OUMH1103

TOPIC 5 - PRESENTING INFORMATION

give presentations – written or oral, depending on the requirements of your course

two types of presentations:

i. Written presentation in the form of an assignment; and

ii. Oral presentation using transparencies or PowerPoint.

How assign differs from essay:

a.) headings and sub-headings are used to denote relationships or connectivity of issues.
b.) a stand on certain issues, argue out the reasons and provide authoritative evidence to support your
argument.

Basic steps of writing assignment

1. Select a Topic

2. Analyse the Topic

3. Search for Information

4. Evaluate and Select

5. Take Notes from Resources

6. Plan an Outline

7. Organise and Consolidate

8. Write the Paper

9. Review Assignment

 Have I dealt with the main issue and supporting issues thoroughly?
 Is the content relevant and thorough?
 Is there any sufcient supporting evidence to uphold my views, opinions and ideas?
 Does the paper make sense overall?
 Is the language clear and precise, or vague and ambiguous?
 Do the paragraphs connect well?
 Are the quotations appropriately cited?
 Are the illustrations properly labelled?
 Are there spelling errors?
 Are all the references cited in the assignment properly recorded?

10.  Present Before Deadline

Common Faults Found in Assignments

Faults How to Overcome

Keep to the point, do not ramble. Always refer back to the topic, and leave out
Unfocused treatment
unnecessary points.

Shallow treatment of Provide sufcient content. Read more, use more examples, back up argument with
topic/subject evidence.

Keep to the outline:

Introduction
Body of content:

 Issue 1 + argument
Badly organised
content (poor  Issue 2 + argument
presentation)  Issue 3 + argument
 Issue 4 + argument

Conclusion
References

Keep language simple and to the point.

Lack of uency and
Link points and paragraphs.
ow
Check spelling and grammar.

Make sure you introduce the topic and explain how you are approaching the subject. Put
Poor introduction
the topic in perspective.

Make sure you conclude by providing the answers or solutions to the issues involved.
Refer again to the topic and make sure your conclusion is consistent with the
Poor conclusion
introduction. Have you answered in the conclusion the questions raised in the body of
content?

Be creative in your approach, be less pedantic in style. Be open to other views and ideas.
Boring presentation Be an active reader; do not accept whatever is written at face value. Question, question
and question!

Make sure you read widely and gather enough relevant information so that you do not
Irrelevant information need to “pad-up” your essay with irrelevant information. Apply evaluation and selection
criteria to your reading and information gathering.

5.2   WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT

Introduction

set the scene or clarify what the main issue is and how you intend to approach it

Body of Content

should contain your ideas, opinions and facts, explained and argued out systematically and logically, with
each idea or issue or argument owing smoothly from one to another

5.2.3   Conclusion

Ensure that your conclusion tallies with the introduction and the body of content

5.2.4   Accompanying Information

  (a)   List of References

i. The sources are listed in alphabetical sequence, according to the names of authors or titles (as shown in
Figure 5.4).

ii. Each item has complete bibliographical details (page, author, title, edition, year of publication, publisher)
relevant to the type of resource such as a book, journal article, topic in book, conference paper, etc. as
illustrated in Figure 5.4.

iii. The citation style conforms to the OUM style (please see notes under heading “Citation Style” in Section
5.2.6).

   (b)   Footnotes or Notes
Quotations and Paraphrasing

provide details of the source either in the form of a footnote (Figure 5.6) or cite immediately after the quotation
(Figure 5.7). If you decide to use your own words or paraphrasing

Figure 5.6: An example of a quotation acknowledged in the footnote

   
“Information should be organised in such a way that when it is needed, the schema is easily
  invoked."  
Ausubel (1963, p.12)
   

Figure 5.7: An example of a quotation with the source following the quotation

To enable learners to view ideas globally and to connect different ideas, Ausubel (1963) proposes
that learners arrange the information in a particular schema.

Figure 5.8: An example of paraphrasing an author’s idea in the text

Citation Style

(a) Citing Printed Books

i. Book by a Single Author

Author’s Name. (Year). Title of book (Edition). Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:
Haig, M. (2001). The B2B e-commerce handbook: How to transform your business-to-business global marketing
strategy. London: Kogan Page.

(b) Citing Electronic Books

iii. Allen, C., Kania, D., & Yaeckel, B. (Eds.). (2001). One-to-one web-marketing: Build a relationship marketing
strategy one customer at a time (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley. In Ebrary (OUM Digital Collection).
iv. Millholon, M., & Murray, K. (2001). Microsoft Word 2002 inside out. Redmond, WA.: Microsoft Press. In
Books24x7 (OUM Digital Collection).

(c)   Citing Specific Chapters in a Book

Name of author of chapter. (Year). Title of chapter: Chapter number in Name of main author or editor of book, Title of
book (Edition, pp. first page – last page). Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:
Kuegler, T. J., Jr. (2002). Web advertising: Banners and beyond; Chapter 12 in T. J. Kuegler, Jr. (Ed.), Web
advertising and marketing (3rd ed., pp. 98-104). Boston, Mass.: Premier Press. In Books24x7 (OUM Digital
Collection).

(d)   Citing Articles in Journals

i. Article Written by One Author

Author’s Name. (Year). Title of article in the journal. Title of Journal: Subtitle of Journal, Volume (Issue), first page –
last page.

Example:
Kargoankar, P. (2002). Web usage, advertising and shopping: Relationship patterns. Internet Research: Electronic
Networking and Policy, 12(2), 191-204.

