I want to stress the time component of this talk. When you begin speaking I will start a stopwatch. Once you reach ten minutes I will notify you that you have two minutes remaining. At the twelve minute mark I will ask you to stop speaking. Your talk should fall within the 10 and 12 minute boundaries. There will then be three minutes provided in which the class can ask questions about the information you have presented.
The purpose of this assignment is for you to identify the important elements of the article and present them to the class in an informative and concise manner. Remember that you only have 12 minutes to deliver the information, so consider carefully which aspects of the article you want to stress. Depending on the article you select you may not be able to cover all of the information contained in the article in the time allocated. This is not necessarily a problem, provided you cover the major points of importance. For this reason, I suggest you do not get too mired in methodological details unless those issues are crucial for the understanding of the concepts addressed in the article. This talk is not to be a critical interpretation of the article in the way that the critical review paper is, but you may want to take a look at some of the suggestions about reading a journal article critically before begining this assignment.
Pictures and graphics often make a talk like this easier. The old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words still holds true. Think carefully about ways that an image can be used to convey maximal information. Because of the short time allowed for your talk I suggest that you make any pictures you want to use ahead of time (e.g., if you are using overhead transparencies have them printed or drawn out before your talk); taking time during your talk to draw out a picture, graph, or diagram is not time effective. Point form notes of the points you are addressing are also a convenient way of helping to focus the audiences attention on what you are discussing.
If you have special equipment needs please let me know at least a couple of days in advance. There is always an overhead projector available in the room. Equipment like slide projectors or computer projection equipment (e.g., for running PowerPoint presentations) are also available should you require them.
I strongly suggest you practice this talk in advance by actually working through it as if you were presenting it to the class. Do this several times! If you have a friend who will listen to you give your talk beforehand this is an added bonus: they can tell you if your voice is projecting, if you are sluring words, if topics are not being covered in sufficient detail, and the like. Also, this will let you get the timing down accurately.
If you are an old hand at giving oral presentations well and good. If not, here are a few tricks to consider. Using point form overheads can take the place of cue cards: the points on the overheads give you the necessary information to cue the subsequent point. If you use overhead transparencies you can run a strip of masking tape down one side and write short notes on the tape: the notes will not be visible to the audience, but can provide you with specific information and details that you can't recall from memory. Cue cards are a perfectly acceptable aid in giving a presentation. Many people who are experienced in giving talks still make use of cue cards to provide them with the details of their talk that they can not keep in memory. If you use cue cards just be careful to label them with respect to their order (just in case they drop and get mixed up). Another approach is to have additional information on pages of paper that you can refer if you forget something or need to make a detailed, specific point.
If you wish you may read a prepared paper instead of trying to present the information from memory or short notes. Keep in mind that if you read a prepared paper that you should still consider the use of graphics in your talk. Also, eye contact is extremely important in an oral presentation: making visual contact with audience members keeps them paying attention and gives the impression that you are speaking directly to individuals in the audience. If you read a prepared paper make sure you look up frequently to make visual contact with your audience. Lastly, if you read a prepared paper be very careful of the time. Definitely practice reading your paper out loud several times in advance to make sure you have the timing down.
Your grade for this assignment will be based on the following elements: appropriateness and content of presented information (65%), presentation style (including time usage) (15%), effective use of visual aids (10%), ability to answer questions (10%).
Finally, one last thing. If you are concerned or worried about this assignment you can arrange a time to meet with me before your talk is due in class. I will watch you give your talk and provide you with feedback on how you are doing. This would be a dry run of your talk: it would have no effect on your ultimate grade for this assignment.
Students will select their article during the second class. The selection process will work as follows. Students will draw a number from a hat. The number determines when the student can pick their article (e.g., number 1 picks first, number 2 picks second, etc.). Keep in mind that you may not get the article you want (i.e., somebody else might choose it before you get your turn to pick). Therefore, have two or three articles in mind that you would be willing to present before the selection process begins.
Once four articles for a class have been selected that class day will be considered filled: subsequent choices will have to come from other weeks.
It is advisable that students take the time to go to the library and skim through articles that interest them. This can prevent unpleasant suprises after the fact.