Power point presentation APA Format 9-11 Slides on hazardous waste incidnet such as Minimata Bay

Creating a Scholarly Powerpoint: Best Practices

and Citation Information

Overall Look of Presentation

 It is best to left-justify

 Balance all of the elements on the slide

 Be consistent with your style of bullets

 Leave space between bullets

 Don’t center your bullets (it makes the information jagged and difficult to follow)

 Use one transition style for all slides

 Don’t use more than three different effects on text

 Avoid too much animation

 Keep it simple and professional

 Large graphics leave little room for information and can overshadow that

information

Content

 Avoid having too much text on a slide (use phrases rather than complete

sentences and be concise)

 Use periods after complete sentences. If you don’t have a complete sentence,

don’t use a period.

 Use the notes function below the slide to provide your professor with the detailed

information you’d like for them to see while still creating a presentation that is

pleasing to the eye

 Distractions from message

o Long sentences

o Dazzling graphics

o Multiple ideas on a slide

o Inconsistencies (with font, bullets, etc.)

o Unorganized information

o Too much information

Fonts

 Use familiar fonts

 Stay away from fonts that are difficult to read

 Avoid fonts that do not relate to your topic

 All caps makes it seem like you are yelling

 Don’t use more than 2 different fonts in one presentation

 The size of the titles and the size of the content should be consistent from slide to

slide

 The size should be large enough to read easily

Color

 Contrast is important

 Use light and bright colors against dark backgrounds

 Use dark and bold colors against a light background

Backgrounds

 Stick with one background for most of the slides

 Title page/conclusion can be different

 Keep it simple

 Be careful with patterns, they can be distracting

Graphics

 Keep it to a minimum (graphics on every slide aren’t necessary)

 Relate to topic

 Add to the message of your presentation—don’t distract from it

 Photographs can be powerful

APA References

 Treat presentation like a paper

o Reference list on last slide (smaller font than other slides)

o In-text citations (same size font as content of your slides)

o Either place your in-text citations right after that text in your slide or place

it inside the notes section. You may want to check with your professor to

see if they have a preference on where those citations should be.