ENC 1102: Composition II
Section 0013
Task 5: Presentation of Situated Inquiry Project
Friday, May 1st, 10:00 A.M. to 12:50 P.M.
You have worked hard this semester. Now it’s time to share your newfound expertise with the world—
or, at least, your classmates. The reason for presenting the results of your situated inquiry project is
twofold. First, the entire point of creating new knowledge is to share it. Through your project, you
have contributed to the field of knowledge in writing and rhetoric studies, specifically that group
interested in the social nature of texts. You will share some of that knowledge with a community of
like-minded scholars. Second, all academic fields hold conferences throughout the year where
scholars share the results of their own research, discuss their work, network, and share ideas. We will
simulate that environment in our class as practice for the day you might be the one presenting a
conference paper.
For this task, you will offer a brief (5 minute) presentation to an audience of your peers. In the
interest of time, you will not present everything from your situated inquiry project. Instead, your
presentation must address how your situated inquiry project helped to enrich your understanding of
one or more of the following concepts that have been emphasized in class this semester:
 How writing speaks to situations and contexts
 How writing mediates activities within and between discourse communities
 How texts relate to other texts
You should focus on sharing how your understanding of this concept(s) has evolved through your
research. Ultimately, your presentation should address this question: how did your situated inquiry
project help deepen your understanding of the key concepts emphasized in this class?
Planning Your Delivery and Crafting Your Visual Aids
First, you will want to decide which of the three main concepts listed above your situated inquiry
project speaks to. Do key concepts in the study of rhetoric come into play? Or did you focus on how
genres do work in your discourse community? Perhaps you addressed the question of intertextuality.
You should be able to use information you have already written in Task 4 to guide your presentation.
You are welcome to touch upon more than one major class concept, but remember you only have
three to four minutes. Focus on the most relevant information. Remember to review pertinent class
readings and discussions that speak to the concept(s) at the heart of your presentation. Eventually,
you will want to come up with a central claim that answers the “how” question above.
Second, you will want to give some thought to visual aspects of your presentation. Give us something
interesting to look at: photographs or video of your discourse community in action, examples of
genres, etc. Feel free to create a Powerpoint presentation, a video, or other visual media of your
choice. Remember, however, that this is an academic environment. Your visual aids should be
audience appropriate.
Here are some tips to aid in your presentation:
 Consider how you want to present your information verbally. What has worked well for you in
the past? Maybe you work well with your presentation written on notecards. Maybe you keep
an outline in front of you to direct your words. Or maybe you use Powerpoint slides as a rough
outline, but speak based on knowledge you have, more or less, memorized. Whatever your
choice, be sure to practice. Three to four minutes will go faster than you think!
 If you do a Powerpoint presentation, aim for about one minute per slide. More slides than this
will cause you to go way over time.

If you do a Powerpoint presentation, do not simply read words off the slides. We all know how
to read. We can read the slides ourselves. You reading them aloud for us leads to a very dull
presentation.
Who Is Your Audience?
You will present in front of an academic audience of your classmates. In the interest of time, you can
assume a certain common knowledge of class concepts. (For example, you do not need to define what
a discourse community is.) However, it is still up to you to provide background information on your
discourse community, including defining any lexis, and make clear connections between your
research results and one or more of the major class concepts.
What Makes It Good?
The most successful presentations will provide an engaging exploration of the ways that situated
inquiry projects have aided in students’ understanding of the three guiding concepts of this class. The
presentation will offer a clear central claim answering the “how” question with clear connections
between individual projects and larger class concepts. The best speakers will exhibit good delivery
skills (clear, audible voice and eye contact) and remain within the allotted three to five minutes.
Visual aids are relevant, audience-appropriate, and aid in our understanding of the speakers’ ideas.
Nuts and Bolts
 You must email your presentation to me prior to the exam time in order to make it easier for
me to pull up on our classroom’s AV equipment. You may also bring your presentation on a
flash drive. Please prepare ahead for technical issues (i.e., never trust the machines).
 Your presentation must have an original title that hints at main ideas, themes, or images in
your work. It should be thought-provoking. In other words, your title should not be “Final
Presentation” or “Task 5.”
 You have 5 minutes to present your work. At four minutes, I will wave a “one-minute warning”
sign. At five minutes, I will cut you off.
Giving Your Presentation
 You will need to dress up in appropriate business casual attire. If you need help figuring out
what this is, please ask me.
 DO NOT BE LATE TO CLASS. Walking in the middle of someone’s presentation is incredibly
rude. If you are late, you will receive a 10 point deduction.