TWO-MINUTE PRESENTATIONS

As a prewriting acitivity for both major papers for the cousrse, you will need to give an informal two-minute presentation that does the following:

• Introduces yourself
• Indicates what writer(s)/text(s) from the syllabus will be in your paper
• Presents your thesis: what is the specific interpretation you want readers to have about the author or text underdiscussion?
• Offers key facts/quotes/details that support the claim you are trying to make in your thesis

Please bear in mind that these presentations are infomral in that you do not need to dress up or prepare a PowerPoint or handouts for your classmates. The goal is for each of you to use the pressure of having to speak to the class to help motivate you to come up with not just a topic ("I want to write about X writer about how they feel about Y"), but an actual thesis that contains a claim about a specific interpretation you want people to believe about your writer or text ("Poe's preference for dead women in his poetry indicates that he fantasizes about women who cannot choose leave or refuse him"). You may want to prepare some notes to help you in case you panic during your presentation and need a prompt to get your presentation back on track.

On presentation days, you are expected to attend, be prepared to speak and to offer constructive criticism to your classmates, all of whom will be invited to pose quesstions and make suggestions on your topic prior to you actually writing the paper. The presentation is a way to field test your thesis in order to have others help you refine the idea or address obvious challenges to your interpretation before you actually write the paper.

Two minutes is not a long time, but it can seem like an eternity if you don't prepare prior to giving your presentation. It's usually pretty obvious who took a few minutes to gather their thoughts and who decieed to wing it. I will use a timer that will quack like a duck when your two minutes is up: if you aren't finished, you'll be allowed to continue, but wrap it up in the next minute out of respect for the rest of the class.

If you miss the scheduled day for presentations, you will be allowed to present in the next class if there is time for it. If not, you will receive a zero.

This assignment is worth 10 points that should help raise your grade if you spend a few minutes preparing. Good luck!