be felt from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean and would flatten most of the cities in the Mississippi Valley.