FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg Department Geschichte Professur für Alte Geschichte 1.Basics of an Academic...

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FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

1. Basics of an Academic Presentation2. Exercises on Academic Writing3. Common, Avoidable Mistakes4. Time Management5. Writer’s Block6. Exercises on Compiling Bibliographical

Entries7. Exercises on Citing

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Basics of an Academic Presentation

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

What is an Academic Presentation?

How is an academic presentation different from regular presentations?

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

What is a Non-Academic Presentation?

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

1. Framework Conditions

• On the sofa, in your room, no time limit

2. Contents

• Stuff that interests you (music, food, movies), personal opinions

3. Style

• Spoken freely, unprepared, unstructured

4. Language

• Colloquial language, dialects

5. Media Support

• No PowerPoint, no handout

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

What is an Academic Presentation

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

What is an Academic Presentation?

1.Framework Conditions

2.Contents

3.Style

4.Language

5.Media Support

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

1.Framework Conditions

A) Time Limit

B) Environment

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

A) Time Limit

• 30 min (presentation + discussion)

• Observe the timelimit as strictly as possible

• Do not talk too fast

• Aim for the lower time limit (15-17 min, not 20 min)

• Leave enough room for discussion and questions

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

B) Environment

•PCs and Laptops

•Media devices in the room (projector, blackboard, map, overhead)

• Is the right software installed?

• Is the right version of the software installed?

• Do you need internet access?

• Do you want to show a YouTube video? Is it deleted?

• Can you playback audio and video?

• Do you have the necessary cables and adapters?

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

C) Contents

•Introduction (2-3 min)

• Table of contents

• Hook

• Theoretical framework/research question

• Methodology/case selection

• Background/literature review

•Main Body (14-16 min)

• Discussion of data/results

• Analysis

•Conclusion (2-3 min)

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Example for Table of Contents

1.Introduction/overview

2.Question 1

3.Data

4.Question 2

5.Data

6.Conclusion

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

C) Contents

•Introduction/hook

• Name the title of your paper

• Start with an interesting

• Quote

• Question

• Image

• Video

• Anecdote

• Claim

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

C) Contents

•Theoretical Framework/Research Question

• Explain what your paper is about

• What is your central question?

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

C) Contents

•Methodology/Case Selection

• Explain what aspects you will talk about, and what aspect you exclude and why

• What is your method of investigation and what are you trying to prove

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

C) Contents

•Background/Literature Review

• Provide important background information if needed

• What are your sources

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

C) Contents

•Main Body

• Present arguments and data

• Analyze and interpret the data

• Talk about your own theses

• Talk about other possible interpretations

• Show different opinions that you dismissed

• Important quotes or statistics can be shown in your PowerPoint or handout

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

C) Contents

•Conclusion

• Summarize you results

• Relate these results to your written paper

• Explain what further research could be done on the topic

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

3. Style

A)Spoken Freely

A)Reading

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

A)Spoken Freely

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

B) Reading

it

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

How to Prepare for a good, freely spoken presentation

1.Prepare a written version of what you want to say

• Give yourself a script

• Phrasing for difficult concepts

• 1 A4-sheet of written Text (line spacing 1.5) = ca. 3 min of speaking

2.Learn the structure of your presentation

• If you forget your text, you still know what you want to talk about

3.Learn some of the more complicated phrases by heart

–Speak freely, but keep some motes on cue cards/PPT in case you forget what you want to say

–Practice, practice, practice

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

How to practice for a freely spoken presentation

1.Practice content and language separately

2.Content

• Practice what you want to say, do not just learn the text by heart

3.Language

• Practice important/ difficult sentences

• Read your text aloud several times

• Record yourself reading

• Practice in front of your parents/ friends/ siblings

You should NOT have to think too much about language use during your presentation!

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Dangers if language is inadequately prepared

•You forget what you want to say

•You have difficulties getting your ideas across

•Ehm, ehm, ehm

•You may feel that what you say does not make sense

•You get very nervous

•You talk too fast

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

4. Language

•Use an appropriate style/ register

• Not too casual

•Train your pronunciation as best as possible

•Talk slowly

–Use technical terms

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

5. Media Support

A) Projector + PowerPoint

B) Overhead

C) Blackboard

D) Information Sheet

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

A) Projector + PowerPoint

• State of the art

• Always use this if possible

• Provides structure for yourself and for the audience

• Adds a visual dimension to your voice (it is hard for some people to just follow audio)

• Keep it simple

• Not too much info per slide (font size not smaller than 24)

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

A) Beamer + PowerPoint

• Images

• Video

• Audio

• Statistics

• Quotes

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

B) Overhead

• Use this if there is no possibility for using a beamer

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

C) Blackboard

• For spontaneous use

• Good for writing down important keywords, names, ect.

