Some suggestions for your research presentation:


Your overall presentation should be about ten minutes long.  Given our time constraints, we need to stick closely to our schedule, so please time your presentation in advance so that you come out close to your allotted time.  You will also have a few minutes for discussion following your presentation.

If you write out your presentation, word-for-word (I don’t particularly recommend this, but some may be more comfortable with this mode of presentation), keep in mind that this is an oral presentation, and you need to write in a style that your audience can follow.  This means you should avoid very long, complex, and dense sentences.  Whether you write out what you have to say or speak from notes/outline, give your listeners an indication toward the beginning of your talk of what you will be telling us (e.g., “My research on ... is focused on the following questions ...”).  Then use verbal markers to tell your audience where you are in your presentation (e.g., “My first issue is...”; “The second thing I've learned...”; etc.).  At the end of your presentation, you can summarize briefly your basic points, or conclude with a comment on where your research is headed or what you haven't yet figured out.  

This means that you need to decide in advance what the most important information is that you want to communicate and then organize your talk so that your audience can follow the logic of your presentation.  Since you are presenting on your research, you might very briefly describe how you hit upon your particular topic and how you went about researching it (what sorts of material you found), and then go on to tell us where your research is headed and your preliminary conclusions. You can also highlight areas or questions that you are in the process of working through in hopes of getting some useful feedback.  Don’t be afraid to personalize your account; this is, after all, your project and it reflects your research process.

Keep in mind that your audience may find your presentation more interesting if you can tie it in with ideas or texts that we’ve talked about in class; this isn't essential, though, and some research topics are more easily related to what we've discussed in class than others.

Consider using handouts, audio-visual aids, putting material on the blackboard, or any other resources that help to communicate your ideas and make your presentation livelier.  In the past, several students have used PowerPoint effectively, and you are welcome to use this if you'd like, though this is by no means required.  If you do decide to use PowerPoint, it's best to send me the file by e-mail in advance rather than trying to configure your own laptop to work with the projector.  Don’t be afraid to be creative.  If you do plan to use AV equipment, please let me know in advance and plan to be in class a few minutes early to get the technical details worked out.

Here are the evaluation criteria that I will be using:

• relative clarity of expression
  
• effective organization of material presented
  
• enthusiasm (effective communication of what you find interesting about your topic)
• integration of supporting material (e.g., handouts, whiteboard, AV, PowerPoint)
• response to questions

Research Presentation Schedule:


Thursday, March 29th:

Grace O'Keeffe
Kristina Barbuto
Ike Messmore
Max Deleon
Ally Cantor

Tuesday, April 3rd:

Dan McAlister
Ashley Money
Alicyn DeSimone
Zara Manuelyan
Josh Clarke
Liz Ottman

Thursday, April 5th:

Matt Giacheri
Caleb Searles
Maggie Sager
Katelyn Esterby
Zoe Kosmas



Copyright 2007 Kevin Trainor                                                                                                            Last updated: 3/26/07