Research PresentationHow to plan, create, and deliver your presentation

Research

Once you’ve chosen your topic, consider the following:

◦ Keeping track of your information

Note cards

◦ Properly identifying sources

Websites, magazines, newspapers, etc.

◦ Which angle you’re going to take

Thesis

◦ How you’re going to organize your research

Outline

Keeping Track of your Information

Word Documents

◦ Copy/Paste website addresses along with description of the information.

◦ Helps you find your sources again

Note Cards

◦ Authors, titles, publishing information, brief descriptions

◦ Works best for print sources

Information-Documenting sheets

◦ Keeps all of your sources in one place

◦ Takes the guess-work out of Works Cited pages

Properly Identifying Sources

Web/Online

◦ Encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines,

scholarly journals, reputable websites

Print

◦ Encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines,

scholarly journals, novels, anthologies, atlases

Choose wisely

You must choose reputable sources (what’s the

difference between the New York Times website

and Dave’s Daily Update?)

Choosing an Angle

Once you’ve decided on a topic, you must

conduct your research.

Based on your research, decide on a

stance to take for your presentation

Create a thesis statement…

this will guide the rest of

your work.

If you don’t light the fuse, I

can’t see the fireworks!

Thesis Statements

Don’t try to tackle too much

Narrow your topic; be specific

Do not repeat common wisdom; look for the depth of an issue

Be arguable; prove something that is not already taken as fact

FIO:

Focus

Insight

Opinion

Weak Theses

Lord of the Flies is a book about human nature.

Lord of the Flies is a novel about British schoolboys.

The Second World War was caused by many factors.

Hitler was the worst leader ever.

Yawn…

Strong Theses

In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the downfall of innocent children to show the inner depravity of human beings.

The characterization of Simon in Lord of the Flies supports Golding’s belief that humans have moved away from spiritual beliefs.

Although the Second World War brought about the extermination of millions of Jews and marginalized groups, the genocidal lesson has not been learned.

Organizing your Research

Create an Outline

◦ This may be passed in on the day of your

presentation (May 24th or 25th)

Connect your research with knowledge

of the novel

◦ I recommend (but do not insist) a data chart

to keep track of your information

◦ See the data chart on the next slide…

Data table: sampleResearch

Source

Research

Information

Tie to Novel Novel

Page/Section

The Huffington

Post Online

Liberalism purports that

fundamentally, people

should be maximally

free; requiring

government

intervention only when

threatened by enemies.

Ralph believes that

people should have

roles and take care

of themselves, until

the threat of bodily

harm is exerted by

the “free will” of

others.

Page 75 – The

hunters let the

fire go out, Jack

smacks Piggy,

Ralph becomes

furious

Organize yourself… get your

bearings about you

Suggestions for Slideshow: General

Avoid long chunks of text

Use images

Choose an appropriate background

Suggestions for Slideshow: Content

Slide 1: Title Page

Slide 2: Introduction to topic◦ Thesis and angle

Slides 3-5: ◦ First topic sentence

◦ Research supporting first point

Slides 6-8:◦ Second topic sentence

◦ Research supporting second point

Slides 9-11:◦ Third topic sentence

◦ Research supporting third point

Slide 12: Conclusion

Slide 13: Works Cited

Extras in Between: Photos and graphics

Making Your Point

Your “body paragraphs” or content slides

should develop each of your main points.

You could organize as follows:

◦ Slide A:

Researched Point

◦ Slide B:

Point from Novel

◦ Slide C:

Connection between Research and Novel

Class Ideas: Public Speaking Tips

Tips for Public Speaking Look up

Speak slowly (at a good pace) and clearly

Be calm, cool and collected

Avoid fidgeting (playing with hair, pacing back and forth, twitching, shuffling feet, hand gestures, scratching/pulling on ear, tapping, biting your nails, weird eyebrow movements)

Avoid awkward phrases (um, like, I mean, yeah, and so…)

Use inflections (no monotone)

Do not cover your face

Pause at key moments

Maintain eye contact

Practice, practice, practice!!

Don’t let the puppy fall asleep

Extras

Use a bold image or photo to make your

audience think about your topic

Use humor or sarcasm when speaking to

drive a point home

Change your accent or tone of voice

when reading quotations to bring life to

the words

Example: Totalitarianism vs. Liberal Democracy

Good Luck!

You’ve got at least 5 minutes to fill.

Be prepared.

Relax.