FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg Department Geschichte Professur für Alte Geschichte 1.Basics of an Academic Presentation 2.Exercises on Academic Writing 3.Common,

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


Basics of an Academic Presentation


What is an Academic Presentation?

How is an academic presentation different from regular presentations?


What is a Non-Academic Presentation?


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


What is an Academic Presentation


What is an Academic Presentation?

1.Framework Conditions

2.Contents

3.Style

4.Language

5.Media Support


1.Framework Conditions

A) Time Limit

B) Environment


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


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?


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)


Example for Table of Contents

1.Introduction/overview

2.Question 1

3.Data

4.Question 2

5.Data

6.Conclusion


C) Contents

•Introduction/hook

• Name the title of your paper

• Start with an interesting

• Quote

• Question

• Image

• Video

• Anecdote

• Claim


C) Contents

•Theoretical Framework/Research Question

• Explain what your paper is about

• What is your central question?


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


C) Contents

•Background/Literature Review

• Provide important background information if needed

• What are your sources


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


C) Contents

•Conclusion

• Summarize you results

• Relate these results to your written paper

• Explain what further research could be done on the topic


3. Style

A)Spoken Freely

A)Reading


A)Spoken Freely


B) Reading

it


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


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!


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


4. Language

•Use an appropriate style/ register

• Not too casual

•Train your pronunciation as best as possible

•Talk slowly

–Use technical terms


5. Media Support

A) Projector + PowerPoint

B) Overhead

C) Blackboard

D) Information Sheet


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)


A) Beamer + PowerPoint

• Images

• Video

• Audio

• Statistics

• Quotes


B) Overhead

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


C) Blackboard

• For spontaneous use

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


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


E) Information Sheet

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

•Information sheet example


II. Exercises on Academic Writing


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.



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.



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.


Common, Avoidable Mistakes


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


Avoidable Mistakes

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


Avoidable Mistakes

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

bibliographical entry for it• You might forget it later


Avoidable Mistakes

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

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


Avoidable Mistakes

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

paper


Avoidable Mistakes

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


Avoidable Mistakes

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


Avoidable Mistakes

1.Avoid stereotypes and generalizations• Americans are …


Avoidable Mistakes

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


III. Time Management

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

Leonard Bernstein


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


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


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


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


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

time• Save some time for recreational activities!


IV. Writer‘s Block


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


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


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


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


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



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



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


VI. Exercises on Compiling Bibliographical Entries


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


VII. Exercises on Citing


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).





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).

Documents

FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg Department Geschichte Professur für Alte Geschichte 1.Basics of an Academic Presentation 2.Exercises on Academic Writing 3.Common,