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

E) Information Sheet

• Should be given to your audience before your presentation

• Should not be longer than 4 A5-sheets

• Use notes, not full sentences

• Should include

• Main theses

• Main results

• Main structure of your presentation

– Bibliography

• Should not include

– Lengthy passages or quotes

– Big images

– The whole presentation in written form

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

E) Information Sheet

•Audience can/will make notes on this information sheet for further discussion

•Information sheet example

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

II. Exercises on Academic Writing

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Exercise 1 – Solutions:

The government has made considerable progress in solving the problem.

We obtained excellent results in the experiment.

The results of numerous tests have been encouraging.

A loss of jobs is one of the consequences that will happen if the process is automated.

The relationship between the management and workers is extremely important.

Some suggestions arising from the study will be presented.

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Exercise 2 – Solutions:

The reaction of the officials was quite negative.

The economic outlook is encouraging.

Car manufacturers are planning a meeting to discuss their strategy.

The resulting competition between countries is constructive/productive.

The economy is affected by devents/developments that happen outside the country.

She was dismissed because of her poor record.

The examination results were outstanding/excellent.

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Exercise 3 – Solutions:

The main differences between the English and Scottish legal systems will be discussed in this essay.

The report has been divided into five sections.

In this essay the author argues that the importance of the monarchy should be reduced.

The third part of the essay looks at the reasons for public hysteria over the SARS virus. / The reasons for public hysteria over the SARS virus will be looked at in the third part of the essay.

Although this is not a specialist paper, this essay seeks to capture the main ideas.

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Common, Avoidable Mistakes

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Avoidable Mistakes

1.Contractions2.Bibliography3.References4.Print to proof read5.Don’t trust spell checker (too much)6.TBL of contents (automatic)7.Avoid stereotypes and generalizations8.Avoid personal opinion

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Avoidable Mistakes

1.Contractions• Don’t• They’ll• Can’t• Should’ve• Wanna• Gotta

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Avoidable Mistakes

1.Bibliography• Before working with a new book, compile a

bibliographical entry for it• You might forget it later

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Avoidable Mistakes

1.References• If you quote or paraphrase, add your reference

immediately• It is very difficult to find these passages again later

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Avoidable Mistakes

1.Print to proof read• Proofreading is easier with printed versions of you

paper

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Avoidable Mistakes

1.Don’t trust spell checker (too much)• British vs. American (neighbour vs. neighbor)• Spelling errors in your quotes

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Avoidable Mistakes

1.TBL of contents (automatic)• Use the automatic TBL in word• Verweise Inhaltsverzeichnis

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Avoidable Mistakes

1.Avoid stereotypes and generalizations• Americans are …

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Avoidable Mistakes

1.Avoid personal opinion• In my opinion …• Personally, I think …• We should …• I like/dislike …

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

III. Time Management

“To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.” --

Leonard Bernstein

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

• Plan Ahead• Start writing as early as possible• Prioritize tasks• Don’t stress yourself too much

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

1. Plan Ahead• Define long-, mid-, and short term goals• Always plan that you need more time than

you think• Include breaks and social activities in

your planning

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

2. Start writing as early as possible• Don’t read too much• Use excerpts• You will never feel 100% ready for

writing• Problems and possibilities will be come

up during writing

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

3. Prioritize tasks• Regularly work on something!• If you feel unproductive:• work on your bibliography• re-read what you wrote• read some literature• Watch a related video on YouTube

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

4. Don’t stress yourself too much• If you plan ahead, you’ll have enough

time• Save some time for recreational activities!

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

IV. Writer‘s Block

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Causes of Writer’s Block

•Perfectionism• Every sentence has to be perfect from the beginning• When you write something down, it immediately sounds

inadequate• You want to write, but you don’t know what or how to

write it down

•Disinterest/Distraction• The topic does not interest you• You’d rather do something else

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Causes of Writer’s Block

•Fear• You know it is important and you don’t want to fail• Just the thought of getting to work makes your belly cramp• Your subconscious represses the thought of working on

your paper• You invent excuses why you cannot work on your paper

NOW

•Lacking structure• You read a lot, but don’t make notes• You are not sure about the structure of your paper• You don’t know in which direction your paper should go

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

How to deal with Writer’s Block

1.Perfectionism• Start writing a drafts instead of the “final version”• Start writing down your thoughts in a “non-academic”

way• Make a mind map• Start writing on another chapter/ part of your paper

2.Disinterest/distraction• Motivational strategies• Pretend to be interested• Work on the part that you like best (reading, quoting,

analyzing)• Keep your room/desks nice and clean• Remove distractions• Work in a defined time span and reward yourself• If you feel distracted, work on formal aspects

