A-plus Writer

you have to watch this video http://www.ted.com/talks/julie_lythcott_haims_how_to_raise_successful_kids_without_over_parenting then write a 3 pages evaluation essay >> read below to understand better.

You may attend and evaluate a presentation on any topic, presented in person before an audience, but the topic must be outside your own major or cultural background (expanding your diverse experience). The speaker needs to have put together a pre-planed presentation that is at least 15 minutes long. The following presentations will NOT work for this assignment: Q&As, panel discussion, film screening, improv, debate, or open forum discussions. It may be a guest speaker in a class (outside your major), but it may not be a regular class lecture. You need to be present at the actual presentation. Take the All Purpose Presentation Evaluation Form (below) WITH YOU to the presentation and use that as your guide for taking notes to aid you in writing the typed evaluative ESSAY of the presentation (do not just answer the questions, you need to create an essay incorporating all the answers).

Your evaluation essay needs to be a minimum of 3 pages, typed, 1.5 spacing, 12pt font max and must be printed and turned in by the due date (not submitted online). In your essay introduce the speaker and the topic, location and setting, and discuss how this particular topic falls outside your major or cultural background, creating a new experience for you. Then note if/how the speaker fulfilled EACH of the structural elements listed on the “All Purpose Evaluation Form.” Discuss each requirement of the introduction, body and conclusion. If they did not include an element on the evaluation form discuss how that impacted the presentation (was it needed, would it have helped?). Discuss the speaker’s research, support, citations, delivery, whether/how they were audience centeredness, and ALL the other elements listed on the all purpose evaluation form. Discusses what worked well and what could use improvement. Provide many specific examples from the presentation to support your observations or arguments. Do not just write that they gained attention, established credibility, related to the audience, etc., you must say HOW they did each of these things and discuss if it was effective or ineffective and why, and if ineffective suggest how they might have improved that element of their presentation. If you were to advise the speaker on how they could improve the presentation, what advice would you give?

Structural requirements for the speeches you give in our class are designed to get you comfortable with ALL parts of a complete presentation, so you are ready for all speaking scenarios in the future. Every one of those parts may or may not be needed in presentations given in the “real world.” For the presentation you attend/watch, you’ll need to consider ALL of the structural requirements, whether or not they are done. If some were missing you’ll need to analyze how that effected the presentation.

These essays may be submitted any time during the term, but must be submitted by Monday, Oct 24. 

For procrastinators- if you do not attend a presentation early and run out of time/options for a live presentation, you may evaluate an online presentation (as long as it is delivered before a live audience (Ted Talks are good, for example) but evaluations of an online presentation will lose half a letter grade (I know you’re busy with life, school etc., so this is really a minor hit. I feel however that being present to see the actual setting and how a speaker actually interacts with the audience is very important. If you review an online presentation you much include a link to the video.