Student Handbook For Assignment Preparation

Version 1.0 November 2010

 2010 by Informatics Academy International A Division of Informatics Education Ltd. Informatics Campus 12 Science Centre Road Singapore 609080

Student Handbook for Assignment Preparation

First Printing November 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any form or means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. Every precaution has been taken by the publisher and author(s) in the preparation of this book. The publisher offers no warranties or representations, and does not accept any liabilities with respect to the use of any information or examples contained herein. All brand names and company names mentioned in this book are protected by their respective trademarks and are hereby acknowledged. The developer is wholly responsible for the contents, errors and omission.

Published by Informatics Education Ltd

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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: GENERAL GUIDELINES .......................................................................................... 5
1.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................................ 5 1.2 ASSIGNMENT PREPARATION GUIDELINES ................................................................................................................. 6 1.3 WRITING GUIDELINES ................................................................................................................................................. 8 1.4 ASSIGNMENT LAYOUT GUIDELINES ............................................................................................................................ 9

CHAPTER 2: REFERENCING ........................................................................................................ 11

2.1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 PLAGIARISM ............................................................................................................................................................... 12 2.3 THE HARVARD REFERENCING SYSTEM .................................................................................................................... 15

CHAPTER 3: REPORT WRITING ................................................................................................ 18

3.1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................................... 18 3.2 COVER SHEET ............................................................................................................................................................ 19 3.3 TITLE PAGE (FOR PROJECT ONLY)............................................................................................................................ 20 3.4 ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................................................. 21 3.5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................................ 22 3.6 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................................... 23 3.7 BODY .......................................................................................................................................................................... 23 3.8 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................................................ 24 3.9 LIST OF REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................. 24 3.10 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................................................... 24 3.11 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................................................ 25

CHAPTER 4: ORAL PRESENTATIONS ...................................................................................... 27

4.1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................................... 27 4.2 ORGANIZING THE PRESENTATION ............................................................................................................................ 28 4.3 GIVING PRESENTATION............................................................................................................................................. 29 4.4 USING VISUAL AIDS ................................................................................................................................................... 30

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Chapter 1 General Guidelines

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Chapter 1: General Guidelines

1.1 Introduction
Writing for assignment is a mean of communicating ideas or demonstrating analytical skills in a structured way. By doing so, you will improve your communication skill as well as analytical skill which are valuable one day when you join the working force. Employees who are incapable of preparing clear and understandable written communications tend to be relegated to passive roles in this process. They become information receivers and not information generators and thus gradually find themselves out of the mainstream, out of touch with what is going on, and out of mind when raises and promotions are given. To a great extent, an employees value is measured by the ability to communicate clearly and effectively. In effect, professionals market their skills through the ability to communicate. The best opportunity that anyone has to improve his or her communications skills occurs while he or she is still a student, surrounded by people interested in assisting in this endeavour.

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1.2 Assignment Preparation Guidelines

Preparing assignment could be an intimidating task for many students. Majority of failures in assignment arise from lack of initiative coupled with poor planning. Students tend to delay their assignment work until it is very close to the deadline and hope that they can get a pass grade for their last-minute job. Following steps should be used as a guide to assist you in completing your assignment successfully. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Read the assignment question Understand the assignment guidelines Select a topic (if applicable) Analyze the topic Search for information Evaluate and select Take notes from resources Plan an outline Organize and consolidate Write the assignment Check and review Submit before deadline

Many students tend to plunge straight into doing the assignment without the proper understanding of the requirements or guidelines. You should check those requirements or guidelines before starting your preparation, and revisiting these requirements or guidelines during the preparation. You should not make assumptions on the requirements or guidelines that you do not fully understand. If you feel uncertain, always consult your lecturer. Some assignments may consist of a few topics or questions from which you can choose. You should select the topic or question that interests you most. You could consult with your classmates or even with your lecturers if you are uncertain about choosing the best topic for yourself. Once the topic/question is chosen, you must analyze it carefully. You should ask yourself questions such as What are the main issues? and What does the question require you to do: to explain, evaluate, analyze etc... The meaning of each term in the question must be understood fully.

