Networked

 Rhetoric:  Winter  2012  

The  Research  Presentation  

Assignment:    Overview  
For  this  assignment,  you'll  translate  your  written  paper  into  an  8-­‐9  minute  oral  presentation  with  your  choice  
of  multimedia  support  (such  as  PPT,  Prezi,  or  Keynote  slides,  images,  websites,  film  clips).  You  will  deliver  
your  presentation  as  part  of  a  panel  of  students;  there  will  be  a  5  minute  question  and  answer  session  
following  each  panel.    
 
Due:      
• 4  Slides  due:  Thursday,  February  23  
• Full  draft  (script  &  slides)  due:  Tuesday,  February  28,  by  the  start  of  class  
• Revision  of  presentation  materials  &  OCT  goals  sheet  due:    Monday,  March  5th,  but  11:59pm  
• Presentation  delivery:  Tuesday,  March  6;  Thursday,  March  8;  Tuesday,  March  14  –  by  individual  
assignment  
• Presentation  reflection:  due  within  24  hours  after  the  delivery  of  your  presentation  
 
Presentation  format:  8-­‐9  minute  presentation  of  research-­‐based  argument,  utilizing  some  form  of  
multimedia.      
 
Submission  Format:  Electronic  posting  to  your  Student  portfolio  on  the  Ning  under  a  discussion  entitled  
“Research  Presentation”  of  all  materials  for  both  the  draft  and  the  revision.    These  include  your  notes,  your  
revised  script,  your  slides,  your  reflective  memo  and  any  images  or  links  you  plan  to  use  during  your  
presentation.  
 
Grading:  This  assignment  is  worth  35%  of  the  overall  class  grade.  
 
Required  Envision  Reading:  Chapter  9  (linked  through  Coursework)  
 
 
Assignment  Goals:    
This  assignment  has  several  interrelated  goals:  
 
1. To  have  you  clearly  convey  your  research  argument  to  your  audience  through  use  of  strong  oral  
rhetoric  augmented  by  multimedia  support.  
2. To  build  on  presentation  skills  developed  during  the  quarter  to  strengthen  the  performance  and  
structure  of  the  oral/multimedia  argument.  
3. To  ask  you  to  put  into  practice  many  of  the  rhetorical  lessons  of  the  course:    to  make  strategic  use  of  
rhetorical  appeals;  to  design  an  argument  appropriate  to  their  context  and  rhetorical  situation;  to  
utilize  the  five  canons  of  rhetoric  (invention,  arrangement,  style,  memory  and  delivery)  effectively.  
4. To  encourage  you  to  consider  how  changing  rhetorical  situations  and  modes  of  delivery  influence  
strategies  of  persuasion.  
5. To  provide  you  with  the  opportunity  to  learn  techniques  for  using  technology  and  multimedia  
effectively  in  presenting  complex  ideas  to  a  live  audience.  

 
 
 
 
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 Networked  Rhetoric:  Winter  2012  

 
The  Process  for  completing  this  assignment  
 
There  are  several  steps  involved  in  completing  this  assignment:  
 
1. Begin  to  draft  your  presentation  (considering  the  design,  style,  tone,  and  introductory  hook)  and  
upload  4  slides  to  your  student  portfolio  (a  thread  called  “Research  Presentation)  by  Thursday,  
February  23.  
 
2. Fully  draft  your  presentation  and  upload  those  materials  (images,  links,  slides,  script,  etc.)  to  your  
student  portfolio  by  Tuesday,  February  28.    
 
3. Meet  with  an  OCT  for  an  individual  conference  as  you  prepare  and/or  revise  your  presentation.    Sign  
up  at  sututor.stanford.edu.    Remember:  you  can  meet  with  an  OCT  more  than  one  time  if  you  like.      
Sign  up  for  a  30  minute  or  60  minute  time  slot;  be  sure  to  note  that  you  need  to  be  videotaped  during  
your  tutoring  session  (this  is  mandatory).    In  preparation  for  your  appointment,  fill  out  the  OCT  Goals  
form  (linked  under  the  Research  Presentation  section  on  the  Assignments  Overview  on  the  Ning)  and  
bring  it  with  you  to  that  session.    This  OCT  meeting  is  MANDATORY  for  this  assignment.    (See  below  
for  more  information  on  the  OCT  involvement  in  this  assignment)  
 
4. Revise  your  presentation  and  practice.  
 
5. Attend  your  panel  dress  rehearsal;  give  and  receive  feedback  on  your  presentation  (dress  rehearsals  
are  a  mandatory  component  of  this  assignment).  
 
