Post-Graduate Unit, QCD111 Communication 1: Seminar Presentation

Post-graduate unit, QCD111 Communication 1: seminar presentation

Developed by Josie Healy and Moira Cordiner

Synopsis of the task and its context

This unit prepares QUT International College students for further post-graduate studies in other faculties. For this task, weighted as 1/3 of the assessment for the unit, students learn how to conduct a seminar presentation in a post-graduate context, that is, how to:

·  research, prepare and present information to suit and interest their audience of peers

·  ask and respond to questions (both as presenter and as a member of the audience)

·  use speaking skills and body language to assist the audience to understand the speaker’s intended meaning.

Students are given a broad topic for which they prepare content and questions for the audience. The content can be related to students’ respective discipline areas. Feedback from their seminar presentation informs their responses to a future written task.

Match between objectives/learning outcomes and criteria for the task

Objectives / Task-specific criteria
On completion of this unit you should be able to: / On completion of this task you should be able to demonstrate:
1. demonstrate the reading, writing, listening and speaking skills required to carry out research / Conventions of academic oral presentation
1. content and structure
·  content quality
·  organisation of content
·  language choices
2. delivery
·  vocal quality
·  interaction with audience
·  supporting materials
These two criteria (‘content and structure’ and ‘delivery’) are derived from part of objectives 1 and 3 that relate to speaking skills, English, spoken genres and referencing
3. communicate in a post-graduate context by following the conventions of:
·  academic English language
·  written and spoken genres
·  referencing
2. apply a critical thinking approach to evidence presented in both yours and others’ academic work

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Interpreting the criteria sheet on the next page

Note that this criteria sheet uses some descriptors that are the same across standards HD and DN. These are (i) the second descriptor for criterion 1 (‘content and structure’) and the first, second and last descriptors for criterion 2 (delivery) because this is what Josie typically sees in student work and what she expects of students who reach these two standards. Note that all the other descriptors for standard HD and DN are different. This means that it is these different descriptors that distinguish a standard HD from a DN. This way of setting out standards can help you avoid ‘contriving’ a difference between the standards when, in some instances, there is no difference.

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criteria / HD (High Distinction) / DN (Distinction) / CR (Credit) / PP (Pass) / NN (Fail) /
Conventions of academic oral presentation / In your seminar presentation, you: / In your seminar presentation, you: / In your seminar presentation, you: / In your seminar presentation, you: / In your seminar presentation, you: /
1. content and structure
·  content quality / ·  prepared existing content and consistently modified it to suit the audience’s level of understanding, without oversimplifying, and formally acknowledged sources by following a referencing convention / ·  prepared existing content and modified it to suit the audience’s level of understanding, without oversimplifying, and formally acknowledged sources by following a referencing convention / ·  prepared existing content and made some modifications to suit the audience’s level of understanding, and acknowledged sources / ·  provided existing content that comprised mostly impersonal, formal, and complex wording in lengthy sentences (‘textbook-like’), and prepared some of it by making small modifications / ·  provided existing content that comprised impersonal, formal, and complex wording in lengthy sentences (‘textbook-like’)
·  organisation of content / ·  coherently and concisely organised the content to meet the required timeframe, followed the conventional structure (introduction with an initial stimulus or ‘hook’, body and conclusion) and effectively used cohesive ties / ·  organised the content to meet the required timeframe, and followed the conventional structure (introduction, body and conclusion) and used some cohesive ties / ·  organised the content to sound like a list, may have met the required timeframe, and followed the conventional structure (introduction, body and conclusion) / ·  presented the content in separate chunks and may have met the required timeframe
·  language choices / ·  clearly conveyed your intended meaning to the audience, by making effective and mostly accurate choices of syntax, grammar and vocabulary / ·  clearly conveyed your intended meaning to the audience, by making mostly effective and accurate choices of syntax, grammar and vocabulary / ·  conveyed your intended meaning to the audience, by making mostly accurate choices of syntax, grammar and vocabulary / ·  partially conveyed your intended meaning to the audience, by making some accurate choices of syntax, grammar and vocabulary / ·  partially conveyed some meaning for the audience based on your choices of syntax, grammar and vocabulary
2. delivery
·  vocal quality / ·  demonstrated a vocal quality that: / ·  demonstrated a vocal quality that: / ·  demonstrated a vocal quality that: / ·  demonstrated a vocal quality that:
- assisted the audience’s understanding of the words through your use of a clearly audible voice with accurate pronunciation (including emphasis) / - allowed the audience to understand the words through your use of an audible voice and mostly accurate pronunciation / - allowed the audience to partially understand the words through your use of an audible voice and some accurate pronunciation / - meant that the audience strained to hear or understand the words
-  maintained audience interest through your use of a variety of tone and pace / -  generated some audience interest through a variety of tone and pace interspersed with monotonal delivery and fixed pace / -  generated some sporadic audience interest mostly using a monotone with minor changes in pace
·  interaction with audience / ·  interacted with the audience by: / ·  interacted with the audience by: / ·  interacted with the audience by: / ·  partially interacted with the audience by: / ·  stood in front of an audience and:
- maintaining eye contact, using suitable gestures and facial expressions with an open, relaxed posture / - maintaining eye contact, using suitable gestures and facial expressions with an open posture / - making eye contact and using gestures, with a mix of variable and fixed facial expressions and closed and open posture / - occasionally making eye contact and using gestures, with fixed facial expression and closed posture / - occasionally made eye contact while adhering closely to a script/slides or slides with a fixed facial expression and closed posture
- questioning and responding to the audience in a confident and polished manner, with a conversational tone, consistently giving the impression that the words were unscripted: / - questioning and responding to the audience in a confident manner, with a conversational tone, often giving the impression that the words were unscripted: / - questioning and responding to the audience in a formal and rehearsed manner: / - questioning and responding to the audience in an overly formal manner, sometimes giving the impression of being scripted: / - the audience took responsibility for any interaction that may have occurred:
  asked a range of questions selected to suit the content, audience and purpose /   asked a range of questions selected to suit the content, audience and purpose /   asked questions to suit the content, audience and purpose /   asked questions to suit the content /   asked questions from a script/slides
  paused and carefully listened to the audience’s responses, then clarified the content to assist understanding, and/or related the responses to the content and its real world contexts /   paused and listened to the audience’s responses, then partially clarified the content to assist understanding, and/or related the responses to the content and its real world contexts /   listened to the audience’s responses and made comments that related the responses to the content /   acknowledged their responses /   may have acknowledged their responses
·  supporting materials / ·  provided relevant supporting materials that enhanced the presentation and assisted the audience’s understanding / ·  provided relevant materials that supported the presentation and that may have assisted the audience’s understanding / ·  provided materials related to the topic / ·  provided materials that may have related to the topic

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