In a professional career, one may be called upon to conduct research and deliver findings in professional settings. No matter how extensive the research or accurate the conclusions, a weak presentation can undermine an argument. A presentation is a tool t

ENG 220 Course Project Guidelines and Rubric

Overview The final project for this course is the creation of a sales presentation. In a professional career, one may be called upon to conduct research and deliver findings in professional settings. No matter how extensive the research or accurate the conclusions, a weak presentation can undermine an argument. A presentation is a tool to assist in making an argument. When creating presentations, students develop skills in researching an issue, synthesizing the information, organizing data logically, and presenting findings in an effective manner. You will submit your presentation in Module Eight. In this activity, you will deliver a presentation that markets something far more important than a mere product to your audience: you will market yourself. You will conduct research on the internet to identify a position (you may choose whatever position you wish), conduct research on the employer, and market yourself to this potential employer for this specific position. While this presentation is intended for the purposes of the assignment, consider it also a means of ‘rehearsing’ yourself for that position. In your presentation, you should:

 Utilize persuasive messaging to market yourself.

 Explain why the employer should hire you. o What goals could you help this employer achieve? o How could you help the employer solve their challenges? o What value would you bring to the table? o How would you fit in with the company culture?

 Remember your audience. o Match your accomplishments, skills, and strengths to specific phrases in the job posting, corporate profile, mission/value statement, etc.

 Include images that support your statements (pictures, charts, graphs, etc.). Principles of an Effective Presentation:

 You may utilize a product such as Microsoft’s PowerPoint or Google Presentation to create your presentation.

 There are various template designs that you can find on the web for your presentation. However, first consider your presentation from the perspective of your audience prior to selecting a specific style. Distracting backgrounds, large blocks of text, all uppercase fonts, elaborate font styles, and grammatical errors and misspellings are distracting. Be consistent with the style of text, bullets, and sub-points in order to support a powerful presentation that allows your content to be the focus.

 Each slide should include your key point(s). Do not place large blocks of text on the visual. Your presentation is not a means of presenting a short paper. In an actual presentation you would not ‘read’ from your slides, but rather use them as prompts.

 Any notes or narration you would use in delivering this presentation to a group should be listed in the Notes section of the presentation.

 References should be listed at the bottom of the slide in slightly smaller text.

 Use clip art, AutoShapes, pictures, charts, tables, and diagrams to enhance but not overwhelm your content.

 Be mindful of the intended audience and seek to assess the presentation’s effectiveness by gauging audience comprehension (when possible).

Below are some links that offer helpful tips and examples for developing your presentations:

 Making PowerPoint Slides

 Really Bad PowerPoint and How to Avoid It

Course Project Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Your presentation will consist of 8–10 narrated (written) slides not including title slide or resource slide. Any notes or narration you would use in delivering this presentation to a group should be listed in the Notes section of the presentation. In addition to the notes, you have the option to include audio narration in each slide. When applicable, discipline-appropriate citations must be used. Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information, review these instructions.

Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value

Inquiry and Analysis

Meets “Proficient” criteria in such a way that demonstrates exceptional empathy for the audience

Tailors the presentation to the audience

Tailors some aspects of the presentation to the audience

Does not tailor the presentation for the audience

25

Organization

Slides are organized in a logical way that complements the central theme; transitions and notes are well-paced to create a natural and engaging flow

Slides are organized in a logical way and transitions and notes are paced so that the material is easily accessible

Slides are organized mostly in a logical way and transitions and notes are paced so that the material can be understood with focus and effort

Slides are organized in a way that is illogical OR transitions and notes are paced so that the material cannot be understood

20

Persuasion Constructs a persuasive case that is thoroughly defended with evidence and examples

Constructs a persuasive case that is justified with evidence

Constructs a case, but does not defend with evidence

Does not construct a case

25

Visual Appeal

There is a consistent visual theme that helps enhance understanding of the ideas; includes multiple types of media

Original images are created using proper size and resolution that enhance the content; includes more than one type of media

Visually depicts topic and assists audience; images are proper size and resolution

Graphics are unrelated to content and cross over each other, and they are distracting, busy, and detract from presentation

20

Narration (Research/Writing)

Mechanics and style ensure clarity; incorporates multiple properly cited scholarly resources

Mechanics and style promote clarity; incorporates some properly cited scholarly resources

Mechanics and style make narration intelligible; incorporates very few properly cited scholarly resources

There are several mechanical errors OR does not incorporate scholarly resources

10

Total 100%