Presenting an Academic Paper

							Before We Begin…
 Throughout my portion of the training, please
 feel free to jump in…
 • With any questions you would like to ask
 • Comments that you would like to make
 • Experiences that you would like to share with the
   group
You and Your Presentation
 How many of you have ever given an academic
 presentation?
 • Was it successful?
 What brings you here today?
 • What, if anything, about the first-year presentation
   makes you nervous?
 • What would you most like to gain from this training
   today?
    The First-Year
    Presentation is Designed
    To give you an opportunity         To gain useful feedback on
    to…                                a whole range of issues
                                       raised by your presentation,
•   Evaluate your own progress         so that your further
    since the start of your
    M.Phil/Ph.D.                       •   Study
•   Present the feasibility and        •   Writing
    contribution of your research
    topic to your peers                •   Thesis planning
    •   your supervisory team          Can be taken forward with
                                       confidence and sharper focus
    •   other colleagues within your
        discipline
•   In a concise, clear and well-
    ordered manner
Required Content of
Presentation
 Provisional title                  The specific problems, themes
 The aim of your research and       or issues you will investigate and
 what research questions it is      why
 seeking to address                 The methodology and theoretical
 The feasibility of your topic in   orientation/framework you are
 the light of other research        proposing to adopt and why
 already done in the specific       A brief account of your progress
 field(s) your project relates to   to date
 Key sources, both primary and      A brief indication of the next
 secondary, that you will use       steps of your work within a
                                    thesis plan
Realize that People
Want You to Succeed
 The audience of your
 supervisor, her or his peers
 and your colleagues want you
 to be

 • Interesting
 • Stimulating
 • Informative
 • Entertaining
 They’re rooting for you, and
 for your supervisor
Gain Experience
 Your presentation will give you the opportunity to gain
 experience presenting an academic paper

 Therefore, it should represent you…

 • As an authority
   • Your audience will be full of peers and academics who
     will be listening with a critical ear
   • They are not, however, specialists in your subject
   • Therefore, you must provide a certain amount of context
     to ground the research that you are presenting
 • As a person
Turning Your First Chapter into an
Effective First-Year Presentation

 Use PowerPoint slides to organize your main points

 Use visuals wherever possible to present complex data,
 such as statistics or dates

 • Charts
 • Graphs
 • Photographs
 • Tables
 • Timelines
Visual Aids and Handouts
Keep your visual aids          PowerPoint
and handouts
                               • Make your text large
• Visible                      • Choose colors that
• Simple                         make the text easier to
                                 read
• Colorful, but don't let
  them upstage you             • Use bullet points
                                 instead of full
• Justified by the content;      sentences
  not too much or too little
  information                  • Don't make the text or
                                 graphics fly around too
                                 much
Questions and Answers
 Inevitably, somebody will ask you a question to which you
 don’t know the answer

 • Don’t panic!
 • Eleanor’s advice
   •   “That’s a direction toward which I aim to move in the next few
       months”
   •   “I have begun to look at that, but I still need to do more research”

 • The audience may see through you, but at least you have
   acknowledged their comments
Practice, Practice, Practice
 Rehearse out loud with all equipment you plan on
 using
 Revise as necessary
 Work to control filler words
 • Pause
 • Breathe
 Practice with a timer and allow time for the
 unexpected
Remember…
No later than a week after you
presentation you should send your
supervisor a 250-300-word summary
and evaluation of your presentation

Make an appointment to meet with
your supervisor soon after your
presentation for feedback!

Try to enjoy yourself!
Now, it’s your turn!
   Presenters                Audience Members
   • You’ve been asked to    • While others are
     prepare a short           presenting, please try
     paper and                 and take notes on what
     PowerPoint                they are doing well and
     presentation              on what they can improve
   • We’d like to give you
     the opportunity to
     present this to the
     group today
   • We’ll (hopefully)
     provide constructive
     feedback on your
     presentation style