Final In-Class Presentations
As described on the syllabus, during the final four classes of the semester (from Nov. 23 forward), you will each deliver an oral presentation based on independent research that builds substantially on the main projects that we will complete collectively as a class this term (in other words, Projects 1 and 2). Students must choose a topic in consultation with the instructor by Oct. 21. More specifically, students must submit a paragraph by email describing the topic as well as what kinds of sources you hope to use to research it. While I urge you to be creative in your choice of topic, you must choose one that is focused enough for you to be able to teach your classmates a meaningful amount in a relatively brief, ten-minute presentation.
Please note: while everyone is not presenting on the same day, out of fairness to the entire class, the visual portion (PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.) of everyone’s research project is due by 12pm on November 23. Please upload it to Assignments page of Canvas.
Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria
I will evaluate your final presentations in the following categories.
The Basics –
Your presentation should be 10-minutes long. (I will cut you off at ten minutes). You should be prepared to answer up to 5-minutes worth of questions posed by me and your classmates after your presentation.
Your presentation must include a well-organized and wisely deployed visual component using PowerPoint, Prezi, or an equivalent program. As often as feasible, your PowerPoint or Prezi slides should state what sources you drew on to provide the information depicted on that slide. Normally this statement of your sources will appear in small print at the bottom of the appropriate slide.
The final slide or two of your PowerPoint or Prezi presentation must be a bibliography of the sources you used for your presentation. The format of this bibliography should follow the Chicago Manual of Style.
You must email me an electronic version of your PowerPoint or Prezi part of your presentation by November 23 at 12pm.
Your presentation must be based on an appropriate mixture of scholarly articles, books and book chapters, newspaper and magazine articles, government reports, and reports by well-respected non-governmental organizations. Basic content from websites should not constitute a dominant source base for your work, but you may use a small, wise selection of content from trustworthy websites to complement more traditional sources. In all, your presentation should be based on roughly 7-10 sources as just described, although more than 10 sources is allowable.
Clarity – Your presentation should be well-paced (not rushed), well-organized and easy to follow by someone who is not familiar with the research that you are discussing. Your answers to your classmates’ and my questions should also be clear, well-paced, on topic and concise. Remember, the idea is to teach your classmates through a brief lecture and Q&A.
Presentation Style – You should present yourself in a highly professional manner. You may use notes, even detailed ones, but you should nonetheless engage your audience by making frequent eye contact. You should also avoid saying “um,” “ah,” “like,” etc. You should field your classmates and my questions in a similarly professional style.
Prioritization of Content – You should discuss only the most important issues pertaining to your topic and avoid distracting your audience with superfluous information. Ask yourself: if I only have ten minutes to teach my classmates about my topic, what do they absolutely need to know?
Creativity – Your presentation should show that you have thought seriously about how to convey information to your classmates in a manner that will help them understand it quickly and retain it over the long term.
Mastery of the Material– Your presentation should show that you have mastered the material at hand. Mastery does not simply mean the ability to list a series of related points. Rather, it means that you have thought deeply about the topic at hand and have a firm understanding of its significance and what your classmates need to know about it.
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