Talk

February 1, 2006

This is a team project, with a team being determined ahead of time and specified on the news group calendar. The purpose of the talk is to cover a topic as generalized from reading a book chapter. Each chapter will contain a contribution from one or more individuals, and is associated with a broader topic as generalized by related work covered in the text and referenced in the citations to publications listed at the end of the chapter.

Slide content

Prepare a talk to last 40 minutes in length, and use a formal presentation technique based on a slide-making tool. A good guide is 2 to 3 minutes per slide. The will be based on one of the chapters in the class text. Each chapter will cover a topic that is indicated by the chapter presentation and the cited literature. Here is an outline for your talk:

1st Slide: Introductory slide with the talk title, and names of people in your group
2nd Slide with a brief outline of the remainder of your talk -- what you will talk about, using one bullet per section
Cover what the topic is about - explain what the chapter discusses within the broader context of the topic. This is the main part of your talk -- introducing the audience to the topic as presented by the chapter author(s) and by the references cited. This part is the bulk of your talk.
Criticism and Analysis: state what your group personally agrees with or disagrees with in the paper. Are there group members who disagree with each other? That is fine - list all the issues and discuss them.
Conclusions slide - the last slide of the talk that summarizes what you presented/learned.
Have one or two slides with web links to extra information about the topic, from the research done on it.

Research Paper

Prepare a 5 to 8 page single-spaced paper that overviews the topic. This will be a research paper that has these elements:

Title of topic

Authors (all members of your group)

Abstract: a summary of the paper (from 100 to 200 words)

Introduction: an introduction to the topic - what it is about

Other sections of your paper

Summary - the section where you conclude your paper

References - list of all literature and web citations that you have obtained through research. Some of these can of course overlap with those from the original paper upon which your talk is based

Group Responsibilities

You will probably want to divide up responsibilities in your group. For example, one person can give the talk, another can do the research for the topic (gathering references), and another can write most of the paper. Or you can split the paper-writing among all group members. You may have one or more do the presenting.

Speaking Guidelines

Be professional in your presentation - as if you are speaking at a workshop or conference. Start on time and have a set of slides that are well-designed.
Don't talk to the slides or the ceiling - talk to the audience, and use the slides only for reference as you go over each slide section.
Don't speak too quickly. Articulate your sentences and sound as if you are trying to convince the audience of the points you are making (i.e., rhetoric).
Try to stick to the 40 minute average for the talk.