Seminar Presentations

Many courses at UNSW require students to give oral presentations in tutorials and seminars. During your studies, you may be required to give many presentations. Most students are nervous when they first have to speak in front of an audience, but with practice they can become effective presenters.

Courses usually have a week-by-week tutorial topic and reading list for which all members of the tutorial group are expected to do some background reading. This may include a seminar presentation component where one (or more) students 'present' a topic to other students, who then join in a discussion.

Giving a seminar presentation can involve:

• reading background material
• preparing your presentation
• leading the discussion
• preparing necessary handouts or visual aids
• preparing relevant and thought-provoking questions
• submitting a written assignment based on the presentation topic

Choosing a Topic

In tutorials and seminars, presentation topics are set well in advance. You may be permitted to choose the topic you will present, or a topic may be allocated to you. If you can choose your topic, the best choice is always the one that interests you the most.

Make sure that you fully understand the question(s) and that you are sure of what you have to do. Do you have to present an argument, explain or discuss something, be critical? If you are unsure of the objectives of your presentation, check with your tutor.

Seminar Papers

After you give your seminar, you may be expected to submit a seminar paper. It should be written in continuous prose (not point form) and be fully referenced. It can be altered or changed, based on the results of the tutorial discussion. Check with your tutor for details. >

Preparing a Presentation based on Course Readings

Background Reading

Research your topic. You must demonstrate an understanding of the main points of your course reading, but you may need to read further. Use your tutorial reading list to find additional relevant information.

Examine and consider the course readings carefully. Express your own conclusions about what opinion/argument/ thesis you think the author is trying to express. Demonstrate an ability to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in the material presented in the text.

Timing

Most presentations have a time limit, so find out how long your presentation should be. The amount of time you have will determine the amount of information you are able to present. To keep within the allotted time, you need to plan carefully. Consider:

• the time limit
• the amount of information available, and how much of it you can cover
• how much detail you can include
• dividing the material into sections, with subject headings
• the most effective way to present your information (OHTs, slides, videos, handouts, whiteboard etc.)
• deleting less important topics from the paper rather than hurrying to cover everything.
• if you write a 'script', allow roughly 400 words for each five minutes.