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

How to deal with Writer’s Block

1.Fear• Make a plan and set realistic and clearly defined short

term goals• today I want to write 2 pages• NOT: I want to be done in 1 Month

• Create a comfortable working atmosphere• Start with the main/ most difficult chapter first• Structure your work flow

2.Lacking Structure• Work with Excerpts• Work with a clearly defined thesis• Always keep your bibliography up to date• Add references immediately

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

How to work with excerpts

1.What is an excerpt?• An excerpt is a personalized extract of a piece of book

or Article you work with• Helps you organize your literature• Helps you remember what your read• Helps you remember your thought process during the

reading session

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

How to work with excerpts

2. What should an excerpt contain?• Bibliographical entry of the book/ article• Short overview of the main topics the book/ article

deals with• Keynotes of how you want to use this book/ article • Important passages that you need later for your paper• Important theses that you want to discuss in your paper• Questions and theses/ theories that come to your mind

when reading• Always include the page number

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

How to work with excerpts

3. Remember:• Don’t make a summary of the book/ article!• The excerpt is for you, and no one else!• It does not need to win a beauty contest• It helps you remember your the though process• Reading without making excerpts is often time wasted

Example of an excerpt

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

VI. Exercises on Compiling Bibliographical Entries

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Group I – Solutions:

MILLS, Gary B. The Forgotten People. Cane River‘s Creoles of Color. Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press, 1977.

JOSEPH, Peniel E. “Malcom X‘s Harlem and Early Black Power Activism“ Neighborhood Rebels. Black Power at the Local Level. Ed. Peniel E. JOSEPH. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. 21-44.

FRANKLIN, John Hope. “Edward Bellamy and the Nationalist Movement.” The New Quarterly 11.4 (1938): 739-772.

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Group II – Solutions:

KATZNELSON, Ira. Black Men, White Cities. Race, Politics, and Migration in the United States, 1900-30, and Britain, 1948-68. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1976.

GOLDMAN, Eric F. “Progress–by Moderation and Agitation” Black Protest in the Sixties. Eds. August MEIER/ John BRACEY, Jr./ Elliott RUDWICK, 2nd ed. New York: Markus Wiener Publishing, 1991. 29-36.

DAVISON, Carol Margaret. “Haunted House/Haunted Heroine: Female Gothic Closets in The Yellow Wallpaper.” Women’s Studies 33.1 (2004): 47-75.

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Group III – Solutions:

KILLENS, John Oliver. Black Man’s Burden. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1970.

ROBINSON, Dean E. Black Nationalism in American Politics and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

PHILIPSON, Robert. “The Harlem Renaissance as Postcolonial Phenomenon.“ African American Fiction 40.1 (2006): 145-160.

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Group IV – Solutions:

GOODING-WILLIAMS, Robert. “Black Cupids, White Desires.” Look, a Negro! Philosophical Essays on Race, Culture and Politics. Ed. Robert GOOD-WILLIAMS. New York and London: Routledge, 2006. 17-34.

VERNEY, Kevern. African Americans and US Popular Culture. London and New York: Routledge, 2003.

LEGATT, Judith, and Christopher Parkes. “From the Red Room to Rochester’s Haircut: Mind Control in Jane Eyre.“ English Studies in Canada 32.4 (2006): 169-188.

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Group V – Solutions:

FINKELMAN, Paul. Slavery and the Founders. Race and Liberty in the Age of Jefferson. 2nd ed. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 2001.

STONE, Chuck. Black Political Power in America. Revised ed. New York: Dell Publishing Co., 2008.

HEDIN, Raymond. “The Structuring of Emotion in Black American Fiction.“ NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction 16.1 (1982): 35-54.

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

VII. Exercises on Citing

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Group I – Solutions:

Martin turns the reproach into a means of portraying his present situation as desperate: “Ay, those were gay days! Then, life seemed full of promise, as a field of ripened corn. Those were happy times!” (Jerrold 17).

Melodrama is a manifestation of stress reacting to the social and political developments of the nineteenth century and has proven itself to be highly adaptable by constantly changing its own form in response to those changes (cf. Mayer 146-147).

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

FAU Erlangen-NürnbergDepartment GeschichteProfessur für Alte Geschichte

Group V – Solutions:

On the one hand, Brooks names Pixérécourt and the French melodrama at the turn of the nineteenth century as the starting point (cf. Brooks xvi), but, on the other hand, he insists that the French Revolution in itself already displayed melodramatic characteristics when it came to mobilising the masses through public speeches (cf. Brooks 16).

To facilitate the identification with the characters on stage, they often embody “clear, simple, moral and psychological absolutes” (Brooks page number).

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