Welcome to the class webpage for English 3A, the purpose of which is to enhance (and dare we say, 'perfect') your presentation skills. Students should expect to complete this course with a firm grasp of skills to make presentations in English.

As you will readily understand, we have an ambitious syllabus for you to enjoy. While you will certainly be busy with all your other exciting classes, it is of utmost importance for you to devote sufficient time and effort to this course. Homework, for example, should be finished on time. Presentations should be rehearsed until you are fully confident in your masterpiece.

 Course Objectives 

The purpose of this course is, of course, to equip you fine students with the skills to go out into the wide, wide world of academia and use English to make presentations. The syllabus for our class is here: Wednesday 3rd,

 Tips for STEM University Students 

This website is the product of a three-year research project here at Meiji University in our faculty; the project was titled STEM???????? ????????? and Preparing for and Practicing English Presentations: Tips for STEM University Students (in English). Here you'll find advice on oral presentations and poster presentations for both students and faculty. In addition, separate pages address needs assessment, workshops, publications, and action research.

 Our Weekly Classes 

A call to arms here to encourage students to devote themselves wholeheartedly to their endeavors in this class ... do your best, I'll help you along, and we'll all be fine!

 Week 1 (April 15/16) — Audience analysis 

In this first class of the new year, we will talk some about the oral components of public speaking and making presentation. We will also consider audience analysis.

 Homework: 

 Week 2 (April 22/23) — Organization and PPT  

Our second class will be devoted to organization of presentations as well as some tips on the use of PowerPoint.

A further activity today will be some reading and an explanation of the fine art of writing a summary. We will be using the "Virtual Reality" reading below.

 Class Material & Homework: 

  • ✔ When Virtual Reality Goes Social
  • ✔ Assign first presentation (Class 3).
  • ✔ Assign the mid-term presentation (Classes 7-8).
  • ✔ Prepare presentation outline and PowerPoint (due in Class 3).

 Week 3 (April 29/30) — Presentations; critiques  

This class will be devoted mainly to presentations.

Today we will talk some about writing critiques of your presentation, which you are required to complete for each of the three presentations this term.

Remember that Tuesday, May 6, is a holiday.

 Critique links: 

 Homework: 

 Week 4 (May 13 [Tuesday], 7 [Wednesday]) — Summaries  

As you people have cleverly noted, this class will be mainly devoted to summaries. These are intrinsically related to abstracts and to conference proposals. In our class, both abstracts and conference proposals are crucial! An abstract is a clear yet succinct passage that introduces, summarizes, and makes conclusions about your topic and results, and it is your reader's first meeting with your work. A conference proposal is also a clear succinct passage, yet its primary purpose is to receive an invitation to present your research at an academic conference.

 Class Material: 

 Week 5 (May 20 [T] and 14 [W]) — Presentation English; Summaries (2)  

Today I would like to devote a few minutes to the usual structure of a presentation as well as the English you could (and should) use therein. I will explain the structure in class, and we will then walk through this handout on presentation English.

One more point that I would like to emphasize is that you should talk about the material on each slide, not simply repeat what is written. To practice this notion, we will be using a sample presentation about bridge types. Here is a script template for the bridge presentation, which you will complete this week and hand in before our next class (May 27[T] and 21[W]).

Here we have a current news story about lighthouses, which have a long history yet are slowly becoming obsolete. Using this story, lighthouses available for free write and submit a summary of about 100 words by midnight today ( File Request for Lighthouse Summary).

 Our Upcoming Schedule: 

  • ✔ May 20[T], 14[W]—lighthouse summary due by midnight
  • ✔ May 27[T], 21[W]—bridge presentation script due
  • ✔ June 3/May 28—two summaries due
  • ✔ June 10/4—mid-term presentation
  • ✔ June 17/11—other-critique due

 Week 6 (May 27 [T] and 21 [W]) — Presentation English; Summaries  

As you will recall from our last class, the English you use to present your content is also very important. In this second handout on presentation English, we will examine a number of ways to make your presentation introduction more interesting and some phrases to avoid when speaking.

