L 18 - Presentation Skills (1) Essays - Attitude Change, Free Essays

L 18 - Presentation Skills (1) Essays - Attitude Change, Free Essays L 18 - Presentation Skills (1) In academic culture, you need to express your views clearly on different issues relating to your subject area. These views are often based on a critical reading and evaluation of written texts. It is also important that you develop the language skills that will enable you to express your ideas most effectively. Preparing and planning a presentation There are a number of different situations in which you will need to communicate orally in English in your academic courses. The main situations are presentations, seminars and discussions. In some cases, you will give a short presentation about a topic in order to lead into a discussion. In other cases, you will present information or a summary of a text. In future situations, you may be giving a presentation based on your own work or research. Below is a list of suggestions you may find helpful. Stage 1: Find out what you need to do Make sure you know exactly what the topic is or, if you are choosing your own topic, what is expected of you. Check how long you have for the presentation. Think about your audience. How much are they likely to know about the topic? How much will you need to explain? If the presentation is being assessed, make sure you know what the criteria are. 491241730416500 Stage 2: Brainstorm ideas Task 1 - Arrange the following sentences in the correct order. ________ ________ ________ ________ Explain your ideas to a friend - this will help you to clarify them. Look at your list of ideas - what connections can you see between them? Are there particular ideas you could develop that would be of interest to your audience? Decide which ideas to use. Can each one be summarized in one sentence? If not, perhaps your ideas are not dear and specific enough. Make a list of anything you can think of related to your topic; you will not use all of these ideas, but will choose from them later. Stage 3: Do any necessary research Determine if there are any ideas about which you need to get more information. Gather any evidence you need to support your ideas, e.g., statistics. Think about how much information you can realistically convey to your audience. Keep your audience in mind, especially in relation to their level of relevant expertise. Stage 4: Organize your ideas Decide which point you should begin with. Think about how you can link one idea to the next. Do not include too much information - you want your audience to understand your key points clearly. Decide how you will begin and end your presentation. In the introduction you want to get the attention of the audience. The conclusion is the last part of your presentation, and probably what the audience will most remember. Prepare your PowerPoint slides or other visual aids. Remember: less is more '. Think of the key words you will use and check your pronunciation - there is nothing worse than listening to a presentation in which the presenter pronounces the title of the presentation incorrectly! Task 2 You are going to watch a youtube video entitled " What is a good academic presentation? " by ELC, PolyU . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze3IiHsHuIA Take notes while you are watching and then complete the following blanks. Academic presentations What is the main difference between academic and secondary school presentations? Academic presentations include r_______________, which means you need to cite r_______________. Academic Style In academic style, you need to show authority and to establish that what you are talking about is r_______________, c_______________ and v_______________. Reference List You should choose references that are r_______________ and that also s_______________ your arguments p_______________. What are the two ways to cite your references? provide the reference in the s_______________ cite it o_______________ / v_______________, e.g. as John Chan points out in his article in 2010 Structure A good structure enables the a_______________ to follow the c_______________ very c_______________. Make sure each section of your presentation is o_______________ properly. What is Signposting? it is the outline at the beginning. it gives direction to where the presentation is leading. it is the use of citations.

Examination of The Little Matchstick Girl

Examination of The Little Matchstick Girl First published in 1845, The Little Match Girl by  Hans Christian Anderson  is a story about a young impoverished girl trying to sell matches on the street on New Years Eve who is afraid to go home without selling enough for fear of an abusive father. This tragic short story paints a dismal picture of life for the poor in the 1840s but also carries with it that grim hope of a fairy tale with visions of huge Christmas trees and shooting stars appearing before the young match girl- her dying wishes and dreams. The Harsh Realities of Poverty Andersons The Little Match Girl is not far from classic fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm- they both share a certain darkness to their content, a melancholic and an often morbid obsession with consequences for actions or for merely existing. Its an often studied piece in academic circles. In The Little Match Girl, Andersons titular character dies by the end of the piece, but the story is much more about the perseverance of hope. In these sparse, unforgiving lines, Hans Christian Andersen packs so much simple beauty and hope: The girl is cold, barefoot, and poor- without a friend in the world (it seems)- but she is not without hope. She dreams of warmth and light, of a time when she will be surrounded by love, and filled with happiness. Its so far outside of the realm of her current experience that most of us would have long since given up such dreams, but she holds on. Still, the harsh realities of poverty haunt the little girls reality- she must sell a match for fear of being beaten by her father upon returning home and this fear propels her to stay outside all night, which ultimately leads to her death by hypothermia. Lessons and Adaptations Thanks to its brevity and delicate approach to the topic of death, The Little Match Girl serves as a great tool, like most fairy tales, to teach children important lessons about the tougher topics in life like death and loss as well as social issues like poverty and charity. We may not want to think about the horrible things that happen every day, and its certainly hard to explain such things to our children. It does seem, though, that we can often learn the greatest lessons from the children- in how they deal with the most hopeless situations. In those final moments, this little girl sees visions of splendor. She sees hope. But, her passing- punctuated by the shooting of a star in the night sky- is tragic and troubling. Fortunately, there have also been many adaptations of this short piece by Hans Christian Anderson including several animated and live action short films which provide an easier way for children to access the themes of this brilliant short work of fiction.