Presentation: ?The presentation is intended to share the HIGHLIGHTS of your project with your classmates. ?It sh

Presentation:  The presentation is intended to share the HIGHLIGHTS of your project with your classmates.  It should present these highlights clearly in summary form on PowerPoint slides.  In the onsite section, you will have a brief 5-10 time allowance to present your research to the class and to respond to questions.  In the online section, you will be asked to post your slides on Blackboard, as well as to view and respond to your classmates’ slides.

Following is a breakdown of how the presentation is assessed; note that the values are approximate:

·  Content:  60%  (70% for online section)  This includes the same elements as listed for the paper. Attention in preparing the presentation should be given to presenting the essential and substantial content in an informative way, without including either too much or too little detail. Note that merely pasting sections from your paper or large “chunks” of text is not appropriate. It is not acceptable to use the “Notes” area for presenting information. All content must be on the slides themselves. It is not necessary to include a voice or audio component for your presentation.

·  Clarity/quality of slides/organization:  20%  (30% for online section)  This includes not only clarity of information, but also lack of grammatical or spelling errors, as well as clear organization. Slides should be attractive and appropriately formatted (e.g., the viewer should be able to see the content clearly and it should not bleed off the slide area), but they do not need to be over-the-top “glitzy.”

·  Manner of presentation (preparation/preparedness, personal demeanor, effective communication with members of the class, etc.):  20%  This includes not merely reading your slides, but using them mainly as an outline of what you explain extemporaneously to the class.  

·  Note that not being prepared to present on the date scheduled results in forfeiture of credit for the presentation component.  

Some hints for good presentations:  PROFESSIONAL DEMEANOR is important.  Act like the expert, as if you are giving a professional lecture to your professional peers.  How would you carry yourself if you were giving a presentation at your company where you work?  (Hint:  You would not slouch or mumble.  You would SPEAK CLEARLY, so that everyone can hear and understand you.  You would not race through what you have to say, but would speak at a moderate pace, neither too fast nor too slow.)

TEACH your subject matter.  You have done research on your topic.  The whole idea here is to share the knowledge you have gained.  If you learned things you never knew before, remember that your classmates did not know them either!  Make your points clear, straightforward, and easy to understand.  And make sure you EXPLAIN them.  When you use a new and unfamiliar term, you need to stop and explain what it means!  Otherwise, the class will not be able to follow what you are saying.  (This is important, as well, when writing your papers.)  You also need to pronounce that word correctly.  Part of preparing your presentation is doing research on the terms you have encountered and looking up how to pronounce them.  If you mis-pronounce words, that tells me that you are not very familiar with them and that you have not prepared thoroughly for your presentation in advance.  Make sure you explain each of your points as you go along – take your time to do a good job with this; otherwise, you will “lose” your audience.  Do not rush through it or speak too quickly.  Do not read your slides!!!  And do not limit your presentation to only what is on your slides.  The slides should be an outline only, for material you share verbally in much greater substance.  Be prepared to answer questions!  You might think about possible questions you might be asked, in advance.  And if you are asked a question, do not respond with, “I don’t know the answer to that but I covered it in my paper”!!!  The whole point here is for you to share the important content of your paper with the class.  You should know your material in your paper so well that you can comfortably speak about anything in it.