Putting It Together: Beyond the Research Paper

  • The key elements of a good presentation are content, organization, and delivery.  It may also be helpful to think of your presentation as having three key moving parts or interlocking gears: purpose, audience, and message.
  • Visual aids serve a unique role in a presentation, and you should consider the specific purpose and desired outcome of your speech when determining if, when, to what extent, and in what format you use visual aids.
  • There are four basic methods for delivering a speech or presentation: manuscript (writes down every word), memorized (fully prepared in advance but does not use any notes), impromptu (little to no preparation), and extemporaneous (prepare some notes in advance that help trigger memory).
  • A strong infographic should have four elements: the right data, a compelling narrative, visuals that enhance without being distracting, and an accessible and shareable format.
  • A poster is a visual representation of your research. Your poster should be eye-catching, tell the story of your research concisely, and enable the viewer to engage with your research.  Start by writing the content, determine a first draft for the poster, and then move into the design and later printing options.
  • When recording an online video, one should be aware of environment and background, appearance and body language, vocal considerations, lighting, and sound.
  • Consider the purpose of your assignment and the specifics of your audience when using social media for schoolwork.  Twitter is a social networking tool that allows individuals to send short text messages known as tweets.  The basics of using Facebook involve creating an account, developing your Facebook page, and then connecting with friends, family, co-workers, and classmates.  The social site devoted to professional connections is one called LinkedIn.
  • News messages are often broken into three categories: “hard” news, “soft” news or features, and opinion. “Hard” news comprises reports of important issues, current events, and other topics that inform citizens about what is going on in the world and their communities while “soft” news covers those things that are not necessarily important and are handled with a lighter approach. Opinion pieces, unlike the other two which value “objectivity,” are subjective and will have a specific point of view.
  • As you write an editorial, use a professional tone, think about how you can present your idea constructively, choose clear and simple language, create a short title that emphasizes your main point, do your research and make sure your facts are correct, and keep it concise.
  • Memos, like emails, also contain a “To” and “From,” a meaningful subject line, and state the reason for the communication immediately in the message. Memos also require strong organization in the body of the message for readability, and a call for action at the end. However, memos differ due to stricter formatting conventions and do not require a closing phrase nor a signature.
  • A typical letter has seven main parts: a letterhead/logo, the heading, a salutation, an introduction to establish the purpose of the letter, the body to articulate the details of the message, the conclusion that restates the main point and may include a call to action, and the signature line with contact information,
  • There are many possible reasons you might write a letter in a professional context, most commonly cover letters, letters of inquiry, job application letters, and follow-up letters.
  • A proposal can either be a piece of writing that provides a solution to a problem, or it can be a piece of writing that proposes ideas for a specific event, project, etc. A grant is a specific type of proposal written with intent to an organization or business that shows a need and requests assistance (normally financial) to meet that need.
  • Michael Higgins gives an acronym (STAR) that helps ensure the details of the answer to an interview question are well thought out and thorough. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Activity, and Results. Using this method, each answer should explain the context, tell what your responsibility was, what actually happened, and the result of that.