English for Academic Purposes I (2024) _________________________________________________________________________________
Assignment 4 Guidelines
Purpose
This assignment tests your ability to give an effective presentation and tackle questions from a live audience.
Assignment Details
You are expected to give a 4-minute presentation to your classmates and lecturer based on your Assignment 3 discursive essay. Following that, there will be a 1-minute Question and Answer session where your classmates or lecturer will ask you questions about the content of your presentation and the references you have cited.
Content: Your presentation topic is the same as your Assignment 3 essay topic. Your presentation should cover all the key points explicated in your essay.
Visual aids: PowerPoint should be used to support your presentation. Your PowerPoint slides should complement your speech, but not take over your presentation.
Note cards:
Delivery:
Practice:
Do not read from note cards for any extended length of time, though it is quite acceptable to glance at them infrequently. Make sensible use of your PowerPoint slides. Remember that there is a difference between spoken words good for the ear and formally written words meant for reading.
Do not simply read straight from your Assignment 3 essay. This is an oral presentation but not a read-aloud, recitation session. The language you use should be less dense, less formal, with shorter sentences, and more signposts for the audience.
Practice as much you can. Time your presentation so that it does not overrun.
Assignment 4 Guidelines
English for Academic Purposes I (2024) _________________________________________________________________________________
Time Allowed
• •
• •
4 minutes (+/– 30 seconds), followed by a 1-minute Q & A session.
You will only be given a grace period of 30 seconds and will be told to stop after 4
minutes and 30 seconds.
Marks will be deducted if your presentation is under 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
You will fail this assessment if your presentation is under 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Presentation Sessions
Lessons 21 - 24
Avoiding Plagiarism
You need to cite your sources properly even in an oral presentation. References to sources are important to make your speech sound credible. So in-text citations and a reference list should be added to your PowerPoint slides. When talking to us you may use introductory phrases such these:
• “According to Morgan Smith, a professor of Psychology at Harvard University, ...” • “Morgan Smith, author of the well-researched 2010 study, “Early American
Nutrition and Politics”, argues that...”
Lessons 18 and 19 are particularly relevant. Re-read those lecture notes as carefully as you can.
Assignment 4 Guidelines
