HOW TO WRITE A PRESENTATION IN 10 DAYS |1

ST U D EN T N AM E: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _

WAY TO WRITE AN ST U D EN T #: _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _
AWESOME
PRESENTATION”
Freddie’s
Students
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T EA C H ER: _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

WRITE CL A SS RO OM : _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _
PRESENTATIONA

How to Write a Presentation in 10 Days

This booklet is intended to help you create a simple and professional presentation step-by-step in 10
days. Regardless of how many homework checks your teacher does, you should use it daily to keep on
schedule.

HINT: You can ask your teacher for grammar checks in this booklet.

Self-Check Progress Bar

DAY: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
HOMEWORK CHECK DATE(S):
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Day 1: Choosing a Topic & Brainstorming

Choosing a Topic
Your teacher will usually help you by giving several options. Write them all here, then highlight your
final choice.

Brainstorming
“ The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away.”
― Linus Pauling (Winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954)

Brainstorm in a Way that Works for You

Some people like lists, others like webs. Some like free writing, some like doodling. She might like
writing on a white board, he might like scribbling with a pencil and paper, and they might like taking
notes on an iPad. A classic way to brainstorm is by creating a web of sorts, with main objectives in large
circles attached to smaller circles of supporting evidence. Another way is simply listing everything on a
sheet of paper and then highlighting correlated topics with different colored highlighters. For those
who’d appreciate a more left-brained approach to brainstorming, try answering journalistic questions
(who, what, where, when, why, how) or think of your presentation from the perspective of different
audience members.

Source:

https://www.ethos3.com/2012/04/how-to-brainstorm-productively-for-presentations/
 HOW TO WRITE A PRESENTATION IN 10 DAYS |3

Day 2: Research and Purpose

Requirements
# of Sources Types of Sources Citation Style Online Style Guide

Working Bibliography
HINT: When you cite sources in your presentation, you will list them in your last slide, your
bibliography. It should include all the sources you discover when you begin your research.

# Source
. .
EX.
. .

. .
1 . .

. .
2 . .

. .
3 . .

. .
4 . .

. .
5 . .

NAME: FORMATTING CHECK RECEIVED :

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Day 3: Reading & Organizing

Reading Sources
HINT: Preview sources before you read them. This will help you decide whether a source
will be useful. Use this checklist for each source before reading it.

 Read the title. Does it sound related to your topic?

 Look at the academic journal it is published in. What field is it in?
 Read the abstract. Are the article’s conclusions relevant?
 Read any headings. Does it seem like it may contain useful citations?

Organizing Your Presentation

MAIN TOPIC

MAIN POINT 1 MAIN POINT 2 MAIN POINT 3

SOURCE(S) SOURCE(S) SOURCE(S)

Author(s): Author(s): Author(s):

Year: Pages: Year: Pages: Year: Pages:

Keywords: Keywords: Keywords:

Author(s): Author(s): Author(s):

Year: Pages: Year: Pages: Year: Pages:

Keywords: Keywords: Keywords:

NAME: GRAMMAR CHECK RECEIVED :

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Day 4: Writing the Introduction

HINT: It is a good idea to consider rehearsing how to begin. Practice the opening of a presentation, using ideas
from the box below and following the WISE rule. Use grammar checks in this booklet before do any final writing.

The WISE Opening

NAME: GRAMMAR CHECK RECEIVED :

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Checklist for Introductions – Using the Wise Owl

1 Welcome the audience

2 Introduce yourself

3 State your topic

4 Explain why your topic is important for the audience

5 Outline the structure of your talk

6 “What comes when?” – Say when you’ll be dealing with each point

7 Let the audience know how you’re organizing the presentation (handouts, questions, etc)

NAME: GRAMMAR CHECK RECEIVED :

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Day 5: Writing the 1st Main Point – Text and Visuals

Topic Sentence
Ask yourself, “What is this point mainly about?”

Main Content
Ask yourself, “How does each citation support my main argument?”

Citation(s) My Thoughts


Type:  quotation (“ ”)  paraphrase (my words)
Author(s):
Year: Page(s):


Type:  quotation (“ ”)  paraphrase (my words)
Author(s):
Year: Page(s):

Concluding Sentence
Expressions for concluding: “Therefore, …” “It is clear that, …” “Overall, …” etc.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

NAME: GRAMMAR CHECK RECEIVED :

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Day 6: Writing the 2nd Point – Text and Visuals

Topic Sentence
Ask yourself, “What is this point mainly about?”

Main Content
Ask yourself, “How does each citation support my main argument?”

Citation(s) My Thoughts


Type:  quotation (“ ”)  paraphrase (my words)
Author(s):
Year: Page(s):


Type:  quotation (“ ”)  paraphrase (my words)
Author(s):
Year: Page(s):

Concluding Sentence
Expressions for concluding: “Therefore, …” “It is clear that, …” “Overall, …” etc.

NAME: GRAMMAR CHECK RECEIVED :

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Day 7: Writing the 3rd Point - Revising the Visuals, Design

and APA style
Topic Sentence
Ask yourself, “What is this point mainly about?”

Main Content
Ask yourself, “How does each citation support my main argument?”

Citation(s) My Thoughts


Type:  quotation (“ ”)  paraphrase (my words)
Author(s):
Year: Page(s):


Type:  quotation (“ ”)  paraphrase (my words)
Author(s):
Year: Page(s):

Concluding Sentence
Expressions for concluding: “Therefore, …” “It is clear that, …” “Overall, …” etc.