6. Upload  your  revised  presentation  materials  (script,  links,  clips,  multimedia)  to  your  student  portfolio  
by  class  on  Tuesday,  March  6.    
 
7. Deliver  your  revised,  research  presentation  by  individual  assignment  on  Tuesday  March  6;  Thursday,  
March  8;  or  Tuesday,  March  13.  Presentation  schedule  will  be  announced  by  7pm  on  the  evening  of  
February  29th.    
 
8. Submit  your  presentation  reflection  within  24  hours  after  delivering  your  presentation.    This  should  
be  appended  to  the  “Research  Presentation”  thread  on  your  Student  Portfolio  that  contains  your  
revised  presentation  materials.  

 
The  OCTs  &  Your  Presentation  
 
As  part  of  the  Research  Presentation  assignment,  you  are  required  to  meet  with  an  OCT  outside  of  class-­‐time  
to  practice  your  presentation.  Visit  http://sututor.stanford.edu  to  make  an  OCT  appointment.  It  is  
recommended  that  you  sign  up  for  an  hour-­‐long  appointment;  it  is  required  that  you  have  the  OCT  record  your  
presentation  and  that  you  review  that  recording  with  the  OCT  during  your  conference.    It  is  also  required  that  
you  fill  out  the  OCT  Goals  form  (linked  under  the  Research  Presentation  section  on  the  Assignments  Overview  
on  the  Ning),  bring  it  with  you  to  the  session,  and  then  turn  it  in  to  me  afterward.    If  you  fill  it  out  
electronically,  you  can  upload  it  to  your  Student  Portfolio.  
 
 

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 Networked  Rhetoric:  Winter  2012  

Writing  the  Presentation  Reflection  

 
The  presentation  reflection  is  your  opportunity  to  reflect  on  your  process  and  rhetorical  strategies  in  
approaching  this  assignment  as  well  as  your  assessment  of  your  own  performance  and  delivery  of  material  –  in  
this  way,  parts  of  it  might  be  written  before  you  deliver  your  presentation,  while  your  final  reflection  on  your  
performance  should  be  written  afterward.  It  can  be  informal  in  voice,  but  nevertheless  should  be  clear,  
detailed,  well-­‐organized,  and  approximately  300  words  long.    It  is  due  within  24  hours  after  you  have  delivered  
your  presentation.  
 
Here's  what  should  be  included  in  your  reflection  (not  necessarily  in  this  order):  
 
• A  reflection  on  the  process  of  developing  your  academic  presentation:  In  completing  this  reflection,  
you  should  take  into  account  the  process  of  moving  from  written  discourse  (research  paper  draft)  to  
oral  discourse;  the  revisions  you  had  to  make  to  argument,  language  and  content  to  accommodate  this  
shift;  the  results  of  peer  review  and  OCT  meetings  (you  must  include  a  brief  report  on  your  OCT  
meeting);  and  the  process  of  revision.    
 
• Reference  to  your  trials  and  triumphs  in  creating  this  presentation,  including  tech  inspirations  or  
obstacles,  questions  of  voice  or  delivery,  moments  of  epiphany,  reflections  on  practice  sessions,  etc.    
 
• Discussion  of  how  rhetoric  factored  into  your  work  on  this  assignment  (this  part  may  very  well  be  
integrated  with  the  earlier  ones).  Describe  how  your  understanding  of  rhetorical  appeals  (pathos,  
logos,  ethos),  kairos,  the  five  canons  of  rhetoric,  and/or  the  rhetorical  situation  factored  into  your  
drafting  and  revising  of  the  presentation.    
 
