OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this assignment is to allow you to demonstrate your ability to present your research findings (on some aspect of "Richard Strauss") in a professional forum.

GENERAL METHOD: In broad outline, you will give a formal presentation of your major research project for the current semester that conforms to the following criteria:

PRESENTATION TIMES: You will choose (or be assigned) a thirty-minute slot during one of the the final two seminar meetings (the last class meeting and the final exam period, Tuesdays, 14 April and 21 April 2020) of the semester. See the following chart for your chosen/assigned time.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

• Within your 30-minute slot, you should aim to give a formal presentation of approximately 20-25 minutes in length (subject to the following points).
• You should plan to use no more than 1-2 minutes to set up your presentation, i.e., to load PowerPoint slides and/or other media, to plug in computers, to access distant web sites, etc. In short, you should be able to set up your presentation with a minimum of difficulty. Do NOT plan to test connections or compatibility issues with your devices and the University's in the minutes before you plan to speak. Do this sort of technical preparation on another day or time well beforehand. NB. Excessive delays (beyond 2-3 minutes) in starting your presentation will result in penalties.
• The presentation itself must be an absolute minimum of 18 minutes in length. This time includes all speaking, music examples, videos, and other activities. NB. Presentations that reach the minimum time through extended music examples or other obvious padding will be down-graded.
• Regardless of when you start, you must conclude your presentation no more than 27 minutes after the beginning of your time slot, i.e., including all set up and preliminary testing, in order to allow for 1-2 questions. NB. Presentations that run excessively long (still speaking at 27 minutes) will be stopped and seriously down-graded.
• You will answer at least 1-2 brief questions (or more), as time allows after your formal presentation.
• Be able to close down your computer and other presentation items as quickly as possible (perhaps while taking your last question), so that the next presenter may begin setting up.

SPEAKING VOICE: You may either read directly from a prepared typescript or speak from an outline and general notes, remembering to keep your summary of your project within the allotted time. You should speak with a professional tone, and those with naturally soft voices should be especially aware of maintaining a volume that reaches the entire room. Similarly, be aware of any vocal tics, e.g. "...um..", "...like...", etc., that can distract from your talk. Also, be aware of the pace of your speech. Do not rush in an attempt to force more material into the allotted time. Finally, remember that speaking extempore (with or without notes) will probably expand the time used, so practice your speach in advance.

VISUAL & AURAL AIDS: You are encouraged to use brief visual or aural aids, as appropriate for your topic, but do use such items simply to fill time. Know exactly how to cue up the items you wish to show, so as not to waste time. You may use any appropriate medium, e.g., Handout, PowerPoint, CD, YouTube, Streaming Audio, downloaded PDFs, Web accounts, etc., but remember that any time lost in cuing up such items or hunting for them online will count "on the clock." Prepare your access to such resources in advance and use such supporting items sparingly. Best is to download all supporting docs (PDF scores, Streaming audio/video) into a dedicated file, and/or prepare a PowerPoint slide with links to external sources. NB. Your grade will reflect the relevance and appropriateness of any example, i.e., does it actually contribute to the presentation. Good examples will save you time explaining points of almost any kind in your talk.

Q & A: You should be prepared to answer a few questions from other seminar members (and me) after you have concluded your presentation.

Your grade for this presentation will be determined by how well you summarize the issues you have researched (50%) and how well you "teach" that information to the group (50%). Clarity of expression, relevance, and accuracy of the information you present, and the ability to answer questions will be most valued. The Formal Presentation counts for 10% of the project grade.

NB. It is a requirement of this assignment that all class members be present for all presentations. You may not elect to be absent on the second day of presentations, if you gave your presentation on the first day, or vice versa. If you do skip, your grade will be adjusted downward by 50%.