 |
|
|
The purpose of the “footnote” is twofold: 1) for you to research and learn more about the historical context of a work of literature, along with relevant authorial information, and 2)
for you to present that work to others in electronic form, either
PowerPoint or webpage. The first thing you’ll do is sign up for an author/work.
You will present on the day the rest of the class will be reading and discussing
that work. However, you will want to read your entry ahead of time so you can
plan the research and determine the content of your presentation. What do I present? After reading your entry, ask yourself the following questions? What does my audience (the class) need to know to understand the reading? What does my audience need to know to enhance their reading? Historical details? Biographical information? Elaborate on (instead of merely repeating) ideas or items your audience already knows. We know the basic facts. How to make them interesting? If you’re using PowerPoint, the order of your slides might go something like: 1) Biographical facts (w/ author pic); 2) Author themes, influences, works; 3) Historical context of the work we’re reading (maps or pics here?); 4) background of a specific item(s) (say, Fugitive slave law), 5) why this information is important to an informed reading of the text (some interpretation or explanation) 6) Another picture, quote, or tidbit to close, and 7) a Works Cited. Where do if find information? You might do research as if you were writing a traditional
research paper, but then convert it to a presentation.
Use the web resources page or conduct your own
internet search. You must also consult our own text,
including the biographical descriptions (which provide "Further
Reading" suggestions) and historical context sections. Find other print
material from the library catalog. Remember
that just because material is out on the Internet does not mean that it’s
there for the taking. You must cite sources and must cite them correctly, using
MLA/APA form. If you need additional help, try me
or your reference librarian. How do I present the information? When you deliver a presentation, try to talk to the class
and not the screen. Try not to just
read your slides but talk about them. To do this, of course, you must rehearse
(use the "notes" feature to write notes to yourself). Try to fit your
footnote to about 5-10 slides (if PowerPoint), planning for about a minute per
slide. Use a large, readable font and color scheme. Turn off the animation
features unless you want to use music (say, to give a sense of the Jazz age).
Use some visual images with your slides (but not clip art), but if you copy them
from the net (right click and select “copy,” use “control –V for
“paste”), credit the source (image credit). Also, try not to distort them by
stretching their size too much in the vertical or horizontal direction. You can
also scan images. If you need help
with scanning or PowerPoint, see me or the Multimedia center on the fourth floor
of the library. What to Turn In
and Grading On the day of your presentation, give me a printout of your
presentation before you present. When you go to print under the "File"
pull down menu, under "Print What," choose print "Notes
Pages." This way, the slides aren't too big for the printed page, they
allow for comments, and they allow me to see some of the additional information
that went into your presentation. The footnote is about 5% of your overall grade. Content (4) The content of the footnote is useful to the audience’s understanding of the work. The presenter(s) has made an effort to elaborate on historical contexts and/or biographical details. Presenter(s) have spelled things correctly, including other major works. Research (3) Pulls together several sources, both print and web (including our book!). All sources are cited correctly using MLA/APA notation. You must give more than a web address for a full citation. And please don't overuse Wikipedia. Delivery/Design (3) The presenter(s) made good eye contact with the audience. The delivery was upbeat even if they thought their topic was not that interesting. The slides had a uniform font and attractive color scheme, were easy to read. The presentation was not rushed, nor were the slides. Stayed within the timeframe of 7-10 minutes.
|
|