Student Presentations
end of quarter
15% of quarter grade (peers evaluate your talk)

 The ten minute student presentations will begin in late February or early March, depending on whether you are enrolled in the 10 am or noon class.   If you haven't received a handout yet from the instructor concerning this assignment, contact him immediately!   Practice your presentation in advance: the more times you run through it, the more comfortable you will be with it.   Also, time your talk beforehand so that you do not fall minutes short or run on too long.   Generally speaking, one 275-to-300 word page (an average typewritten page) of text translates into about two minutes of speaking time   (use large index cards for notes rather than 8-1/2" by 11" paper).

In the presentation, you should strive for an authoritative ethos: aim to appear knowledgeable, carefully prepared, and yet spontaneous.   Of course, to be both prepared and spontaneous is something of a paradox, but if you have observed effective public speakers, you will know that a good delivery requires a combination of the two.

The goal of this assignment is for you to demonstrate your ability to turn a written text into one for oral presentation and to practice self-presentation and formal speaking.  

In order to create an effective presentation, do not try to recreate the entire paper in oral form.   Instead, foreground your thesis and pick out the strongest part(s) of your paper, presenting it as an illustration of the thesis.   Rework the material so that someone unfamiliar with your subject easily can follow along.   Employ "bullet points."   Remember that your listeners haven't spent the time you have working with the information you are presenting.   Consequently, re-emphasize your thesis and repeat your main points.

Also, be creative.   "Show and tell" should not have died after second grade.   So long as they are not too distracting or require too much time, visual, olfactory, audile, and tactile aids can help a lot.

Here are a few more some tips.   Do not read without lifting your eyes from the page; conversely, do not try to extemporize, but then wind up having little or nothing to say.   Occasionally check your notes, but more often be looking at your listeners and making eye contact with them.   Be conscious of your hand gestures and facial expressions.   Think about what you want to convey through them.   While watching a debate unfold on the floor of the senate, pay attention to how the speakers use their hands.

You will be graded (by your classmates) on the clarity and coherence of this effort, but also on your attempt to engage and interest your colleagues in what you are saying.   Because this is rhetorical exercise--a practice session in formal public speaking--much of your grade will be based on how well you connect with your audience.   In sum, deliver your material to your peers, not to the instructor.

Instead of dreading this exercise, think of it as your chance to pitch your idea to the class.   Demonstrate your enthusiasm--make it infectious!   Use humor, anecdote, and concrete examples to make your presentation vivid.

Finally, be prepared to answer questions afterward.   In "actual world" (non-academic) situations, the prepared remarks often are little more than a prelude to the real thing: the question & answer period or "Q & A."   For this assignment, expect to answer some questions.

Do not forget to read chapter fifty in The New St. Martin's Handbook: "Making Oral Presentations" (pp. 645-651).   Also, I will prepare and distribute a handout on oral presentations sometime during the quarter.



Back to top