NAME: GRAMMAR CHECK RECEIVED :

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Checklist for the Main Part of a Presentation

1 Briefly state your topic again

2 Explain your objective(s)

3 Signal the beginning of each part

4 Talk about your topic

5 Signal the end of each part

6 Highlight the main points

7 Outline the main ideas in bullet-point form

8 Tell listeners you’ve reach the end of the main part

Checklist for Visuals

1 Prepare each visual carefully and separately

2 Check whether the visual really shows what you are saying

3 Make sure your audience can read the visual (font size and colours)

4 Find effective headlines

5 Keep design and content simple

6 Use bullet charts for text

7 Reduce text to a minimum

8 Always prepare audience for visuals

9 Present information clearly and logically

NAME: GRAMMAR CHECK RECEIVED :

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Day 8: Writing the Conclusion

Link to Main Points
Ask yourself, “How did each point support my main thesis?”

Final Evaluation
Ask yourself, “What is the significance of this? What conclusions can we make?”

A Call to Action
Ask yourself, “Do I have any recommendations for my audience? What actions do I want people to
take?”

NAME: GRAMMAR CHECK RECEIVED :

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Checklist for Conclusions

1 Signal the end of your talk

2 Summarize the key points

3 Highlight one important point

4 Explain the significance

5 Make your final statement

Days 9: Rehearsal

Rehearsal is essential to giving an effective presentation. Rehearsing increases your confidence,

ensures you are familiar with your material and allows you to polish your presentation skills. It is
important to not only practice delivering your talk, but to practice using your visual aids.

 Rehearse your presentation to yourself at first (speak in front of a mirror or to the cat), then to
a friend or colleague.
 Time your rehearsal. Make sure you can complete your talk within the allotted time.
 Rehearse with your slideshow. Practicing running it at the same time as your talk will ensure
that it looks and operates as you expect.
 Make sure that the structure of your talk matches the sequence of your visual aids.
 Consider the timing of your slideshow. Does it fit with your words? Is there too much on-screen
movement? Too many mouse clicks too close together?

Source: https://student.unsw.edu.au/rehearse-your-presentation

NAME: GRAMMAR CHECK RECEIVED :

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Day 10: How to Deal with Questions & Final Check

1 Listen carefully

2 Make sure you have understood the question correctly

3 Reformulate the question in your own words

4 If you want to postpone the question, say why politely

5 If you don’t know the answer, say so and then offer to find out

6 Answer irrelevant questions politely but briefly

7 Check that the person who asked the question is satisfied with your answer

Final Checklist
To make sure you are ready, ask yourself….

 Do I have all the materials I need? (PPT Presentations, cue cards, handouts – if applicable)?
 What do I want my audience to know by the end of my presentation? -
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 Is the outline clear in my head? (Main topic [the purpose of my talk] – main points –
conclusion?)
 Are my visuals supportive of my narrative and clear? [little text as possible, clear headlines,
clear design]
 Is my opening effective?
 Have I rehearsed my presentation at least once?
 Did I remember to use signpost language for presentations when I rehearsed?
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And the last tip – And it is a BIG ONE:

A good way to make your presentations effective, interesting and easy to follow is to use signpost
language. 'Signpost language' is the words and phrases that people use to tell the listener what has just
happened and what is going to happen next.

In other words, signpost language guides the listener through the presentation. A good presenter will
usually use a lot of signpost language, so it is a good idea to learn a few of the common phrases, even if
you spend more time listening to presentations than giving them! Signpost language is usually fairly
informal, so it is relatively easy to understand.

Signposting
Section of presentation Signpost language
 Introducing the topic  The subject/topic of my talk is ...
I'm going to talk about ...
My topic today is…
My talk is concerned with ...

 Overview (outline of presentation)
 I’m going to divide this talk into four parts.
There are a number of points I'd like to make.
Basically/ Briefly, I have three things to say.
I'd like to begin/start by ... Let's begin/start by ...
First of all, I'll...… and then I’ll go on to …
Then/ Next ...
Finally/ Lastly ...

 Finishing a section  That's all I have to say about...

We've looked at...
So much for...

 Starting a new section  Moving on now to …

Turning to...
Let’s turn now to …
The next issue/topic/area I’d like to focus on …
I’d like to expand/elaborate on …
Now we'll move on to...
I'd like now to discuss...
Let's look now at...

 Analyzing a point and giving  Where does that lead us?

recommendations Let's consider this in more detail...
What does this mean for...?
Translated into real terms...
Why is this important?
The significance of this is...
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 Giving examples  For example,...

A good example of this is...
As an illustration,...
To give you an example,...
To illustrate this point...

 Summarizing and concluding  To sum up ...

To summarize...
Right, let's sum up, shall we?
Let's summarize briefly what we've looked at...
If I can just sum up the main points...
Finally, let me remind you of some of the issues we've
covered...
To conclude...
In conclusion ...
In short ...
So, to remind you of what I’ve covered in this talk, …
Unfortunately, I seem to have run out of time, so I’ll
conclude very briefly by saying that …..
I'd like now to recap...

 Paraphrasing and clarifying  Simply put...

In other words.......
So what I’m saying is....
To put it more simply....
To put it another way....

 Invitation to discuss / ask questions  I’m happy to answer any questions.

Does anyone have any questions or comments?
Please feel free to ask questions.
If you would like me to elaborate on any point, please ask.
Would you like to ask any questions?
Any questions?

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/business/talkingbusiness/unit3presentations/expert.shtml

If you can check everything on this list, you’re ready to go!

Congratulations!
Y ou just wrote a Presentation
in 10 days!