The Second World War, Semester 2, 2010: Oral Presentations, Term 4, Weeks 5 & 6
Weighting: 25% (5% deducted per lesson not presented)
Task
Deliver a 10 -15 minute oral presentation which convincingly demonstrates your position. You need to
methodically support your position with evidence and argument. You are welcome to submit a draft of
your presentation; you should do so a week in advance.
Content
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A brief description of the events relevant to your speech. This should be short (2 minutes) –
your central task is to argue a case. But you need to start by providing your audience with
enough basic information so that they can subsequently engage with your argument.
Present your position. Briefly introduce the main supporting arguments you will offer. (1
minute)
In turn, present your (3 or 4) supporting arguments (from most to least compelling). Ensure you
present primary source material &/or the analysis of expert historians to support your own
argument. Ensure you relate your supporting argument back to your central claim.
(approximately 3 minutes for each supporting argument)
Conclusion: summarise by explaining how the supporting arguments you have presented lead
to your central claim. (1 – 2 minutes)
Be thoughtful about how your presentation relates to what we have already studied and what
other people are presenting on. It will help your audience if, where relevant, you acknowledge
when a point has come up before.
Form
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You have between 10 and 15 minutes to give your presentation.
The topics are in pairs – for each topic there will be an affirmative and negative speaker. You
have a job to do when the opposing position presentation is being given. You are required to
offer questions during and after the speech that challenge the speaker’s argument and/ or
advances your own.
 You should accept two questions during your presentation from either your ‘opponent’, the
teacher or another class member. In addition to your 10 – 15 minute speech, there will be
approximately 5 minutes afterwards where you’ll be expected to answer questions from the class
and the teacher.
 Provide a double-sided A4 handout to me 24 hours before you’re due to speak; I will photocopy
a class set. On the first side provide a brief dot point summary of your presentation, with quotes,
documents, maps, images, tables etc. On the other side, provide a bibliography.
 Just use a PowerPoint Presentation if there are any images, maps or quotes you really
want to emphasise.
Second World War Oral Topics and Schedule
Date
9/11
Topic
1a) Urban area bombing of Japan (such as the firebombing of Tokyo) was justified.
Name
Riley Rumble
1 b) Urban area bombing of Japan (such as the firebombing of Tokyo) was not justified.
Katie Slater
10/11
12/11
16/11
2a) The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima (6/8/1945) and Nagasaki (9/8/1945) was the
primary reason Japan surrendered on August 15 1945.
Tom Hermes
2b) The Soviet declaration of war against Japan (8/8/1945) and the subsequent invasion of
Manchuria was the primary reason Japan surrendered on August 15 1945.
Victoria Beecham
3 a) Even without dropping the atomic bombs, Japan would have surrendered prior to the
planned allied invasion of November 1945.
Sam Laughton
3b) Without the dropping of the atomic bombs, Japan would not have surrendered prior to
the planned allied invasion of November 1945.
Luke Searle
4a) The United States should have warned the Japanese (through a demonstration bomb, the
Potsdam Declaration, and fliers) of the unique power of the atom bomb before dropping it.
Erin Leahy
4b) The United States was right not to warn the Japanese of the unique power of the atom
bomb before dropping it.
Ed Handby
5a) The bombing of Nagasaki was morally justifiable.
Evie Rose
5b) The bombing of Nagasaki was morally unjustifiable.
Will Jones
6a) Rivalry with the Soviet Union was the primary reason the United States dropped atomic
bombs on Japan.
6b) Rivalry with the Soviet Union was not the primary reason the United States dropped
atomic bombs on Japan.
Nigel Opdyke
7a) Fear of Soviet influence in post-War Asia justified dropping atomic bombs on Japan.
Duncan Grey
7b) Fear of Soviet influence in post-War Asia did not justify dropping atomic bombs on Japan.
17/11
8a) The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were war crimes.
Helena Game
8b) The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not war crimes.
Isobel Egan
9a) The bombing of civilians to produce terror in the Second World War was in some
instances morally justifiable.
Lilly Findlay
9b) The bombing of civilians to produce terror in the Second World War was in no case
morally justifiable.
Karl Anstey