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Next, you should gather your information from different sources. While the Internet is one of the best (most convenient?) sources of information that students rely on, many are tempted to do cut-andpaste jobs for their assignments without realizing that the plagiarized work can be easily detected. You should keep track of the web sites you have visited and information you have downloaded so that you can retrieve them effortlessly when required. You also must remember to quote those web sources in reference section as use of such information without acknowledgement is considered as plagiarism. There are inexhaustible amount of information you can find on the Internet which may be related to your assignment topic. You must analyze and decide which information you should use and which information you should discard based on the requirements as well as expectation of your assignment. After all necessary information has been gathered, it is time for you to start preparing the outlines of your assignment. Usually the assignment guidelines will include the format and structure of the report. Based on the given format and structure, you can outline all the topics. Then you should organize your assignment by writing notes for each part of the assignment (e.g. introduction, body, conclusion, etc.). Writing the assignment comes next and you must always use a good academic writing. You should not write your assignment the same way that you speak. Writing of assignment will be discussed in detail in the next chapter. It is always advisable to review your work after finishing. You may even ask your lecturer to review your draft assignment to check any missing topics or mistakes. If you plan your work properly and follow your plan strictly, you can definitely submit your assignment on time. You should strive to submit your assignment before the deadline. Your lecturer will appreciate the timeliness, and an early submission (with a reasonably good piece of work) will leave a good impression with your lecturer and your effort will be appreciated.

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1.3 Writing Guidelines

Language It is very important to take note that conversational English is NOT acceptable in writing assignments. In other words, you should not use spoken words in academic writing. Assignments are formal form of written work which transcribes ones thoughts and ideas. In oral communication, unclear points can be clarified by asking by the audience and explaining by the presenter. This cannot be done in written work. Thus, the meaning and conclusion you want to communicate must be concise, so that the reader can comprehend your writing without need for clarifications from you. Words must be chosen carefully and the flow of your presentation must provide logical progression of thoughts that eventually lead to the conclusion you make. For example, if you are writing about the benefits of E-commerce you should start with the background on commercial activities followed by emergence of technologies that enable E-commerce before explaining about the benefits. The following points should be considered when writing assignments: You should allow time for proof-reading. Whenever possible, you should give your assignment to someone who is not studying the same course to read. If that person understands the points that you make in your assignment, then it is very likely that you have produced a well-written piece of work. You should take extra care to ensure that your work is free of spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors. You should use spell-check function of your word processor software before submitting your assignment. But be aware that the function is not intelligent enough to pick up the errors of incorrect use of words such as its and its; affect and effect; complement and compliment; stationary and stationery. Consult a dictionary to ensure the correct word is used. You should not use contractions such as dont, cant, or havent. The assignment should be written in third person. This is to ensure that your work is perceived as objective but not personal. You should avoid using words such as I, me, we, our, he, or she.

Use of tables, figures, and graphs The following guidelines should be adhered to when using tables, figures, and graphs. They must have clear and defined purposes and they must be referred to in the body of your assignment. You should ensure that captions or titles are clear to understand and they are set in bold. They must be numbered and referred in the text rather than using above or below (E.g. Table 2.1, Figure 1.0, etc) The numbering should follow paragraph numbering. For example, in chapter 3, all tables should be numbered 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 etc. in sequential order.

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1.4 Assignment Layout Guidelines

The following guidelines should be used when formatting your assignment. Assignments should be typed in Arial font size 12 with one inch top, bottom, left, and right margin. Text should not be in all upper-case type. It is difficult to read texts set in upper-case. Use underline to highlight or emphasize words or points. Assignments should be typed using 1.5 line spacing. Assignments should be submitted on one-sided A4 size paper. Page number should be inserted in a consistent place on the page (e.g. bottom centre of each page) All headings and subheadings should be clearly identified and numbered. It is not necessary to start a new page for each new section or subsection. But headings should not be left at the bottom of a page without a body text below them. There should be at least two lines of body text below a heading before continuing to a new page. Assignments should be bind properly using either a staple or spiral binding. Some assignments require minimum or maximum word count. Use the word count function of the word processor to help you. You should keep a copy of your assignment for your own record. Original copy of the assignment must be submitted. Use assignment cover sheets provided together with the assignment question Some assignments may be allowed to be submitted electronically. But you should still follow standard formatting guidelines and use page breaks to ensure that your work stays where it is supposed to be. If possible, convert your work into pdf format so that the formatting will not be lost.

