Presentation Guidelines
Bio 290, Spring 2010
Overview: Our on-going project this quarter will be to produce an informational PowerPoint presentation to
share with our colleagues. This project is intended to help you refine and improve your ability to locate and
synthesize information, develop your research and communication skills, and explore a topic of interest to
you. Working scientists often give short talks as a quick way to present new work to others, and to stay
current in their field. For this assignment, you’ll prepare a 7-10 minute PowerPoint presentation on a
paper/topic of your choice.
Logistics: We encourage, but do not require, you to work in a group to construct this presentation. If you do
choose to work in a group, please be aware that EVERY member of your group is expected to participate in
your presentation, even though the work may have been divided up between members. The project
requirements vary according to the number of people in your group:
Number in Group
1
2
3
4
Minimum References Required
7 minute presentation; no additional references required
8 minute presentation; one additional references required
9 minute presentation; two additional references required
10 minute presentation; three additional references required
Evaluating your Project: Your project will be graded on the following: process, participation, content,
writing, and presentation. We will evaluate every presentation but they will also be evaluated by your
classmates. We will take these evaluations into consideration when calculating your final grade. In
addition, we will ask both you and your group members to reflect on your contribution to the group. Except
in special circumstances, however, each member of a group will be assigned the same grade. Because
you cannot participate in the final session unless your presentation is complete, a minimum 15% penalty will
be assessed on late projects.
Important Dates for your Project:
Thursday, 4/22: Project Group List and Area of Interest Statement Due
Thursday, 5/6: Paper Outline and Reference List Due
Thursday, 5/27: Draft of PPT slides due
Thursday, 6/10: Presentations and one page summary due!
Presentation Content: You are free to choose any topic in the field of genetics that interests you and relates
to our class content this quarter; We will, however, give you feedback and suggestions on your choice to
help you select a feasible topic and paper. With a topic in mind, your team will find a primary, peerreviewed paper of interest to the group. Your team will present and explain this paper in the talk.
What should my presentation look like? Your 7-10 minute PPT presentation should include:
1. A Title: Your first slide should include your title, and perhaps an appropriate image. Make sure that it
is easy to read (large font) and visible from a distance! List the names of your group members
beneath your title.
2. An Introduction: Your next 1-3 slides should introduce your topic and provide some background
information about your topic.
3. Results- The next few slides (1-3) should describe the data you collected as you explored your topic.
This might be most effective as a list of bullet points, and may include graphs or other figures.
4. Discussion and Conclusions: This portion of your presentation provides your analysis of your “results”.
You can use this space to compare and contrast ideas, issues, alternate hypotheses, etc. This portion
should also include your conclusions reiterating the main ideas presented in your talk.
5. Figures: You will probably want to include one or more visual aids on most of your slides. Be sure
these slides provide captions to provide credit to the original authors (unless you’ve drawn your own
images!).
6. References Cited: You MUST include a complete list of references with your presentation. These
references should be in alphabetical order by the last name of the author. (See example below.)
Your references may be listed in a smaller font, and should take no more than one slide.
7. Summary: In addition to your PowerPoint slides, please prepare a one page summary of your talk
that includes a full reference to the paper(s) you discuss. This summary will be shared with the class,
giving them a record of your talk.
Other important thoughts:
 Please rehearse your presentation! You need to know that you can fit your material into the allotted
time. We will cut off your presentation after a one minute grace period. As you can imagine, the
effectiveness of your talk is greatly diminished if we have to cut you off before you’ve reached your
final conclusions!
 All members of your group need to participate in the presentation.
 As always, make sure you are speaking clearly, and loud enough for all members of the audience to
hear. Take care not to simply read your slides out loud! You need to explain the material to your
audience.
Sample reference (for formatting):
Author (last name, first name). Date of publication. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical in Italics volume number
(issue number): page number.
Final Presentation Evaluation Rubric
Bio 290; Spring 2010
Presentation Component/Criteria
Title: descriptive, easy to read, (Note that your title should be unique,
and not simply the title of the paper you’ve selected to review!)
presenters names are included
Introduction: provides background on topic and context for the
research
Methods and Results: summarizes what the researchers did and the
results of their work, data and/or images from the text should be
included.
Discussion & Conclusions: reiterates important ideas, provides a
thoughtful analysis of results
Format: slides are easy to read; visual aids are useful and each includes
as caption and reference;
References: complete references are provided; appropriate sources
have been selected
“Presentation”: author(s) are clear, easy to hear, and make frequent
eye contact; group members do not read from slides; presentation is
finished within allotted time; author(s) answer any questions effectively
Other Project Components
Project Group List and Area of Interest Statement completed on time
Paper Outline and Reference List: Outline provides a thorough
overview of the paper to be presented, references are properly
formatted, submitted on time.
Draft of PPT slides: draft is reasonably complete; slides are formatted
and free of major errors; most figures are embedded, submitted on time
One page summary provided to colleagues with complete reference(s)
Total:
Possible Points
3
15
15
15
10
4
15
3
5
10
5
100