History of Mathematics (MATH 308): Writing & Presentation

Your classroom presentation usually incorporates the Power Point slides. It has become such a common tool that we often focus more on the design style of the slides than whether they convey the message effectively. Here are some tips for great presentations:

• Know your subject well. Do prior research and reading on the topic. Select the focus of your presentation.
• Storyboarding is everything. To engage your audience you need to create a narrative, a story.
• Your story can take various formats, e.g., interview, dialog, or a movie script.  If you are an artist, why not present your story in a graphical format with dialogs.
• Illustrate your presentation appropriately. Locate great photos here and always cite them.
• Cite your sources to avoid plagiarism.
• Practice out loud in front of a friend or a mirror. Videotape yourself as you speak to review your voice, posture, and speed of talking.

If you don't want to design a bad presentation, please read here

If you don't want to deliver a bad presentation, please see here

More DOs and DON'Ts from speech experts.

1. 1. Keep up with your readings on the subject.
   2. Learn how to research your topic beyond the basic keywords strategy. Ask a librarian for help.
   3. Brainstorm by drawing a concept map as a visual representation of your thinking.
   4. Make use of Zotero, a citation and bibliography tool. It captures and organizes your sources and helps you avoid inadvertent plagiarising.
   5. Ask the Learning Center for help with editing and proofreading your paper. The Learning Center has tutors who have extensive writing experience. They will review your writing, offer feedback and provide guidance at any stage of the writing process.

There are several free online concept map tools available on the Web. The Library of Northwest Missouri University created a concept map tool for their students that is easy and fun to use. You can also print or save your concept map.