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Chapter 2 Referencing

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Chapter 2: Referencing
2.1 Introduction
The main objective of referencing is to acknowledge the intellectual property of others and thus to avoid plagiarism. Referencing includes the original authors name and particulars of the book (for printed material) or website (for electronic material). Apart from acknowledging original ideas of others, referencing indirectly prove that you have read extensively on the topic. By proper referencing, you demonstrate that your work has enough depth and scope required by the assignment question. Referencing also allows reader to locate your original source of material.

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2.2 Plagiarism
Plagiarism, which can be defined as using another persons words or ideas without giving acknowledgement, and submitting them for assessment as though it were ones own work. This includes copying, translating from one language to another or unacknowledged paraphrasing. If you use someone elses ideas in your assignment, you must acknowledge that these are not your own original ideas by giving appropriate referencing. You commit plagiarism when considerable portion of work by others are copied directly and they are not appropriately referenced. Even if you change few words of what original author says, you must acknowledge that the idea comes from someone else. This is called paraphrasing. You can be accused of plagiarism when ideas and observations of others have been used and material is paraphrased or summarized without appropriate referencing. Further examples of plagiarism are given below: (i) Use of any quotation(s) from the published or unpublished work of other persons, whether published in textbooks, articles, the Web, or in any other format, which quotations have not been clearly identified as such by being placed in quotation marks and acknowledged. (ii) Use of another persons words or ideas that has been slightly changed or paraphrased to make it look different from the original. (iii) Summarising another persons ideas, judgements, diagrams, figures, or computer programs without reference to that person in the text and the source in the bibliography. (iv) Use of services of essay banks and/or any other agencies. (v) Use of unacknowledged material downloaded from the Internet. (vi) Re-use of ones own material except as authorised by the department.

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Dealing with Plagiarism Students are required to submit their assignments to plagiarism checking software (e.g. mydropbox.com, turnitin.com, etc.), and to include the report that they get from the software with their assignment. Guidance as to how they should interpret that report is as follows: If you have a matching percentage of 20% or less, you can submit the coursework as it is. If you have a matching percentage between 21% and 50%, you must check carefully that you have properly cited ALL the text that is identified as coming from other sources (this is usually all the coloured text). If you have a matching percentage between 51% and 69%, it is likely that your coursework does not contain enough of your own ideas. You need to carefully review your use of sources, check they are cited correctly and you may need to rewrite some sections of your work. If you have a matching percentage between 70% and 79%, there is not sufficient material of your own in the coursework. As well as carefully reviewing your use of sources and checking they are cited correctly you will need to rewrite some sections of your work, using your own words and ideas. If you have a matching percentage of 80% or more, your coursework is not acceptable. You MUST rewrite it in your own words correctly citing any sources you use. You MUST resubmit your rewritten coursework to mydropbox.com 24 hours before the final coursework deadline in order to include both plagiarism reports when you submit your coursework.

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Collusion Although it is acceptable and encouraged to share ideas with your peers, all assignments must be the work of individuals, unless group projects are specifically mentioned in the guidelines. It is not acceptable for two or more students to submit identical work. This is considered an act of collusion, and such cases will be dealt with seriously, and may result in a failed grade. Collusion cases can be easily detected by lecturers by observing identical layout, identical mistakes, identical argument and identical presentation. You can discuss your ideas with your classmates to get informal feedback on your work. But you must protect your work from intentional or unintentional copying by other students. You must never lend your assignment to other students before submission. Providing your work to other students with the intention of assisting them is also considered as an act of collusion. Your files (e.g. word document, program listing, etc.) relating to assignment must be secured so that they cannot be viewed by other students.

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2.3 The Harvard Referencing System

I. In Text Referencing (acknowledgement in the main body of your assignment) 1. 2. 3. Example: The main risk in designing a technology-driven game is that you will spend too much time concentrating on the technology (Rollings and Adams, 2003) List the family names (Surnames) of authors of the work Give the year the book was published. This is the most recent copyright date, and NOT the printing (or reprinting) date. Give the page number(s) where the cited information can be found in the publication

II. Harvard Referencing for Books 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. List authors in the order they are given on the title page, with family names first followed by the initial of given names. Give the year the book was published. This is the most recent copyright date, and NOT the printing (or reprinting) date. Give the full title of the book in italics. Give the city in which the book was publish followed by a colon. Give the name of the publisher.