• Assessment  and  reflection  of  your  performance  during  the  actual  presentation  itself.    Did  everything  
go  as  planned?    What  were  you  particularly  proud  of  or  thought  went  quite  well?  What  would  you  
revise  further  given  the  chance?    How  do  you  feel  the  audience  responded  to  your  argument?  What  is  
your  personal  overall  assessment  of  your  content  and  delivery  of  your  research  project  in  this  
oral/multimedia  form?  
 
Some  of  these  sections  may  be  more  developed  than  others,  depending  on  your  project.  Your  goal  here  is  to  
reflect  on  this  presentation  as  a  piece  of  research,  writing,  and  rhetoric;  however  don't  forget  to  use  specific  
and  concrete  language  and  example  in  writing  your  memo.  
 
As  with  other  reflective  memos,  you  may  submit  this  as  a  3  minute  audio  and/or  video  file  if  you  prefer.    If  you  
choose  this  option,  your  reflection  should  still  have  a  strong  structure  (plan  what  you  are  going  to  say;  don’t  
just  start  recording  and  talk  off  the  top  of  your  head)  and  should  cover  all  the  points  mentioned  above.    The  
tone  may  be  informal  –  as  if  you  were  talking  to  me  in  my  office.    You  can  either  upload  this  to  coursework,  
post  it  to  the  Ning  if  you  want  (and  if  it  fits  in  terms  of  file  size),  upload  it  to  a  private  YouTube  site,  or  you  
could  burn  it  on  a  disk  and  leave  it  at  my  office  (Sweet  320).    If  you  choose  this  audio/video  option  for  your  
reflection,  you  MUST  send  me  an  email  to  let  me  know  this  and  also  to  tell  me  how  you  will  deliver  it.    
 
 
Evaluation  Criteria  
 
Presentations  will  be  graded  based  on  the  evaluation  criteria  that  we,  as  a  class,  constructed  and  posted  on  
the  Ning.    In  general,  though,  here  are  some  fundamental  qualities  of  an  exemplary  presentation:  

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 Networked  Rhetoric:  Winter  2012  

 
• Oral  argument  (clear  &  persuasive  topic,  thesis,  and  argument;  appropriate  &  ethical  use  of  source  
material  to  support  argument;  attention  to  time  limitations;  clear  structure;  strong  intro  &  
conclusion)  
• Style  (consistent,  appropriate  use  of  high,  medium  or  low  style;  effective  use  of  rhetorical  
strategies  [narration,  example,  cause-­‐effective,  process,  definition,  division/classification]  to  
structure  argument;  attention  to  oral  style  [for  instance,  parallelism,  repetition,  climactic  order,  
signposting  -­‐  as  appropriate];  effective  implementation  of  rhetorical  appeals;  appropriate  tone)  
• Rhetorical  situation  (effective  assessment  of  audience-­‐text-­‐author  dynamic  for  presentation;  
effective  assessment  of  kairos)  
• Sources  (integration  of  primary  and  secondary  as  appropriate;  this  is  a  research  presentation,  and  
your  research  should  be  evident  –  do  not  bury  it;  figure  out  ways  to  include  references  to  your  
sources  to  increase  your  ethos  and  to  showcase  the  research  that  you  have  done;  do  not  make  
broad  claims  –  locate  them  in  your  research  where  appropriate,  as  you  would  in  a  written  
argument)  
• Multimedia  (appropriate  choice  of  multimedia  [i.e.  props,  plasma  screens,  laptops,  poster,  
whiteboard,  PowerPoint,  Explorer,  etc.]);  appropriate  relation  to  oral  argument;  effective  design  
and  implementation;  "grace  under  fire"  i.e.  dealing  with  tech  glitches  smoothly  
• Delivery  (pacing,  vocal  intonation  &  projection,  use  of  voice  for  emphasis)  
• Embodied  rhetoric  (purposeful  gesture  and  demeanor,  appropriate  dress,  use  of  space)  
• Memory  (comfortable  with  material,  derived  from  practice;  discrete  use  of  an  mnemetic  aids;  
ability  to  improvise  or  adjust  speech  as  needed;  clear  visual/verbal  signposting  and/or  use  of  key  
terms  as  needed  for  the  audience)  
 
Please  also  note:  
 
• Reflection  -­‐  there  will  be  a  1/2  grade  deduction  for  failure  to  post  your  presentation  reflection  with  24  
hours  after  delivering  your  presentation  (i.e.  from  a  B+  to  a  B/B+).    After  48  hours,  your  reflection  will  
not  be  accepted,  and  you  will  receive  a  full  grade  deduction  (from  a  B+  to  a  B).  
 
