Presentation

Presentation (10% of course grade)
Due to Canvas and in class by 2:00 p.m. on your scheduled presentation day
(Feb. 27, Mar. 1, Apr. 19, Apr. 24, or Apr. 26)

Description and Goals
If you present at the midterm, you will be presenting your midterm essay, and I will ask you to transform your essay's argument into a dynamic presentation. In order to do this, your Midterm Concept Essay will need to be nearly complete so that you have a concrete sense of your own discovery, and so that you can demonstrate to all the rest of us how you have synthesized your 3 (or more) critical texts. If you present at the end of the term, you will be presenting on your Multi-Genre Project, I will ask you to explain and illustrate your theory in a series of critical claims, so that we can give you feedback on the final manifestation you have planned. We will especially need a sense of the project's evolutions and forms.

Here are some general goals for the presentation:
  1. To distill your concept essay or your multi-genre project into a focused and coherent presentation that demonstrates your explanatory powers at this point in the course.
  2. To communicate your critical discovery in a way that is interesting and vital, and that challenges your own and others' thinking (you'll need an application or a reason for presenting so that you don't find yourself just delivering a summary of your essay or final project).
  3. To teach us what you have learned as a result of writing the concept essay or composing the final multi-genre project.
  4. To perform a polished and authentic discussion using multiple modes (i.e., sound, images, discourse, and a well-designed handout and visual aid, etc.). Consider how to frame, organize, and deliver your presentation in meaningful way.

It might help your planning if you keep in mind how an oral presentation functions somewhat differently from written discourse. In your Short Assignments and Concept Essay, I am asking you to lead with your discovery; in this presentation, however, you may decide it works better to lead with the dilemma or question, and to suspend the discovery until the end. A well organized presentation will help us to see how we got to your ultimate claim.

Logistics and Format

  • Please provide us with some kind of clear, well-designed handout and visual aid that captures the main points of your essay or final project. (You can think of the handout as a critical take-away or reference tool, and use it to hold information that you may not be able to squeeze into the space of your presentation.)
  • Please submit to Canvas all your presentation materials. This should include a “Works Cited” page in MLA format showing all of the sources you used for the presentation, as well as the assigned texts. You can find the citation for our readings in the “Works Cited” list at the back of your syllabus.
  • If you use any other outlines, slides, or presentation notes, please also provide those for me to take into account for my evaluation.
  • Please rehearse and time your presentation so that you are polished and professional, and so that you don't exceed your allotted 10 minutes. I will ask you to prepare a 6-7 minute presentation, so that we can have at least 3-4 minutes for questions. 

Evaluation Criteria
  • Critical Strength of your Discovery
  • Clarity and Coherence of your claims
  • Quality and Clarity of your discussion and examples
  • Quality of your Teaching
  • Quality of your Performance
  • Quality of Materials and Deliverables
  • Time Management and Delivery

Please feel free to ask questions if any part of the assignment is unclear or if you become stuck while working through an idea.


-Dr. Graban