Dr. Carol Siri Johnson
Department of Humanities, New Jersey Institute of Technology
English 340, Oral Presentations
Students in this course do two major presentations, several minor ones, group presentations and also frequent in-class improvisations on work-related communications. It is a learning experience for all of us because students choose topics for their presentations based on their areas of expertise, so we all learn new things.
Fall 2019
ENG 340 Course Goals
The main goal of this course is to learn to tolerate fear in order to be able to speak in front of an audience. We also learn to use adequate volume, time presentations exactly and integrate visuals and videos.
ENG 340 Class Rules
Attendance is required and it is graded. All grading is done numerically. For instance, if an assignment is worth 10%, it will receive a grade from 1 to 10. Grades are added at the end of the semester.
Overall Presentation Hints
- When using PowerPoint, use more images than text
- Use a LARGE FONT (over 20 points).
- Most assignments are graded on exact timing. Use a stop-watch to practice.
- The more you practice, the better it will be.
- If you have a soft voice, you must practice projecting, which will feel like SHOUTING.
ENG 340 Assignments
| Assignment Name and Description | Length | % |
| Class Participation – 0-1 absences = 20 (highest score); 2 absences = 18; 3 absences = 16; 4 absences = 14; 5 absences = 12; 6 absences = 10; 7 absences = 8; 8 or more = 0. If you must be absent, email me before class. | All semester | 20 |
| Jobs Presentation I, Brainstorming – You can discuss jobs or volunteer positions you have had, your dream job, the job of someone you know, or you can survey types of jobs (best, worst, highest / lowest paying). There are three graded parts: brainstorming, media integration and the full presentation. | 1-3 min. | 5 |
| Jobs Presentation II: Media Integration Practice – Gather images and/or videos that you may use. Present 3 or 4 slides of this data to the class informally, trying to get your PowerPoint, Prezi, video and audio files to display immediately. | 3-7 min | 5 |
| Jobs Presentation III, Full Presentation - You will be graded on volume and timing. The presentation order will be assigned to you, generated from a randomized list. | 8–10 min. | 20 |
| Video Interviews (online assignment) – You will be given a list of difficult job interview questions. Choose two, compose your answers and then make two videos of yourself answering each question. Upload the two videos to your NJIT YouTube account. Post the URLs inside the assignment in Canvas, ranked from best to worst (we will watch the best in class). | 1 min. (2) | 10 |
| TV News Group Presentation – Prepare a television newscast on real news or fake news (the group will decide on the subject-matter) in groups of four or five. 3 or 4 anchors should speak 2 to 3 minutes each. A media manager is responsible for making and running the background videos. A panel of judges will keep notes, confer and select the best broadcast at the end. | 6–12 min. | 10 |
| World View Presentation I: Brainstorming – Choose a topic you enjoy or are interested in and want to learn more about. The topic should be on one aspect of the world around us – global, economic, political, arts, health & medicine – the type of thing you find in news and magazines. The first stage is brainstorming your ideas where you will get immediate feedback from the class about what topic to choose. | 1-3 min. | 5 |
| World View Presentation II: Full Presentation – Your 10 – 15 minute presentation will be a summary of the research you have done on the topic with your conclusions. Write and practice your speech on your topic with visuals and videos. No video segment should be longer than one minute, although you can use several. | 10–15 min. | 25 |