• Material  from  previous  presentations  –  Do  not  re-­‐use  script  or  slides  from  previous  presentations.    You  
may  summarize  material/definitions/controversies  that  you’ve  presented  before,  however,  if  you  need  
to  provide  background  for  your  argument.    You  may,  occasionally,  re-­‐introduce  an  image  or  graph  etc.  
that  you’ve  used  before  ONLY  if  it  is  absolutely  fundamental  to  your  argument  and  if  you  make  
reference  to  the  fact  that  students  have  seen  it  before  and  why  it  is  so  important  to  see  it  again.  
 
• Time  requirements  -­‐  Presentations  should  be  8-­‐9  minutes  in  length;  since  adhering  to  time  limits  
speaks  to  the  canon  of  arrangement  (structuring  a  presentation  to  fit  into  a  certain  time  frame)  and  
memory  (practicing  the  presentation  to  make  sure  you  are  on  time),  you  will  a  1/2  grade  deduction  for  
presentations  that  do  not  meet  these  requirements.  There  is  a  30  second  grace  period  on  either  side  
(7min30sec-­‐9min30sec);  also  people  whose  presentations  go  over  time  due  to  tech  difficulties  are  
granted  reasonable  exemption  for  these  penalties.  
 
• Missing  dress  rehearsal  -­‐  -­‐  there  will  be  a  1/2  grade  deduction  for  skipping  your  dress  rehearsal  
(without  e-­‐mailing  with  a  legitimate  reason  ahead  of  time)  
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 Networked  Rhetoric:  Winter  2012  

 
• Missing  presentation  -­‐  there  will  be  a  1/2  grade  deduction  for  skipping  presentation  date  (without  e-­‐
mailing  with  a  legitimate  reason  ahead  of  time)  

This  presentation  is  worth  35%  of  your  overall  grade  for  the  class.  
 
Further  Resources  
 
There  are  many  resources  available  to  you:  
• Envision  chapter  9    
 
• The  Oral  Communication  Program:    While  you  are  required  to  have  an  OCT  appointment  for  this  
presentation,  you  can  certainly  sign  up  for  more  than  one  appointment.    Make  use  of  this  fabulous  
resource!    Sign  up  at  http://sututor.stanford.edu  
 
• The  Writing  Center:  Although  the  OCTs  are  the  most  trained  in  oral  presentation  skills,  many  of  the  
tutors  in  the  writing  center  teach  PWR  2  and  so  could  give  you  feedback  on  your  presentation  as  well.    
Make  an  appointment  online  at  http://hwc.stanford.edu  for  a  meeting  with  one  of  the  following  tutors  
(these  are  the  ones  who  teach  PWR  2;  please  note  that  tutors  whose  name  is  followed  by  “DMC”  are  
Digital  Media  Consultants  and  have  additional  expertise  in  working  with  slides  and  multimedia  
presentations):
o Helle  Rytkonen  (DMC)   o Arturo  Heredia  
o Shay  Brawn   o John  Peterson  
o Kim  Savelson   o Patti  Hanlon-­‐Baker  
o Kevin  DiPirro   o John  Lee  
o Julia  Bleakney   o Kimberly  Moekle  
o Susan  Wyle   o Donna  Hunter  
o Gabrielle  Moyer   o Sohui  Lee  (DMC)  
o Carolyn  Ross  (DMC)   o Alyssa  O’Brien  (DMC)
 
If  you  decide  to  go  to  the  Writing  Center  for  a  meeting  about  your  presentation,  be  sure  to  bring  your  
presentation  notes  and/or  script  and  ideas  of  multimedia  with  you.  
 
• Contact  me  by  e-­‐mail  (alfano@)  or  tweet  me  (@christinapwr2)  if  you  have  any  questions.  
 
 
 
 

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