Class Presentations

Schedule (tentative)

You will have (at most) 30 minutes for your entire presentation followed by up to 15 min. of discussion. It is entirely up to you how you spend this time (e.g., you may want to present the theory first, then give an example if you are presenting a theoretical paper, you may want to invite questions, etc.). Once your time is up, however, I will more or less abruptly interrupt any presentation (similar to the way it is done at conferences), so make sure that your presentation fits within the allotted time.

You should use visual aids to help people follow your presentation (the choice is yours: overhead or slide projector, beamer, etc.). You may also want to prepare a handout that summarizes the main points of your talk (although this is not necessary). If you decide to use the computer, you might want to consider a HTML or PDF format for your presentation/handout (which I can then link to the course web page and other people can easily print out).

While you may assume that people will have skimmed the paper, it is always a good idea to assume they haven't and start by reviewing the most important basic concepts as well (if only to get people back in the right frame of mind). At the same time keep in mind that people will be able to read the paper afterwards again, hence it is not necessary (and most likely not possible either) to present *all* the material. Rather, you should attempt to give an overview of the material at a level detailed enough to be interesting and worth listening to with a focus on one or two subtopics, but without getting caught up in details all the time--it is a good thing, though, to present the topics of focus in great detail.

It is often very helpful to keep track of what you found difficult to understand in preparing your talk as other people might find it hard too. That way you can plan ahead of time, which topics will need more attention (sometimes you will get interrupted by questions, which may trigger a discussion or may force you to go over a topic again, possibly presenting a different example; it is a good thing to be prepared for such occasions, e.g., by thinking of other additional examples before hand, even if you do not intend to present them).

While I leave it up to you how to structure your presentation and what to focus on, make sure that you explain your points well (i.e., don't gloss over necessary detail, spend more time on complicated concepts, give examples, make sure everybody is with you from time to time, etc.). If you have any questions about the material, send me email and/or schedule a meeting with me (you may also consult and use additional sources and use other materials). In any case it is important that you know and understand the material you want to present.