| geometry | margin=1in |
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| output | pdf_document |
The presentation should make sense, use correct language, and not have too many speaking errors. The science contained in the presentation should be accurate.
The presentation should be easy to follow, tie in the peer-reviewed literature, and have a clear overall message or point.
We'd like the topic to be clearly linked to some aspect of ecology that we learned in class, but perhaps didn't have enough time to fully get into. The presentation should also be of correct scope, meaning that it cannot be so specific that it's difficult to find any more than one article. If you haven't noticed, We appreciate ecological theory, so links to generality would be nice. On the flip side of this, too large of a scope may hinder the group's ability to present a good view on the topic (e.g., "predator-prey interactions" is likely too broad of a topic to try to address during presentation time).
Every member in the group should have a role in presenting the information. The transition between speaking parts should happen organically. We don't really want to hear somebody stop after a sentence, look at a group member, and say "your turn now".
We've been reading peer-reviewed literature in class, and we now want to see if you can find it yourself, synthesize the findings, and present them to make an overall point. You shouldn't be focused on saying "These scientists found this. These other scientists found this", but digest the information in the articles, leading to more synthetic statements about how the previous science fits together to support your main message.
The presentation is mostly what we'll grade you on, but we would also like something tangible as well. A pdf of the slides is not really sufficient. Ideally, this document would be a short write-up (1-2 pages) containing the main take-home points of your project with associated references. Show me that you understand the material and can weave different scientific papers/ideas together.