What it is NOT
It is NOT a presentation of any of your reflective pieces
It is NOT a persuasive speech although you may express an opinion in the conclusion
It is NOT submitted in writing
It is NOT an essay on legs. You should not read from a script
So what is it then?
The presentation has two distinct parts
* A FACTUAL presentation on an aspect of your portfolio theme
* A presentation about your research including an evaluation of two sources of information used to prepare your factual presentation.
It will have all the following 6 elements present
1. An introduction (statement of topic)
In the introduction you will give a brief explanation of topic/ theme and a preview (with a thesis statement) of what you are going to cover.
For example.
"My theme is Returning Migrants to St Vincent. Returning migrants or returnees are a group within the population of St Vincent who have spent a significant time away from the island and have then returned to permanently settle again. Returning migrants often are retired from their previous occupation which they pursued in a more developed country such as the United States, Canada or Great Britain or they have been working in another Caribbean state. According to statistics from the Customs Department given to me by Mrs B Chalres in an interview 4361 people claimed the concession for returning residents in 2005. Returning migrants experience 5 phases of adjuststment when returning which can be termed as “culture shock”."
NOTE WELL I CANNOT HAVE THIS ON MY CARDS WHICH I TAKE INTO THE EXAM. It would look like this
Theme ; Returning Migrants to St Vincent.
a group within the population of St Vincent
a significant time away from the island
returned to permanently settle
retired from their previous occupation (the United States, Canada or Great Britain) OR
working in another Caribbean state.
Customs Department (Mrs B Charles) “4361 people claimed the concession for returning residents in 2005”.
Returning migrants experience 5 phases of adjustmentwhen returning which can be termed as “culture shock”.
2. A rationale
In the rationale you need to explain why you picked the theme and it can form part of the introduction. In the rationale you should mention any personal interests, current academic links and future career plans which influenced your decision to choose the theme
For example I chose the theme returning migrants to St Vincent and specifically to focus on culture shock because I am a wife of a returning migrant. I have a BSc honours in Sociology and the concept of culture shock is part of socio-cultural studies carried out by Kavelo Oberg 1958. In the future I will be submitting my Masters thesis on this specific issue.
NOTE WELL I CANNOT HAVE THIS ON MY CARDS IT MUST BE NOTE FORM
3. Discussion of issues
The discussion of issues is the factual presentation about the theme and its narrowed focus based on the thesis statement. Remember this will be about 3 minutes or so – it is not long.
It should have a distinct organisational pattern and you should aim for one of the expository structures such as cause and effect, process analysis, analysis by division, classification etc (See Writing in English)
It should also be referenced and include any research findings. You will also need to give a conclusion to your factual presentation as a sort of sub conclusion don’t wait until the end
Here is an example of a possible outline for my example presentation (not all of it). It uses the organisational pattern of process analysis Remember you cannot read from a script!
Culture shock 5 phases
Honeymoon, rejection/ regression, conformist, assimilation, reverse culture shock
Honeymoon
Centre for Overseas Travel “the tourist phase”
Questionnaire (300 returning migrants) 78% not feel “tourist” 82% “elated”
Rejection
Oberg – frustration etc
Questionnaire 50% wanted to return after 3 months,
Reasons, poor service, backward attitude, nothing to do, boring
Interview Dr Sheridan Mental health presentations tend to be in 1st 4 months of return.
4. Challenges of research
You need to discuss what difficulties you faced in preparing your factual presentation. If you did not have any difficulties then just explain why.
For example (in note form)
Questionnaires – time consuming, identifying sample,
Other sources - no central data on returnees, newspaper articles useful
Academic research not on St Vincent
5. Evaluation of two sources
For this aspect of the presentation you need to discuss your research. The two sources need not necessarily be given as a reference in the presentation but they should be relevant. You should try to select two different types of data source e.g. a newpaper article and an interview. You may want to very briefly summarise all your sources before evaluating two for reliability and validity. Please see other parts of the blog for information on reliablity and validity.
For example (in note form)
Secondary sources:
academic text books and journals,
local and international newspapers and magazines,
web sites: international public organisations e.g. Peace Corps
general sites e.g. Wikipedia
Primary sources
interviews of experts in St Vincent
questionnaire of returning migrants.
Questionnaire of returning migrants
Reliable: primary data source, research method suited to collecting data for social research
Valid: Problem with sample size as total population of RMs unknown
Problem with generalisation as differences between UK, US and other RMs more research needed.
Overall reliable and reasonably valid
The Experience of Return Migration: A Caribbean Perspective, Joan Phillips and Reliable Denis Conway, Ashgate Press, London 2005
Author expert Phd Social Anthrop. Specialised Caribbean writer – Canada
Publisher: reputable, specialst academic main interest Social research
Valid Recently published Problem no reference to St Vincent
Overall general but very reliable and valid source
6. Conclusion
The conclusion should be slightly different to the internal summary conclusion in your discussion of issues. At this stage you can express a personal view or put forward a possible solution.
For example (in note form)
Returning migrants
YES culture shock
3 ways
Honeymoon
Rejection
Conformist
NO assimilation
Solutions
Programme – promote overseas, keep in touch,
Information - government
FINALLLY
See my other post about the reseach using the internet for idea. Make sure that you are aware of the requirements for acceptable notes during the exam and be familiar with the marks scheme - it is not only content that is marked but also presentation skills.