Example: Rollings, A.& Adams, E., 2003. Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design. Berkeley, California, USA: New Riders

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III. Harvard Referencing for Journal Articles 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Example: Capkun S. & Hubaux J., 2006, Secure positioning in wireless networks. IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, 24(2):221232. List authors in the order they are given on the title part of the article, with family names first followed by the initial of given names. Give the year the article was published. Give the full title of the article. Give the name of the journal in italics. Give the volume and part of the journal followed by the page numbers of the article.

IV. Harvard Referencing for Articles with anonymous author

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Example:

Write Anon. for anonymous (author unknown) Give the year the article was published. Give the full title of the article. Give the name of the journal in italics. Give the date the article was published. Give number of page numbers of the article.

Anon., 2007, Hazard of Microwave Radiation. Asia Telecommunications, (20 Nov), 12.

V. Harvard Referencing for online sources

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

List authors (if available) in the order they are given on the title part of the article, with family names first followed by the initial of given names. Give the year the article was published. Give the full title of the article followed by [online]. Give the name of the website publisher in italics. Write Available at followed by website address Give the date that you accessed the website

Example: Roberts, J., 2005. Starting Mobile Applications with C#. [online]. CoderSource.Net, Available at http://www.codersource.net/asp_net_mobile_first_app.aspx [Accessed 19 May, 2008]

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Chapter 3 Report Writing

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Chapter 3: Report Writing

3.1 Introduction
Report writing is probably one of the greatest challenges that a typical tertiary student faces during the course of study.. Reports of assignment or project document constitute a significant portion of work done by a student.

All reports should follow proper structure so that readers can read and understand the document easily. A formal report should contain the following sections. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Cover Sheet Title Page (for project only) Abstract Table of Contents Introduction Body Conclusions List of References Bibliography (if necessary) Appendices

Note: This is a general guideline and you should follow the instructions given in the assignment or project guidelines.

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3.2 Cover Sheet

The cover sheet mainly identifies the student, module, term, and due date. It also contains a signed declaration by student against plagiarism. You must always use the cover sheet provided by Informatics Academy.

Figure 3.1 Example of Assignment Cover Sheet

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3.3 Title Page (for project only)

The title page is placed after the cover sheet and it should provide the following: Informatics Logo Name of school Name of programme The title of the report The date of submission of the report The students name

School of Information & Communication Technology

Informatics Computer School Singapore

International Advanced Diploma in Computing

Online Travel Booking System

By Adrian Ching James Kumar August 2008

Figure 3.2

Example of a project title page

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3.4 Abstract
An abstract is a brief (normally 200 words or less) summary of the essential contents of the report. It is placed before the body of the report so that the reader may decide from it whether to read the full report or not. In practice, the abstract often exists apart from the report in library collections and can make decisions as to what reports are needed to complete their research. A summary (often called an executive summary) is sometimes used in place of an abstract when attached to the report. A summary will never exist separately from the report, however. The abstract should include brief statements of the objectives, the method used to satisfy the objectives, significant results (normally one or two), and conclusions. Figures and tables should not be referred to in the abstract, and equations normally should not be used. It is usually best to write the abstract last, scanning the report body for essential information and presenting this information in as few words as possible. An example of typical abstract with the essential elements identified is given below.
The World Wide Web has provided a strong medium for networked computing with independent platform. As the Internet continues to grow, there will be a practical as well as economical sense to connect number of devices to the Internet. Hence, embedded web servers are needed to access, monitor, and control these devices. This work investigated the issues involved in developing an embedded web server which monitors and controls a number of devices through its re-configurable I/O ports. This thesis also provides detail discussion on the software and hardware aspects of an embedded web server. Site Player embedded server module was used as a base unit in this research. With the PC interface, embedded server module was configured with appropriate I/O control codes as well as user interface. The example application used with the embedded server module was a servoservodriven robot arm which has four servo motors to control the movements of its base, arm, wrist, and grip. Further integration and greater capability of web-enable devices which are being used in factory automation and home appliances control were discussed as future works of this research.