(e)   Citing Works by Corporate Authors

The name of the writer can also be in the form of an institution, society, department or ministry. Refer to the following
example:

Malaysia. Ministry of Education. National Board of Education. (1989). Implications of computers in the classroom.
Kuala Lumpur: Pelangi Press
(f)   Citing Websites

Author’s Name. (Year). Title of electronic document. [Online]. Available: website address. [Date document is
retrieved].

Example:

Jones, D. (1999). The de Grummond children’s literature collection. [Online]. Available:

http://avatar.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/. [2000, February 24

(g)   Other types of Materials

i. Newspaper Article, No Author

New drug appears to sharply cut risk of death from heart failure. (1993, July 15). The Washington Post, p. A12.

ii. Newspaper Article, One Author, Discontinuous Pages

Schwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects economic, social status. The Washington Post, pp. A1, A4.

iii. Encyclopaedia Article

Bergman, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new encyclopedia Britannica (Vol. 26, pp. 501- 508). Chicago: Encyclopedia
Britannica.

iv. Published Conference Paper in Conference Proceedings

Gibson, C. C. (2005). Impact of the larger social context on the distance learner. In S. Allsop (Ed.) International
Council for Distance Education: One world many voices: Quality in open and distance learning (pp. 279-282).
Chicago: Milton Keynes.

v. Unpublished Conference Paper

Martins, J. R. (2004, April). Working with the terminally ill: An integrated theoretical model. Paper presented at the
American Counseling Association World Conference, San Diego, CA.

Ask yourself the following questions:

 Is the assignment focused?

 Did I plan and prepare well?
 Does the content show understanding of relevant issues related to the topic?
 Does the writing show evidence of wide reading and research on the topic?
 Is there a logical development of issues from one paragraph to another?
 Are the arguments convincing and supported by evidence?
 Is the analysis clear and logical?
 Is the language simple and precise?
 Does the conclusion answer questions raised in the body of content?

 
 Table 5.2 : DOs and DON’Ts when writing an assignment

DO DON’T

a. Use short sentences. a. Use long-winded sentences to convey

your ideas.

b. State main ideas clearly and concisely in b. Generalise.

your own words, in topic sentences.

c. Use complete sentences and link these c. Use bullet points or lists.
into logical paragraphs.   

d. Be objective. d. Make assumptions or give your opinion

(unless asked for in the question).

e. Be concise. e. Be repetitive.

f. State reference sources. f. Plagiarise.

g. Check spelling, grammar and g. Leave it to your tutor to check.

punctuation.

h. Spell out abbreviations and acronyms h. Assume your tutor knows the
first, e.g. Kuala Lumpur International abbreviations and acronyms you use.
Airport (KLIA).

i. Be consistent and keep to clear formats i. Change formats throughout your

when referring to dates, e.g. 10 assignment.
November 2003 rather than 10.11.03.    

j. Use suitable linking words e.g. “In j. Leave the previous section hanging and
contrast”, “However”, “Nevertheless”. start a new section without referring to
the previous one.

 
 Figure 5.9: An example of a title page

5.6   ORAL PRESENTATION

Audience and Purpose of Presentation

You would need to know the audience and purpose of the presentation because it affects the equipment you use, the
level of preparation you need to make, the type of attire you need to wear, the language you use (formal or informal,
technical or layman), the setting of the room, whether to serve refreshments, etc.

Table 5.3 : Guidelines on Planning  and Preparing for Presentations

1. Understand the breadth and depth Research widely and gather as much
of the topic  information as you can about the main issue
and sub-issues.

2. Understand your audience Level of education, level of expectation, size,

language to use.

3. Be comfortable with your Layout of room, size, lighting, air-conditioning,

environment layout of chairs and tables, etc.

4. Decide on the type of presentation PowerPoint presentation, ipchart,

OHP/transparencies or oral and audio-video.

5. Check whether appropriate LCD, PC, OHP, microphone, pointer, white

equipment is available board, etc.

6. Check whether the materials to be Transparencies, diskettes, audio-video

used are available tapes/CD, paper, marker pens, etc.

7. Duration of presentation Important for PowerPoint and OHP so that the

correct number of slides or transparencies can
be prepared. (As a guide, prepare two to three
PowerPoint slides/ transparencies for one
minute depending on how much text is to be
explained).
 8. Start preparations early (preferably Take at least two weeks to prepare for your
presentation)    presentation. It is better to prepare
transparencies that are typed instead
handwritten.

9. Check on availability of equipment For PowerPoint, make sure the PC and LCD
are available and in working order.
For transparencies, make sure the OHP is
available and in working order. Make sure there
is a spare bulb available. For a ipchart or
whiteboard presentation, make sure ipchart
and paper, whiteboard and marker, pens and
duster are available.

10. Test the equipment using Test at least a few days before the 
PowerPoint/slides or presentation date to enable equipment to be
Transparencies repaired if necessary. Try out the PowerPoint
slides and transparencies to ensure uency and
ow of presentation.

11. Decide on suitable/appropriate Condence comes with knowing that you are
attire suitably dressed for the occasion.

12. Test the presentation Anticipate reaction by doing a trial run on

colleagues.

13. Be creative in using             Use animation, colours, graphics, cartoons, etc.

Use colours, illustrations, cut-outs, etc.
 PowerPoint
 Transparencies

14. Keep text to a minimum, clear and Use note form, summary, appropriate font,
easy to read (even from the back suitable background colours, etc.

The PowerPoint examples given below apply to both PowerPoint and OHP presentations:

(a)     Specify topic and presenters at the outset (Figure 5.10).

Use minimum text. The following text can be redone as shown in Figure 5.11.

Ensure smooth ow of ideas. Ensure a follow–through of issues as shown below. Click "next" to view next slides.

(d)        Use illustrations e.g. animation, colours etc.