Successful College Writing

I N T H I S C H A P T E R YO U W I L L L E A R N T O
Katheleen T. McWhorter
• prepare and deliver multimedia presentations,
• create
Material a résumé
de cátedra: Prof. and job application letter, and
Carrió
• use electronic media for workplace communication.

The presentations you wrote about in the Writing Quick Start will likely continue dur-
ing your college years and after. Many college professors use oral presentations to assess
their students’ understanding of a topic or issue. One professor has said, “If they can
talk about it, I know they understand it.” At work, you may give a presentation to cus-
tomers about a new product or to colleagues to help them understand a new process or
business endeavor.
Clearly, learning to prepare and give an effective presentation is a valuable experi-
ence that will make you a more confident student and a more valued employee. Even
more important is learning to communicate effectively in writing with colleagues, cli-
ents, patients, supervisors, coworkers, vendors, and so forth. Success on the job depends
largely on your ability to write and communicate clearly, correctly, and concisely.

MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATIONS IN
COLLEGE AND THE WORKPLACE

• For a sociology class, you conduct field research on college students’ attitudes
about a particular trend and report your findings to the class.
• As a sales representative for a Web site design company, you create and give a
presentation to a group of restaurant owners to demonstrate how a Web site
can increase their visibility and profitability.

MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATIONS
A multimedia presentation is a presentation to an audience — either face-to-face or
over the Internet — using visual aids. The visual aids may be a simple prop or poster or
presentation slides that may include graphics, video, sound files, animation, and other
media. By learning to make a presentation to an audience, you will gain self-confidence
and become a more effective communicator.

PLANNING YOUR PRESENTATION

The more carefully you plan your presentation, the more comfortable you will be in
delivering it. The sections that follow detail the steps to follow in planning a
presentation.

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For more on choosing and
narrowing a topic, see Chapter
5, pp. 99–103.
For more information on
determining your purpose, see
Chapter 5, p. 103.
For more on researching, see
Chapters 22–23.
For idea-generating strategies,
see Chapter 5; for more about
developing and supporting a
thesis, see Chapter 6.
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Select your topic. First, make sure you understand the assignment and the type of
presentation you are to give. Then consider your audience: What topics are important
to your listeners and will sustain their interest? Here are a few suggestions for choosing
a topic.
• Choose a topic that you find interesting or know something about. You will
find it easier to exude and generate enthusiasm if you speak about a topic that is
familiar and that you enjoy.
• Choose a topic that is appropriate and of value to your audience. Learning
how to choose a day care center may be of value to young parents, but you
may have difficulty sustaining the interest of average college students with such
a topic. Trivial topics such as how to create a particular hairstyle or a report
about characters on a soap opera are unlikely to have sufficient merit for college
instructors.
• Choose a topic you can explain fully in the time allotted. If your topic is too
broad, your presentation will go over time, or you may resort to generalities that
lack supporting evidence.
Identify your purpose. Determine whether your purpose is to express, inform, or
persuade. Then define your purpose more specifically. For a persuasive presentation, for
example, do you want to convince the audience that a change in policy is needed or
simply to encourage them to consider the issue with an open mind?
Research your topic. Unless your presentation is to be based on your personal
knowledge or experience, you will need to research your topic.
Consider what type of visual aids are appropriate. Visual aids, from maps and
photographs to sound and video files, add interest to your presentation and can be used
to reinforce your message and make your ideas clear and concrete. Flip charts or pre-
sentation programs, like PowerPoint and Prezi, can be used to show your main points
in outline form, which may make your presentation easier to follow. Presentation pro-
grams also allow you to integrate sound, photo, and video files into your presentation
seamlessly. Ask your instructor what is permissible and what media are available for
classroom use.
Some speakers find that using visual aids builds their confidence and lessens their
apprehension. Such aids distract speakers from thinking about themselves and how
they look, and lessen concerns that speakers will forget what they were planning to say
to their audience.
DRAFTING YOUR PRESENTATION
Once you have made a plan, begin drafting your presentation.
Develop a thesis and generate supporting ideas. Based on your research, cre-
ate a working thesis. Use idea-generating strategies to develop a variety of supporting
reasons, and consider which will be most effective, given your purpose and audience.
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Organize your presentation. Using one of the patterns of organization from Parts For more on organizing, see
3 and 4 will make your presentation easier for your audience to follow and for you to Chapter , pp. 139–44. Also
see the chapters in Part 3
remember the order of your main points. For example, you could use classification to
for planning presentations
organize a presentation on types of procrastinators, providing four main categories of using one of the patterns of
procrastinators with descriptive details to explain each. When organizing, consider sav- development.
ing your most convincing evidence or examples for last, as audience members are likely
to recall the end of your presentation more clearly than the beginning.