Figure 3.3

Example of Abstract

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3.5 Table of Contents

The table of contents should be listed after abstract and the pages should be numbered using a roman numeral (e.g. i, ii, iii). Chapters are listed together with topics and corresponding page numbers. You should apply TOC style if you are using Microsoft word to automate the formatting and numbering. If a topic covers more than one page, only the first page that the topic starts need to be shown in the table contents.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 1. Introduction 2. Current System (if any). 3. Proposed System 4. Specifications 4.1 Input Specification 4.2 Screen Design 4.3 Program Design 4.4 Validation and processing 5. Program Listing 6. Testing 6.1 Test Plan 6.2 Test Cases 6.3 Test Log 6.4 Screen Dumps 7. Implementation 7.1 User Manual 8. Conclusion 8.1 Strengths 8.2 Weaknesses 8.3 Enhancements List of References Appendices Appendix 1 Appendix 2

Page i 1 2 3 4 4 6 8 11 15 30 30 34 36 40 45 45 55 55 56 56 57 59 61

Figure 3.4 Example of Table of Contents

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3.6 Introduction
The primary purpose of the introduction is to provide the necessary background on the subject, to describe the objectives of the work accomplished, and to define the method and scope of the report. The introduction should identify the aim of the assignment or project and include the reason for doing the work. Figures and tables should not be used in the introduction. The introduction should be approximately one typewritten page, but the length can be either longer or shorter depending on the subject being introduced.

3.7 Body
The body of a report is the main part and it contains discussions and analysis. The contents must be presented in logical sequence, using appropriate paragraphing. Each paragraph should contain one main idea. Whenever new ideas or new directions are presented, they should be placed under new headings or sub-headings. You must ensure that your research findings and proven facts must be used to support your discussions. The following self-test questions should be answered to have a well thought discussion. How do you find out about this? Why is this so? Why do you make such opinion? Why do you select this solution / process / design?

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3.8 Conclusions
Conclusions reached during discussions and analysis in the body of the report should be restated here in a more general, less specific manner. Conclusions are normally listed in the order of their importance, preferably in itemized form, although a narrative presentation is completely satisfactory. Already known facts should not be included in this section, and conclusions should not be confused with factual test or experimental results. If conclusions are qualified, give the assumptions and limitations that apply. No new information should be introduced in this section. The conclusions provide a quick reference for the reader with limited time. Often a reader will only read the abstract and the conclusions sections of the report. Thus it is imperative that conclusions be stated concisely and accurately, with whatever qualifications that apply. There should not be discussion in the conclusions section but the significant thoughts from discussion in the previous section can be extracted.

3.9 List of References

You must list all material cited throughout the report in alphabetical order in List of References. You should follow Harvard Referencing style as mentioned in chapter 2.

3.10 Bibliography
A bibliography is an alphabetical listing of all the sources of information that you have read, used or referenced when researching and preparing the report. Although most assignments do not require bibliography, it is a good practise to include it if you are writing report for a project.

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3.11 Appendices
Appendices are used to provide supporting data that are not significant enough to be included in the body of the report. In this manner the body of the report can focus on material essential to the discussion and conclusions, and readers will not be distracted by supporting information of little importance in the main body of the report. Less important information can be included in the appendix without cluttering up the more significant portions of the report. Because only serious readers are usually interested in the data included in the appendix, the distribution of the full report (including appendix), is sometimes restricted to only a few readers. This decision is, of course, also a function of the relative size of the appendix. Some information associated with the test effort is of so little interest and importance that it should not normally be included in the report or in the appendix. Each separate item should be included as a separate appendix (for example, Appendix A Program Listing, Appendix B ASCII Conversion Table).

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Chapter 4 Oral Presentation

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Chapter 4: Oral Presentations

4.1 Introduction
Giving an oral presentation is possibly one of the most trying experiences a newly graduated professional has to face. Fortunately, as experience is gained and confidence increases, giving an oral presentation becomes less formidable. However, the apprehension associated with standing before an audience never totally disappears for most people, and thus some means of controlling fear and turning it to an advantage is needed. You should understand very well about the importance of communication when you are preparing for your presentation. The dictionary defines the word communicate as to impart, to share, or to make common. This definition implies that communication is a sharing of ideas and thoughts in a way that is understood in the same way by all the participants in the discussion. This definition places considerable responsibility on the person who is doing the speaking to not only send his or her message, but to ensure that it is received and understood. To accomplish this goal, you must know your audience, use language that is common to them, and elicit feedback to ensure that the message is received and understood. Although many settings do not allow all of these objectives to be satisfied, these goals are ones that you should strive to achieve.

