Discription

Giving Academic Presentations provides guidance on academic-style presentations for university students. A goal of the text is to make presenters aware that giving an effective academic presentation requires mastery of a broad range of skills. The presentation genres addressed in the book are: making introductions, describing and comparing objects, explaining a process, defining a concept, and giving a problem-solution speech. Among the many academic skills and concepts addressed in the book are: Examination of major speech types and the accompanying organizational strategies: Discussion of speech overviews and suggestions for designing them and creating visuals to accompany them; Suggestions for speaker-listener interaction including checking for understanding, soliciting questions from the audience, preparing for and responding to questions, and interrupting the speaker to ask questions or request clarification; Discussion of the importance of using evidence in academic speaking and the advantages of using certain types of evidence; Suggestions of ways to qualify claims and strategies for making weaker or stronger claims; Strategies and practice to improve pausing, stress, and intonation; Practical advice about preparing and practicing speeches; Opportunities for presenters to evaluate their own and others’ work. The Second Edition includes many new tasks and additional speeches; more attention to working with and using visuals; information about computer projection and using PowerPoint; and new sections on presenting biographical information, referring to handouts, and giving research presentations.