Draft the body of your presentation. When you write an essay, your readers can
reread if they miss a point. When you give a presentation, your listeners do not have
that option, so reiterate your thesis frequently to make your presentation easier to fol-
low, and use plenty of transitions to ensure that your listeners don’t get lost.
Select evidence that your audience would find convincing. Including different types
of evidence that reinforce one another, such as statistics to support the examples you
include, will help listeners recall your main points. Emotional appeals can be more To learn more about emotional
memorable for an audience than statistics, but reinforce any emotional appeals you appeals, see Chapter 20, p.
516–17.
make with concrete evidence. Including meaningful evidence adds credibility to your
presentation.

Work references to your sources into your presentation. Use signal phrases to To learn more about using
incorporate references to authors or works (or both), and include background informa- signal phrases, see Chapter
24, pp. 607–08; to learn more
tion about the author or work, to provide context. If you use quotations, avoid tedious
about integrating quotations,
expressions such as “I quote here” or “I want to quote an example.” Instead, integrate see Chapter 24, pp. 608–12.
your quotations into your speech as you would integrate quotations into an essay.

Draft your introduction and conclusion. Your introduction should grab your To learn more about writing
audience’s attention, introduce your topic, and establish a relationship between you introductions and conclusions,
see Chapter 7, pp. 147–51.
and your audience. To build a relationship with your audience, try to make connec-
tions with them. You might mention others who are present; refer to a shared situation
(a previous class or another student’s presentation); or establish common ground by
referring to a well-known event, personality, or campus issue.
Your conclusion is a crucial part of your presentation because it is your last oppor-
tunity to leave a strong impression on your audience. You should summarize your
speech and let the audience know your presentation is ending. The conclusion should
also remind listeners of the importance of your topic. Consider closing with a powerful
quotation or anecdote that reinforces your main point.

USING PRESENTATION SOFTWARE

Presentation software, like PowerPoint and Prezi, allows you to list or summarize your
main points and to embed multimedia evidence — audio, video, and image files — in
support of your claims. While PowerPoint allows a linear presentation of electronic
slides, Prezi allows zooming in and out of specific parts of your presentation. (Hint: To
create a presentation using Prezi, start by drawing an idea map and use that map to plan
an easy-to-follow path through the presentation.)

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• Use presentation software to aid understanding.

• Use a design template that suits your audience and purpose.

Arial
Verdana

• Format your slides so they are easily readable.

• Use presentation software to display visuals and graphics.

• Edit your slides carefully.

Eye-catching logo Title that focuses viewer’s attention

Bulleted list with only a few points Large point size for readability

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REHEARSING YOUR PRESENTATION

Practice is the key to comfortable and effective delivery. The following tips can help you
rehearse effectively.
• Practice giving the entire presentation, not just parts of it. Rehearse at least
three or four times, using your visual aids. Try to improve your presentation each
rehearsal.
• Time yourself. If you are over or seriously under the time limit, make necessary
cuts or additions, and edit your presentation slides accordingly.
• If possible, rehearse the presentation in the room in which you will give
it. This will make you more comfortable on the day of the presentation and
gives you an opportunity to find out in advance if the room can support the
technology you plan to use.
• Rehearse in front of an audience of a few friends or classmates. Ask them for
constructive criticism. Some students videotape their presentations to build their
confidence and identify areas that need improvement.

OVERCOMING APPREHENSION
Many students are nervous about making presentations. Often called “stage fright,” this
apprehension is normal. The first step to overcoming stage fright is to understand its
causes.
Some speakers are apprehensive because they feel conspicuous — at the center of
attention. Others feel they are competing with other, better speakers in the class. Still
others are apprehensive because the task is new and they have never done it before. You
can often overcome these feelings by following these suggestions.
• Prepare thoroughly. Knowing you have put together a solid, interesting presen-
tation can build your self-confidence and lessen your sense of competition.
• Practice, practice, practice. To reduce the newness of the task, practice your
presentation several times. (See the previous section on rehearsal.)
• Use desensitization. If someone is afraid of snakes, a desensitization therapist
might begin by showing the person a photograph, then a video, then a small
snake at a distance, and so forth, gradually building up the person’s exposure
time and tolerance. You can use the same technique to overcome your fear of
oral presentations by gradually building up to making presentations. Begin by
asking a question in class. Next, move on to answering questions in class. Then
try speaking in front of small groups (practicing your speech on a group of
friends, for example). Eventually you will become more comfortable with public
speaking and ready to make a presentation to the class.
• Use visualization. Visualization involves imagining yourself successfully
completing a task. For a presentation, create a mental recording that begins
with your arrival at the classroom and takes you through each step: confidently
walking to the front of the room, beginning your presentation, engaging your
audience, handling your notes, and so on. Visualize the presentation positively,
and avoid negative thoughts, to create the image of yourself as a successful

