Presentation

Graduate Credit Requirements for Environmental Impact Assessment

In addition to the other requirements of the class, you are also required to do an additional assignment for graduate credit. This semester, graduate students will be required to find an appropriate Environmental Assessment (EA) that is available a public record, and put together a power point presentation. Following are guidelines on how to do so.

· Use internet search engines to find an appropriate EA. The EA should be approximately 80-150 pages long. Shorter versions tend to lack sufficient detail; longer versions can be difficult to summarize. The EA should have been completed within the past 10 years. Including “pdf” in your search often helps identify documents =that are in pdf format, which can be useful.

· Review the “Grading Rubric” and “Grading Criteria” sections within this document. That will help you identify the important components of the ERA, and it will help you organize your presentation into a logical order. It will also provide guidance on how to construct appropriate slides, and guidelines on how to deliver a presentation in a professional manner.

· A hard copy of the EA will be turned in, with relevant sections highlighted, again following the information provided in the Grading Rubric.

· With respect to scoping, environmental variables should be placed into a table that categorizes them appropriately, just as we have done in the case studies covered in class.

· The presentation will be in-person at a time and date agreed upon by the student and the professor, in late April.

· The presentation should span approximately 15 minutes, and the presenter should be prepared for questions afterwards. The highlighted copy of the EA will be turned in at the time of the presentation.

Grading Rubric for EIA Presentations

Grading Criteria	Point Value
Summary of Site	5
-Company/Business/Organization Performing Activity
-Location
-Activity of Interest
Purpose and Need	10
-What is the rationale for this impact?
Environmental Components of Interest (Scoping) -E.g. soils, water resources, historic sites, archaeological sites	10
-What are the primary environmental components affected?
Affected Environments/Consequences	10
-Summary of current condition, determination of which components identified in the scoping process will be affected, and how they will be affected
Alternatives	10
-Summary of each alternative -Emphasis on “preferred alternative” Consultation and Coordination
Ability to Incorporate Ecological Concepts and Terms from the Semester	20
Quality and Use of Graphics, Including Organization and Flow	10
Overall Ability to Present the Depth and Breadth of Your Knowledge*	10
Speech, Grammar, and Effective Delivery**	15
Total	100
Grading Criteria

*Overall Ability to Present the Depth and Breadth of Your Knowledge*

· This is your opportunity to give a professional presentation

· Treat this as if it were part of a job interview

· I am looking for your ability to convince me that you know enough about environmental science and environmental assessments that I would want you working for me.

**Speech, Grammar, and Effective Delivery

· Don’t dress like a slouch, no hats

· Keep your hands out of your pockets

· Speak loud enough for me to hear, keeping in mind I am somewhat deaf. If I can’t hear you, you will lose points

· Make eye contact with the entire audience

· Don’t talk to the screen or the computer

· Don’t keep your feet glued to one spot

· Show some enthusiasm; use voice inflection, hand gestures, and body language to emphasize important points and to keep audience’s attention

· Avoid overuse of distractive language like “uh…”

· Use correct grammar

· Use the laser pointer effectively, but don’t over use it

· Practice so that the talk is smooth, and you know what you need to say

· Be prepared to answer questions