Structure

Boris Johnson’s speech at the COP26 Launch can be roughly divided into three main parts. Johnson uses a circular structure to frame the main arguments of his speech, by using the story of Bersey and the electric taxi. 

Johnson starts his speech with a small introduction in which he thanks the audience and welcomes them to the event (ll. 1-5) before launching into the story about Bersey’s electric taxi. He links the story with the venue where he is giving the speech by saying “When I used to come in a long time ago as a kid, as I’m sure all of us have done, there used to be a very curious exhibit on the way in” (ll. 6-7).

The first part of Boris Johnson’s speech focuses on Walter Bersey and presents the story of the world’s first electric taxi (ll. 6-36). Johnson presents Bersey’s inventions, focusing ...