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speaker. Review your visualized performance often, especially on the day of your
presentation. As you give your presentation, try to model the look and feel of
your visualization.
• Imagine a friend in the audience. If you feel conspicuous, try to imagine that
you are talking to one friend or one friendly and supportive classmate. Looking
directly at one member of the audience at the beginning of your presentation
can help.

DELIVERING AN EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION

The delivery of your presentation ultimately determines its effectiveness. Use the sug-
gestions below, as well as Table 27.1, to improve the delivery of your presentation.
• Avoid using too many notes or a detailed outline. Instead, construct a key
word outline that will remind you of major points in the order you wish to
present them.
• Make eye contact with your audience. Make the audience part of your
presentation.
• Move around a little rather than standing stiffly. Use gestures to add an
expressive quality to your presentation.
• Speak slowly. Speaking too fast is a common mistake, but try not to overcom-
pensate by speaking too slowly or your audience may lose interest.

TABLE 27.1 Frequently Asked Questions for Making Presentations

Question
What should I do if I go blank?
What should I do if classmates
are restless, uninterested, or
even rude?
What should I do if I accidentally
omit an important part of the
presentation?
What if I realize that my speech
will be too short or too long?
Suggested Solutions
Refer to your notes or presentation slides.
Ask if there are any questions. Even if no
one asks any, the pause will give you time to
regroup.
Make eye contact with as many members of the
class as possible as you speak.
For a particularly troublesome person, you might
lengthen your eye contact.
Change the tone or pitch of your voice.
Try to make your speech more engaging by
asking questions or using personal examples.
Go back and add it in. Say something like, “I
neglected to mention . . .” and present the
portion you skipped.
If you realize it will be too short, try to add exam-
ples, anecdotes, or more detailed information.
If you realize it will be too long, cut out exam-
ples or summarize instead of fully explaining
sections that are less important.

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PREPARING A WEB-BASED PRESENTATION

At some point in your education or career, you may be asked to use an online meeting
application, such as GoToMeeting or Glance, which allows you to conduct virtual
meetings with instructors, colleagues, clients, and vendors. These applications allow
others to view what you have on your computer screen, so you can pull up Word docu-
ments, spreadsheets, presentation slides, and anything else for everyone to look at
together in real time. You may communicate by phone, by Skype, or via an online
instant messenger system through the application. The following tips will help you give
an effective Web-based presentation.
• Become familiar with the technology before your presentation. Your audi-
ence may become restless if you cannot resolve technical difficulties.
• Review all documents and materials prior to the meeting. Be sure you know
where to find the documents you need to display.
• Prepare thoroughly, but be ready to adjust your presentation in response
to questions from the audience. You should know the content well enough
to respond to a question or comment that draws you away from your prepared
remarks.
• Turn off all notifications and programs that are running on your
computer. You do not want an email from a friend popping up on your screen
while you are delivering a presentation.

BUSINESS WRITING
Business writing will be an important part of your life after college. Good business writ-
ing is concise and correct. It is often more direct than some forms of academic or per-
sonal writing. Because you are judged on the business documents that you write,
prepare materials that will present you and your accomplishments in the best light
possible.

PREPARING A RÉSUMÉ AND JOB APPLICATION LETTER

A résumé (Figure 27.1, p. 714) is a complete listing of all of your education, training,
and work experience in an easy-to-read format. A job application (or cover) letter
(Figure 27.2, p. 716) highlights the qualifications that make you right for the job and
convinces the employer that you are an excellent candidate for the opening. Because
your application packet will determine whether a potential employer will interview
you, tailor each one to the job for which you are applying.
Most employers invite applicants to upload résumés and job application (or cover)
letters to their Web sites or to send the application letter as an e-mail message with the
résumé attached. If you are sending a hard copy résumé and job application letter, print
both documents on good-quality white paper.

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