At the time you turn in the second sheet with your synopsis and bibliography, you must indicate whether you want your talk to be OPEN to friends and colleagues or CLOSED (faculty committee only). The large majority of students in the past have chosen to give a talk that is open.

Your oral presentation will consist of talk of up to 25 minutes followed by a 30 minute oral question period by your faculty committee. Your oral presentation should not be used to repeat the exact order and content of your submitted synopsis. Instead, pursue some aspects of your topic in greater depth than is allowed by the synopsis alone. The presentation should follow a structured format, but be presented without reading a prepared script verbatim. Direct your remarks to those familiar with the topic, not toward any non-scientists who may be present in the audience.

At least one hour before you make your presentation (and preferably the night before), submit your Powerpoint file on Moodle for use by the faculty committee as part of its evaluation.

During the question period, committee members may ask questions on a variety of topics related to either your paper or your oral presentation. In preparing for the questions, be sure to pay particular attention to the key references you chose in your bibliography. You should be able to defend your choice of each key reference within the context of the question, as well as demonstrate an understanding of details such as experimental methods, figures and tables, etc. You should bring a copy of each of your key references, and you are free to refer to these during the question period. Other questions from your committee will be diverse and not easily predictable, but the faculty will be interested in how well you are able to explain and defend the positions you have taken. If you are well prepared and are interested in the subject, the discussion should be stimulating and even enjoyable to all.

Evaluation Meeting

At the time of your oral presentation, your committee chair will arrange for a time to meet with you to learn what the committee has decided. This meeting usually will be within one "business day" from the presentation. That is, if the talk is given from Monday through Thursday, the meeting typically would take place the next day. If the talk is given on a Friday, the meeting typically would take place the following Monday