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Combine your information to make a final presentation

There are a number of different ways you may present your information to your audience. It is important that you consider the nature of your audience when you are deciding the form and content of your assignment. Each form of assignment has its own special requirements, for one example see the essay writing sheet below. You must identify what is required for your presentation.

Consider the use of technology such as Kid-pix, Hyper Studio, word-processing applications such as Claris or Microsoft Word, data-bases, spreadsheets and slide-shows such as Microsoft Powerpoint.

Essay writing

1. Analyse the question

underline key words
check the meanings of words you don’t understand
work out what the instructional word is asking you to do
write out, in your own words, exactly what you need to do to answer the question
only write what is relevant

2. Starting the essay

The three main parts common to all essays are the Introduction, the Body and the Conclusion.
The introduction lists for the reader the main points that the essay will contain. Each main point will then be developed into a paragraph in the body of the essay.
The body of the essay is where you put your facts and examples with one paragraph for each point. Each paragraph has a topic sentence and a linking word which links it to the rest of the essay. The topic sentence is like an introduction that tells you what the paragraph will be about. Examples come after the topic sentence and link words like ‘for example’, ‘in other words’, ‘for instance’ should be used to introduce them.
The conclusion sums up what you have said in the body of your essay.

3. Paragraph structure

It is essential to make proper use of paragraphs in writing an essay.
Each paragraph should be an additional step in your argument.
At the end of each paragraph your examination of the evidence in that paragraph should have advanced your answer to a point beyond that at the end of the previous paragraph.
An essay should build on a series of paragraphs of roughly equal length, each one developing one or two of the points of your argument and supporting it with references to the text or question.
You should finish off each paragraph with a concluding sentence or two.

4. Introductory paragraph

Identify the problem
Focus on the issue at the heart of the question
Define the area you are going to explore, the approach you are going to take etc.
Do not attempt to supply all the answers in this first paragraph. That is what the rest of the essay will develop.

5. Second Paragraph

Establish the first step in your argument and answer.
Concentrate on one or two details and really work on those.

6. Subsequent paragraphs

Consider each paragraph as a step in developing your argument.
Each paragraph should advance, not repeat, the arguments of the previous paragraphs.

7. Concluding Paragraph

Brings together all aspects of your argument in a resume or brief summary of what you have established in the previous paragraphs.
Do not introduce new arguments in your conclusion.

General Comments

Any arguments you use must be supported with factual evidence, research, evidence from the text etc.
If you use quotes you must always discuss the quotations in the context of the argument you are presenting – move from the quotation to the broader issues relating to it.

Bibliography presentation

Bibliography

Topic :............................................

Author:

Date:

Title

Place:

Publisher or URL:

1

2

3

4

One of the final tasks in combining all of your information is the formation of your bibliography. There are a number of reasons why a bibliography is important:

Sometimes you will make statements, give opinions, or quote facts to support a point of view. The source of your supporting evidence needs to be shown so that the facts can be verified or proved.
It is important to show where you found your information as other people must be able to find the same sources of information that you did. This will enhance the authority and truthfulness of your research. Others wanting to do further research can also follow your references.
If you use ideas from another writer or quote another person’s work directly in your essay or assignment you must acknowledge this: ie. you have to say where the idea or information came from. This could be from a written source, a map, data, diagram or graph).
You often see the sources of information shown in footnotes or in a bibliography at the end of a book or report.
Using footnotes occurs where a numbering system is used immediately after the reference or quotation, more details are given at the foot of the page and full details are given in a numbered Reference list at the end of the work. You may find that some subject areas (eg History) require you to use this style. (Terms to know include ibid and et al)
Citing in the text - where the author and date of publication are given immediately after the reference or quotation [eg. (Churchill, 1945, p26)] with a detailed reference list arranged alphabetically at the end of the work. This is usually called a bibliography.
The Harvard System is widely used when compiling bibliographies. It is also known as the Author-Date system. Instead of references or footnotes on the bottom of the page, the author’s last name and year of publication are inserted in the text [Jones, P (1997)] for example, and the full references are listed alphabetically at the end of the essay or report. Outlined below are ways of presenting the sources of your research when using e-mail and the World Wide Web.

Here are some examples of the format for the bibliographic information:

Citation

Click here for a bibliography guideline