Order Description
Summative Assessment A3: Oral presentation of dissertation with supporting materials (15 min)

Presenting research findings clearly, efficiently and engagingly is a key skill enabling students to fully participate in a variety of academic settings. It is also a skill that students will be able to take with them in their professional lives after graduation.

Throughout the module sessions students will be required to present their research projects and will be encouraged to reflect critically on the skills and abilities involved in the preparation of oral presentations.

The final student conference on 18.04.2016 will be the occasion for the official presentation and formal assessment of student’s oral presentations, which should last 15 minutes.

The preparation and delivery of oral presentations will include the design and development of supporting materials such as handouts and PowerPoint presentations.

Good presentations are concise, clear and dynamic. Their timing needs to allow listeners to make sense of the information and argument being delivered, which should be reflecting the overall time available. The choice of language and the structure of sentences should be clear, while non-essential jargon should be avoided at all times. However, the simplicity of language and the clarity of expression phrasing need to be balanced against the key challenge to retain and convey the complexity of the arguments being made.

Presenting an argument means engaging with the audience as a speaker, which means addressing it directly and not reading out a written text. Visual aids and handouts should accompany the delivery of the presentation to strengthen its argument and provide extra information such as images or audio and video excerpts. The function of these aids is to enhance the oral delivery of the presentation, not to substitute it or obfuscate it.

1) You shape and structure your presentation effectively by maintaining a coherent focus on your topic and argument throughout while identifying a wide range of related concepts, implications and angles. The structure of the presentation is clear from the outset and is adhered to.
2) You illustrate strategic points with well-chosen examples drawn from reading and experience. Your ability to summarise and present the main points of your argument shows that you have engaged creatively and critically with a range of appropriate theoretical perspectives including previous research in the field by others, personal research, observation and/or experience.
3) You show imagination and creativity by engaging your audience through an innovative use of an appropriate range of supporting materials and media including video/audio extracts, hand-outs, PowerPoint slides, etc.
4) Your presentation adheres to time constraints very efficiently in relation to its main argument, its topic and the range of supporting material provided.
5) Your written/visual materials are meticulously and imaginatively prepared. The presentation content is concise and coherent in summarising key points. Bibliographic and other sources, including web sites cited are provided and additional useful sources included.
6) You appear calm and confident and deliver your presentation clearly, in a well-paced manner and at suitable volume.