Sample Presentations

Below you will find links to sample PPT presentations that I have created to illustrate an example of both an outstanding and very poor quality presentation.

Excellent Presentation

The first presentation, written for FAS310 (Human Behavior in a Cross-cultural Context), explores reasons for the very low divorce rate between American men and Filipino women. It is a tightly focused and well-researched presentation that required almost eight (8) hours of my time to complete. Half of that time was devoted to the literature review (finding appropriate articles, reading them, and thinking about them) and the remaining three hours or so were devoted to organizing, writing, and refining the presentation. You will need the password given in class to open this zipped file.

Very Poor Quality Presentation

The second presentation, one that addresses material covered in FAS230 (Introduction to Psychology), is an example of how NOT to create a PowerPoint presentation for my class. Instead of developing a well thought-out research question or specific area of focus, the "student" used a general heading "Anxiety Disorders" for his topic. The presentation was entirely adapted from an online source and is composed of nothing more than a mindless listing of the five major types of anxiety disorders and their definitions, followed by a summary of treatment options.

There is no professional use of literature within the body of the presentation, there is no evidence of critical thinking, the student never cared enough about the assignment to even think of a specific topic or research question, and the references at the end of the presentation are nonsensical (that is, they were never really used to write or inform the presentation). The entire presentation required about 20 minutes of my time (the hard part was changing the wording of the copied text so that the "professor" could not locate the original source on the Internet). This type of presentation would earn a grade of "zero" (0) if I can determine that the material was based entirely on an outside source (copied and pasted) to a grade of no more than a 50 (minimal pass). A detailed analysis of why a low grade was assigned is provided in the last three slides.

Sample Presentations

Exploration of the Low Divorce Rate in Marriages between American Men and Filipino Women. This is an example of a well thought-out and academically superior presentation. It is highly focused and a well-researched effort that is both informative and interesting. Entire presentation required close to eight hours to complete. Excellent Presentation (Grade 95 to 100).

Anxiety Disorders. This is an example of a lazy and thoughtless presentation. The topic is not a topic at all but a general heading. The student simply copied and pasted definitions and symptoms of each disorder (although he was smart enough to change enough of the words with his own so he wouldn't get a zero for plagiarism). References that are offered in the last slide were never used to write or inform the presentation itself. Entire presentation required approximately 20 minutes to complete. This is an example of "doing something just to get it over with." Grade 0 to 50.