 Class Material & Homework: 

Recall, good people, that we talked some about writing summaries. Your task over these next two weeks is to (a) choose two (2) options from among the four options below, and (b) write summaries of those two. I expect 150-200 words, but these are guidelines, not strict limits. The two summaries should be submitted by June 3[T]/May 28[W].

 Options for writing summaries: 

 Week 7 (June 3, May 28) — Presentation skills  

Today I'd like to assign an interesting project for you. In our class, of course, you have been learning about oral presentations and watching those of your classmates, but we have a vast collection of presentations online courtesy of TED Talks. To provide you with an in-depth look at at least one speaker, you will watch a TED Talk of your own choice and prepare a critique of it.

 Homework: 

 Week 8 (June 10/4) — Presentations

Today we will be enjoying individual presentations.

 Homework: 

 Week 9 (June 17/11) — Extemporaneous speaking; Speed work (1); Q&A (1)  

Over the next three classes, we will be spending time on extemperaneous speaking as well as questioning and answering skills. Both are areas for which time is of the essence and quick thinking is crucial.

Today let's have a look at a blog titled "VirtualSpeech", which has some sound advice for when you're faced with an impromptu speech.

To that advice I would add more common frameworks for dealing with impromptu speeches. .

 Homework: 

 Your final presentation: 

  • ✔ People: You will present as a group (from 2-5 members possible).
  • ✔ Topic: An academic topic, and you have two possible formats. Plan A is to extend (expand) the presentation you just did. I expect more detail, more information. Plan B is to choose a new topic.
  • ✔ Include at least three academic sources (e.g., a journal article) in your presentation and make a summary of 75-100 words for each article. The source information should be included.
  • ✔ Use some animation (e.g., moving pieces, arrows, circles around important points, etc.)
  • ✔ Include one question from a friend, classmate, or Dr. Elwood. You will need to ask someone to provide a question about something in your presentation, which you will announce and then answer in your presentation.
  • ✔ Record and submit your presentation by July 26 (by File Request). Please also submit your PPT and your script. Note: your presentation may be recorded using Zoom, PowerPoint, or any similar software.
  • ✔ Make a live presentation in class. This will be the same as your recorded presentation.
  • ✔ Write a report on your presentation topic (500-700 words). Your report must use my report style (watch my on-demand video on report style
  • ✔ Each person will write and submit two critiques, one of his/her group's presentation and one of a presentation by another group.

 Week 10 (June 24/18) — Speed work (2); Q&A (2)  

Today we will be spending some time simply working on fluency in your speaking. As you'll soon understand, this is NOT rocket science, but it does underscore the importance of practice. We will be using a talk by Arthur Benjamin titled "The Magic of Fibonacci Numbers", which all you fine math students should enjoy. Just in case you'd like to have a digital copy, here is the transcript of Professor Benjamin's presentation. On the presentation side, folks, note how nicely he uses animation in his slides.

 Homework: 

 Week 11 (July 1/June 25) — Consultations  

Today we will again be practicing impromptu speaking skills in addition to doing some fluency work.

Today we'll be doing some fluency work using an entertaining TED talk by Adam Spencer titled Why I fell in love with monster prime numbers. Of course, you might find it helpful to have in hand the megaprimes transcript.

 Homework: 

  • ✔ Prepare a short description of your group's final presentation. You could include your basic outline, the three (or more) articles you will use, any enhancements such as audio-visual files, and so forth.

 Week 12 (July 8/2) — More Presentation Prep  

Remember that you will need to submit a written report of 500-700 words on your presentation topic. Bearing in mind that presentation can refer to PowerPoint-style oral presentations as well as any type of conveyance of information (e.g., a written report), make sure you follow my guidelines for written papers

 Homework: 

 Week 13 (July 15/9) — Term Exam; Final Presentation  

Our class today will be devoted to final presentations. The final exam will be posted later; the deadline for the exam has been changed: please finish the exam by 23:59 (midnight) on Wednesday, August 2nd.

 Final Matter— Final presentations  

www.jimelwood.net/students/meiji/english3A/english3A.html

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Date last updated: May 14, 2025 * Copyright 2025 by JE