Academic Writing

Dr. Mohamed Hussein

Prepared By: Dr. Marwa Yusuf

Lecture 7
Presentations
 Presentations
Nervousness:
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– good preparation,
– careful development of materials,
– familiarity with the possible pitfalls.

✔ Generalization.
✗ Obvious mistakes.
✔ Too much details. (depends)
 Research Talks
A brief lecture on a piece of research.
●

– Directions, outcomes, challenges...etc

– Promote a paper, review a research area, get feedback.
– Different from other kinds:
● Convey info and learn from audience.

● Fixed duration. (45 may allow examples and discussion, while 25 not,
10 min may even has no structure, the idea of work only), but avoid
quick talking.
● To equals, not to make them experts. (timing and managing audience.,
mixed audience between interested and not))
● Not sales.
 Content
Design a spoken tale to introduce your work: should be engaging.
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Not just a group of slides: should be engaging and flowing.

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– Slides are not the only option.

First step is to decide what to cover (in contrary to what you may think, there is a lot)
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Time and audience affect what to say.

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●Make a tree, with the root as the main idea to be covered, and branches the
supporting/leading ideas.
Uncritical brainstorming (like a chat), critical selection.
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– About 20 min.
– Then select and order (harshly). Comfortable is better than hasty and crowded.
 Content (cont.)
Should be straightforward.
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– What they need to know, not what you need to tell.

– The minimum amount of details to deliver the idea and result.
Context (the problem, previous, motivation)
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If they are lost, they will not come back.

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– Internals, proofs, architectures … are so much detail.

You may rely on other factors other than the dry theory. (relationship, effects …)
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●Don’t hide shortcomings, you may be exposed!. While discussing them may get you
solutions.
Never put too much for the time allotted (either you hurry, or you override)
●
 Organization
● Talks are linear, moving forward, without stopping.

● Typical Structure:

– Motivation.

– Overview or goals.

– Background.

– Contribution.

– Evaluation.

– Conclusions.

● Similar to paper, but more fluid and less details.

● Early talk may not have contribution or evaluation.

● Assure the relevance and flow of each part.

● Keep a logical structure. (I previously showed you that…”, “I will shortly demonstrate that).

● If you’ll change topic, conclude and say why.

● It may be hard to adapt to time limit. Make content that can be passed/added if need arises.
 The Introduction
● First impression is critical. Early sentences are important:
– Surprising claim, contradiction, importance of solution.

● If you outline, make that after explaining the goal.

● Example:
– “This talk is about new graph data structures. I’ll begin by explaining graph theory and show some data
structures for representing graphs. Then I’ll talk about existing algorithms for graphs, then I’ll show my new
algorithms. I’ll show experimental results on our cluster machine and then show why the algorithms are
useful for some practical graph traversal problems.”
– “My talk today is about new graph data structures. There are many practical problems that can be solved by
graph methods, such as the travelling salesman problem, where good solutions can be found with reasonable
resources so long as an optimal solution isn’t needed. But even these solutions are slow if the wrong data
structures are used. I’ll begin by explaining approximate solutions to the salesman problem and showing why
existing data structures aren’t ideal, then I’ll explain my new data structures and show how to use them to
speed up the travelling salesman algorithms. I conclude with examples of where the new method makes a real
difference.”
 The Introduction (cont.)
●You may start with a tale or anecdote. Beware if
you’re not experienced or not that funny.
●Don’t forget introducing yourself, affiliation, your
coauthors and the topic.
 The Conclusion
● End the talk cleanly; don’t let it just fade away.
● Revise the main points and ideas.
● Outline future work or work in progress.
●End with something strong, like prediction,
recommendation or a judgment, only if correct and
logically flowing.
 Preparation
Don’t write and read your talk.
●

– You’ll lose connection, written English is different, you’ll struggle with tones.
But notes (few, large font) are acceptable.
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Rehearse enough to be confident.

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– Experience makes difference.

– But don’t memorize.
Time the talk (5, 10, … min)
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Rehearse in front of a mirror, standing.

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Get feedback from someone reliable.

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Make sure the setup can be done easily.

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 Delivery
● Speak clearly:

– Right volume.

– Breath deeply.

– Little slower.

– Slightly overemphasize consonants.

– Drink suitable drinks.

– Keep your head up.

– Face the audience.

● Avoid monotony. Pause occasionally (with something to think about, without filling with noise). Gather your thoughts.

● Don’t read the slides.

● You should be serious without being frozen. Use natural gestures and movement.

– Move from the computer.

– Talk about some easy thing after difficult one.

– Make eye contact, evenly.

– Be yourself, as if with friends.

 Delivery (cont.)
● Don’t show off. It’s the presentation not the presenter.
●Don’t be too much humble, ot criticize your work to
lower their expectation.
● Beware of irritating habits.
– Umming, looking time, drinking, standing behind
the projector, laughing too much, fidgeting… etc.
● Handle distractions, and persistent attendees.
 Question Time
● Keep answers short, avoid debating.
●Some questions cannot be answered now: too
complex, misunderstanding, not known.
●Involve the audience, repeat question, talk to all, be
positive and honest.
● Don’t bluff.
● Don’t be rude or dismissive.
 Slides
Your words are the more important, not the slides. Don’t use them to hide.
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●Each slide should be self-contained, as much as possible, has a heading, takes about 1 min, don’t
go back and forth.
Tools: MS powerpoint, latex. Start with figures and so, and then text. Be simple and relevant.
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Flashy animations are not that good.

Use simple and effective slide design. Running heading and structure guides may help.
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Dark font on white backgrounds works better. Don’t waste space on meaningless graphics.
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Use animation for a reason. Point-at-a time is usually bad (distracting for you and them)
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Be careful with media (videos or music). They may not work, or not be interesting.
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Use what you have the right to use. You may be cornered or embarrassed otherwise.
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 Text on Slides
Text should not be dull.
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✗ Coding technique log-based, integer codes.

✔ The coding technique is logarithmic but yields integer codes.
Each point should be covered.
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Use reasonable font.

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Avoid too much clatter.

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Avoid linking from other slides.

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Be consistent.
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!!!!! (don’t work)

●
 Figures
●Figures (simple and clear ones) should be used whenever
possible. Tables are not.
●Illustrations in talks can be made different than papers

(ex: colors to clarify)

●Should focus on technical content. Three dimensions and

animations only when helpful.

●Clip art usually is not good.

●Use labels.
 Posters
A good opportunity to meet new colleagues.
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Poster should catch their interest quickly, then you should have a good tale to tell.
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Decide what content to put in 1 or 2 minutes. Different talks.

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Landscape is good if available. Know the size. Start with figures.

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Use engaging illustration. Eaxh box has an idea.

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Consider the tools.

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Do not “poster” slides.

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Do not lose interest if no one asks.

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You may seek interest, but within limits.

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Prepare business cards.

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 Checklists
● Page 253.