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Article Presentation Assignment
(15% of your overall grade)
15-20 minutes
Guidelines
Purpose
You will be assigned to a group of 4 or 5 and an essay. You will then present the
essay, and develop an activity for the class to participate in that to the rest of the
class. Your goal should be not only for us to understand the essay, but also to
make us think about it in a new way. You will lead the class in an activity after
your presentation of the article.
In order to assist your fellow classmates who will be presenting, those who are
not presenting that week will be responsible for reading the article to be
presented before class and to be ready to ask questions about the article to the
presenters.
Audience
Your audience is your classmates and me, your instructor. Your classmates are
required to have read your essay before class so they should be familiar with it
already. Your goal should be to present the essay in a new and exciting way. You
should come prepared with an activity for the class to do after your presentation.
Readings
For this project, you and your group will present one of the following readings:
Group 1: Marion Nestle: "Reading the Food Social Movement".
World Literature Today,2009. Jan - Feb: 37-39.
(present Aug 17)
Group 2: Eric Schlosser: “The Bitter Truth About Fast Food”.
McSpotlight. 4 July 2001. (present Aug 17)
Group 3: "Alice Waters' Crusade for Better Food" 60 Minutes
television. March 15, 2009. (present Aug 17)
Group 4: "First Lady Michelle Obama Becomes the New
the Food Movement" . 17 June 2009. (present Aug 19
Leader of
Group 5: Michael Pollan: “Unhappy Meals” (present Aug 19)
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Group 6: John Cloud: "Eating Better Than Organic " Time Magazine,
Mar 02, 2007 (present Aug 19)
Additionally, it is recommended that you read the following for a reminder of
verbal and visual presentations.
Study Skills - How to Make an Oral Presentation and
Purdue Owl – Designing Effective Powerpoint Presentations
What is required and things to consider in your presentation:
Assign group roles (due Monday, July 6)
This is a big project, and everyone must participate; therefore, group roles must
be assigned and you must submit a “group member sheet”. By Monday, July 6,
your group's recorder must submit to me the roles of each group member. Your
whole group will receive no credit if your submissions are late. In order to receive
full credit these must be typewritten and include: your group members email
addresses, available times for working on the project, phone number, and group
role.
Everyone in the group must have a role and these roles must be assigned and
indicated on the “group member sheet”. They are:
• Facilitator—makes sure everyone contributes and group meetings go well
• Organizer—makes sure everyone is aware of group meetings and coordinates
schedules so that everyone is present during group meetings. He or she works
closely with the Coordinator or Leader and helps make sure meetings progress
smoothly and meet regularly
• Motivator—gets group excited and works closely with the organizer of the
group. The motivator also senses when progress during meetings is slowing down
and recommends 5 minute breaks etc. He or she is also in charge of getting the
group back together after breaks
• Coordinator or Leader—with the help of the rest of the group (NOT by
him/herself) coordinates the technical dimensions of your presentation. He or
she is in charge of making sure coordinating meetings making sure each group
member knows what he or she must do before the next group meeting
• Scribe/Recorder—in charge of taking notes on the brainstorming activities
that take place, and with the help of the rest of the group, create the presentation
outline , assist in the compose or design for example, a movie poster for the essay,
coordinate a “news cast” for a discussion of the article, or any other ideas that
your group may have.
For groups of 4 the Motivator and Organizer roles should be combined.
Minimum Required Presentation Elements:
Address these issues:
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1. Who is the writer and where did the essay first appear? Is there historical or
cultural background that we need to know about the author or the theme/topic of
the essay in order to understand the essay?
2. What is the writer's purpose or motivation for writing the article, and who is
the intended audience?
3. What is the main idea of the article? Is the writer trying to explain, argue, or
persuade?
4. How is the article organized? Determine a pattern of organization and give
examples that supports your analysis.
5. Discuss and give examples of the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and
logos.
6. Evaluate the logic and validity of the writer's arguments. Do the conclusions
follow logically? Are there missing pieces in the argument? Could the argument
be made stronger? Be specific using examples from the article.
7. Finally, as a group, respond to the article. What you think of what the writer is
saying?
8. Your activity should be creative and well thought out (Jeopardy, a homemade
short film reenacting the essay, etc.). Your group should give a lively, interesting,
well-organized, carefully timed 5-10-minute report helping the class understand
and analyze your assigned essay. Make sure that all members of the group are
included and have an equal part in your presentation, perhaps by having each
person present a different issue. Then you will lead a 5-10-minute activity related
to the essay. Carefully plan the activity that you will use.
The Presentation Should:
Be creative and interesting and show significant work beyond a simple summary
of the reading.
Bring new insights to the essay or topic.
Remain focused on the assigned essay, and examine relevant issues about it.
Demonstrate understanding of the essay.
Raise interesting, carefully considered questions for discussion and is kept
focused and on track.
Involve the class.
Be carefully timed and the time is shared among group members.
Be well-organized and well-planned.
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Personal Reflection and Group Evaluation:
These will be written in class on Monday, August 24
Your reflection will be handwritten (neatly) in class and not in a list form. You
must have an introduction, conclusion, and paragraphs that address the
following points. You will also be required to assess the rest of your group
members and how they contributed to the whole presentation.
Reflecting about your presentation
After you have presented, you will write a reflection on your
experience:
1. What is the main point you wanted the audience to learn from your
presentation?
2. How effectively has your group addressed that main point?
3. What do you think are the strengths of your group's presentation?
4. What do you wish you had done differently?
5. What would you do if you had more time for the oral presentation?
Reflecting on your group member contributions (30 of the 60pts)
1. Describe how each of your group members carried out their roles.
2. What did you contribute to the group?
3. Describe the typical group meeting.
4. What do you think are the strengths of your group?
5. What do you wish your group had done differently?