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Title slide: The first slide should
show the title of your project, the names of the researchers, the class
name, instructor and year.
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Introduction:
This should resemble the information you would include in an introduction
to a lab report. Summarize what is known about the question you researched.
Explain what your experiment was designed to answer, and why this question
is important. You should also state your hypothesis. Don't
skimp on this part; it is important for capturing the interest of your audience,
and it shows that you understand the topic. It is also helpful to
include graphics.
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Methods:
Summarize, preferably in diagrammatic or flowchart form, your experiment.
Do not put the detailed protocol of your experiment on a slide.
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Results:
Include all relevant figures, diagrams and tables in this section.
Make the figures as large as possible. Include figure legends, although
they may be brief if you include this information in your talk. Make
sure each figure has a title, and that lanes on a gel or panels of figures
are labeled. If you include tables, keep them simple.
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Discussion:
Summarize your findings and interpret your data. Do not include big paragraphs
of text; instead, use an outline or bulleted list. If there is more
than one possible explanation for the results you obtained, state them all
and then explain which one you prefer and why. If your results are
not what you expected, explain why. Make sure to discuss any current
research that supports or refutes your findings. Discuss how you would
improve and expand the experiment if you were to repeat it.
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References:
List all the references that you used for the presentation in alphabetical
order.
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Computer presentations should not contain full paragraphs
of text. Use a bulleted list or outline format and elaborate on the
points in your talk.
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Every slide should contain a title that
summarizes the information presented on the slide.
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Type that is projected on a screen should
be in sans serif type (like Arial or Helvetica). This is because in the
projection process letters lose some of their sharpness, and serif type
(like Times) can look muddy when projected.
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Use large fonts, as big as realistically possible. Small
fonts are hard to read. Along the same lines, don't put more than
a few lines of text on a slide.
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Use contrasting colors‹either a dark background
with light text or a light background with dark text.
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Avoid busy backgrounds that will make the
text hard to read. Keep the background simple.
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AVOID ALL CAPS! All caps look like you're
shouting.
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Include a good
combination of words, pictures, and graphics. Variety keeps the presentation
interesting.