ENGL 2510: Scientific and Technical Writing Assignment: Formal Presentation Value This assignment is worth 20% of your final grade.  Background Presentations are an important tool for professional communication. This assignment requires

ENGL 2510: Scientific and Technical Writing

Assignment: Formal Presentation

Value

This assignment is worth 20% of your final grade.

 Background

Presentations are an important tool for professional communication. This assignment requires you to create and deliver a formal presentation based on the research, findings, and recommendations from your report. You will use the same research question and likely much of the same content, information, and visuals from your recommendation report to inform your audience.

Instructions

1.      Refer to the specific delivery instructions from your instructor and for your class. Students enrolled in online, in person, or hyflex classes may have different requirements for delivering and/or recording their presentations.

2.      You will create and deliver a presentation that makes use of the following components:

•        presentations should be 5-7 minutes long.

•        prepare slides to accompany your presentation (using PowerPoint, Google Slides, or another compatible presentation software)

•        presentations should contain 4-6 slides, plus title and reference slides (6-8 slides total)

•        include at least two unique visuals to display and illustrate data or key findings from your research (graphs, charts, images, etc.)

•        Cite all research and external sources in APA format, and this includes summarized, paraphrased, and quoted material as well as visuals.

3.      Presentations will be evaluated on the basis of professionalism, research, organization, and the effectiveness of your slides and visuals, as outlined in the rubric (below).

Presentation Software

Choose whichever slide presentation software you like, but be sure it is compatible with NorQuest College (PC) operating systems. Please note that presentation software is often proprietary, and therefore not necessarily accessible across operating systems. Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Prezi are all compatible and recommended (note that Apple Keynote is not compatible with PC operating systems, and will not work on NorQuest computers). You should also prepare back-ups of all presentation documents and visuals in case of technical complications.

Slides and Visuals

Each presentation should contain roughly 4-6 slides, plus title and reference slides (6-8 slides total). Slides should emphasize information that is of specific significance to the presentation topic, and make good use of space, colour, text, and other visual components (as outlined in Chapter 10: “Presenting Technical Information Orally” of the Concise Guide to Technical Communication). Each presentation should contain at least two visuals using the information outlined in Chapter 5: “Visual Technical Communication.” Consider which type of visual (pie, bar, dart, and Gantt charts; line graphs and drawings; tables; maps; and photographs) best suits the information you want to highlight and select appropriate visuals to include in your slides. Be sure to include citations and a reference for each visual, in APA format. The Library’s APA guide has a PowerPoint template you can use if you like. Click here to download it.

Content and Organization

Refer to chapter ten “Presenting Technical Information Orally” in A Concise Guide for detailed guidelines on how to organize your presentation with appropriate information. Specifically, plan your presentation’s content and organization with the following guidelines in mind:

•        decide what information to include in your presentation and what to highlight on the slides.

•        determine how much background and context is needed for your audience to understand the topic and your research and identify any specialized terms or jargon that need to be defined and explained.

•        organize your presentation so that the audience can easily follow along – provide cues (signposts) and outline your presentation’s main points.

ENGL 2510: Scientific and Technical Writing

Delivery Skills

Remember to speak clearly and slowly and use audience-appropriate language. Make eye contact (look at your audience or into the camera) and limit reading from a script or your slides. Most importantly, remember to breathe. You should also refer to your visual aids and other slides, and ensure you describe technical details in a professional manner that is easy for your audience to understand.

Research

Research sources should be cited on a separate References slide at the end of the presentation.

Rubric