Once you've reviewed the specific assignment details, it's time to make a presentation plan. You can start by making an outline of your talking points. Outlines for class presentations will look similar to those for papers, with sections and subsections that work through your main ideas. You'll want to be precise about what points are essential to communicate to your audience.
At around 10-15 minutes, the average in-class presentation can only effectively communicate around three main points. Avoid long quotes or monologues. Your audience may find it difficult to follow longer textual components. Also, take some time to decide on a completion timeline to ensure that you're ready on presentation day. Remember to build in time for practice!
Create an Outline
This chapter from an open access textbook breaks down the anatomy of an outline and offers tips for creating one.
Sample Outline with Worksheet
This is a sample outline and worksheet from the website of the University of Mary Washington.
Why and How to Use Outlines
The Purdue OWL offers insights for why an outline can help you with your research.
