How to get top marksfor a

Powerpoint presentation

Read the assignment carefully

e.g. Prepare a powerpoint on the ‘The history and uses of colouring in food’ Six slides maximum.

Marks will be given for: Uses (4), History(4), Organization (3), Sources (6), look (3)

Clearly the teacher has insisted on sources and a focus on history and uses of colourings. They want you to spend relatively little time on the images and layout (which does not mean you shouldn’t make ANY effort in this area). If the teacher doesn’t specify their marking criteria you should request it immediately.

Create a plan on paper or using a thinking tool such as CMAP

Type of colouring

When created /discovered

Uses then and now

Other information

Since the teacher assigned 4 points to the ‘colourings’ and ‘uses’, it is not worth researching many more than 4 colourings to achieve maximum points. However, teachers are always looking for a little extra effort to award the highest marks, so look for opportunities to show effort by going slightly over and above what is asked.

Lay out your Powerpoint in a logical way

• Chronological (good for our example)• Spacial (by region or place – good for systems)• Instructions (step by step – good for experiment design)• Focussing (from general to specific examples)• Generalizing (from specific to general ideas)• Advantage – disadvantage (comparing pros and cons)• Problem –> solution (good for error analysis)

Find appropriate information and note your sources correctly

Use as many sources as possible: •Library•Internet•DVD roms (like Universalis or Britannica)•E-mails to specialists

You should insert a foot note and a link 1 to the text using the same numberindex as in this example. Of course, add the date accessed for web links (url’s)

1. http://thompsona.free.fr/ (accessed 28 May 2013)

Reference images too…If you copy and paste an image in a document you are submitting as YOUR OWN work it is very important to reference the image. You can do this by:

a)Linking the image to the site you found it (this is tidier, but may need explaining to your teacher)b)Pasting the link ON the image in photoshopc)Pasting the link directly UNDER the image

http://fr.123rf.com/photo_6117659_3d-chemistry-formulas-in-glass-of-water.html

Check the contrast and compatability of your Powerpoint

Not everyone has the latest version of Powerpoint and not all school computers will read them. Saving your files as .ppt or .pps including your name and class is a way to ensure a trouble-free presentation.

Make sure the contrast of your slides is good:

This is much easier to read than this

Use alignment tools to give a truely professional lookAlthough I do not teach the use of these, there are tools within Powerpoint and OpenOffice that help you align all your text and titles, so that when you move from one slide to the next headings are in identical positions.

My version of Powerpoint uses this icon for alignment:

Aligning images and text can also make a slide look better instead of centering everything.

Main mistakes in presentations

• Blocks of text are copied and read aloud. Speakers should learn and give sources of the details they want to discuss

• Too many distracting effects cause people to miss the point you are trying to make

• Poor referencing of sources – often given as a bibliography instead of footnotes with dates

GRADE= 20/20