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4.2 Organizing the Presentation

You should organize the presentation into three parts, an introduction, body, and conclusion. Before the presentation actually starts, you should take care of several things. A PowerPoint slide identifying the subject of the presentation, the audience of the presentation, your name and the title of topic you are presenting, and the date should be projected on the screen. This makes it clear for the audience exactly what is going to be discussed and who the presenters are. As you begin the presentation, appropriate introductions should be made. You should introduce the other members in your team by having each individual stand up as their name is mentioned. The presentation is now ready to begin. Introduction: An outline of what is to be discussed by what individual (if several people involved) should be initially presented. This outline should be accompanied by an appropriate visual aid. This gives the audience an overview as to what is to be discussed and follows the militarys recommendation for presentations: tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. The background for the subject should then be presented, supported by appropriate visual aids. It is important to capture the interest and attention of the audience at this point. The introduction should also include a clear statement and explanation of the problem as well as the objectives of the assignment or project. If theory must be included in the presentation, it can be given as a section of the introduction or integrated with the discussion in the body of the presentation. The decision as to where the theory is included depends on the degree of difficulty, the magnitude, and whether it can logically be separated from the detailed discussion in the body of the presentation. Whenever it is located, theory requires a special emphasis to make it understandable to an audience that has little time to absorb difficult concepts.

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Body: The body is the meat of the presentation and corresponds generally to the results and discussion section of the written report. As is true of the written report, the body of the presentation should be supported with an adequate number of visual aids. Figures showing curves, drawings, or sketches are preferred over tables, which often contain too much information for the audience to grasp during 30 to 60 seconds that a visual aid is normally projected. The body of the presentation should include the information necessary to substantiate the conclusions of the effort being reported on. The flow of this part of the presentation should be such that the audience can easily follow the evolution of the effort from the first steps and findings to the final conclusion. Conclusion: The conclusion of an oral report should include a summary of what has been presented. Conclusions can be listed individually and discussed briefly, emphasizing the importance of major findings. If recommendations are appropriate, the conclusion is the place to include them, as well. The important thin to keep in mind here is that statements made at the conclusion of the presentation are ones most likely to be remembered by the audience. The presentation should be concluded dynamically, leaving the audience with the most important conclusion, suggestion, and recommendation.

4.3 Giving Presentation

Many students have cold feet before doing presentation. Possibly the most effective way to control fear is preparation. If the speaker is well prepared and thoroughly understands the material to be presented, the likelihood of experiencing uncontrolled fear is greatly diminished. Familiarity with the environment in which the presentation is to be given also helps to build confidence. Becoming familiar with the size and layout of the room, whether there is an audio system or podium, the location of light switches, position of projectors, and so forth, before the presentation is very helpful in reducing anxiety and minimizing difficulties during the actual event. Wearing the proper attire also helps to establish confidence and to minimize feelings of inadequacy. Some feeling of fear can actually be an asset as it generates concern for the importance of the event, which often results in diligent preparation and practice. Fear and also enhance alertness and may contribute to developing the up or on feeling so essential for outstanding presentations. Uncontrollable fear and outright panic are difficult to deal with because they are totally due to emotional factors not related to any correctable situation. One technique that seems to be beneficial in combating uncontrollable fear is to penetrate the barrier between the speaker and the audience by getting some sort of dialogue going. If you have a fellow classmate in the audience, the classmate can ask a question or make some comment that requires an answer or action from you. When there is no one in the audience to perform this service you can ask some questions to the audience that require an answer. The question or comment can be as simple as Can you focus that point better? or Can everyone see that?

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Relating personal experiences that support the presentation theme is also a good technique. Tying the various parts of the presentation together so that there is a logical flow is essential. The audience should always know where you are and where you are going in relation to the subject of talk at all times. Most importantly, you must always stay in character and be yourself. Finally, a strong closing should always be made. If the presentation ends by just trailing off with thats all I have or thank you, the audience will probably not be persuaded by the speaker and will certainly not feel a strong impetus to support the thesis of the presentation. The presentation should end with a strong summary of what has been discussed, emphasizing the points of greatest importance.

4.4 Using Visual Aids

Slides used in oral presentations should be simple and uncluttered. It should be remembered that a typical slide is only projected for a period of 30 or 60 seconds, and the audience does not have time to assimilate difficult or complicated material. A general rule of thumb is to make only one point for each slide and to use no more than seven words per line and no more than seven lines on each slide. Printing must be big and bold, and abbreviations and legends need to be avoided. Titles must be appropriate and informative. The use of colour is recommended, but its use should be limited to basic red, blue, green, yellow, and black.

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