How to Write a Presentation in Classic English Literature: Everything You Should Do

One of the indisputable benefits of the XXI century is the Internet that provides enough information and pictures for researchers in Classic English Literature. Consequently, it is not a problem to create a presentation that needs both textual and visual materials.
First of all, a person should differentiate between classic and classical literature. It often happens that students misspell the word when presenting the task. Classical literature includes outstanding works of ancient civilizations as Rome and Greece (‘Iliad’ and ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer, ‘Metamorphoses’ by Ovid and others). Classical literature is a wider notion and includes prominent works that have been recognized by experts and readers around the globe. These works are valuable due to their messages and convincing ideas that change the world (‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Shakespeare, ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ by Hemingway, ‘1984’ by Orwell, etc.).

As soon as you spot the difference, you will be able to proceed to the creation of the presentation in Classic English Literature. What do you need? First of all, you should look for a catchy topic in Classic English Literature to intrigue the target audience.

Secondly, you must study your college requirements concerning the volume, formatting, number of sources, time, etc. Thirdly, you have to create an outline, fill in the information gaps, and make sure that you know your objects, objectives, aims, and thesis statement. Finally, you must search for various tools and select the one you like to create a compelling presentation. Let’s speak about each step in detail.

How to Write a Presentation in Classic English Literature: Topic Selection

A topic of the presentation functions as an attractor. Have you noticed striking titles of ads that appear on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms? It is hard to neglect them because they know what you are interested in. These headings intrigue and make you read the article or watch the video. That’s how you should look for the topic and create a title.

So, you should study your target audience and answer 3 questions. What do they like? What is their level of erudition? What topic lacks research? Consequently, you should read thematic articles and find something unexplored or new. Professors can simplify the task and ask a student to create a presentation on a definite classic. They can enlist questions that require answers and students should just do it. Other colleges ask students to select the topic and provide a presentation.

Sample Topics in Classic English Literature:

The ‘Killing’ Effect of Totalitarian System in ‘1984’ and Today;
‘Harry Potter” J.K. by Rowling: a Child’s Story or a Psychological Novel;
What Books Provide the Description of God? What are His Names? How the Existing Descriptions Differ?
Discrimination of Afro Americans in Books vs in Real World: ‘Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History’ by Vashti Harrison;
Religion and Anti-Religion in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood

Make sure that you can not only choose a good topic but also provide enough information for the chosen area. Your goal is to select a striking topic and support it with vivid facts.

How to Write a Presentation in Classic English Literature: How to Start

To write a compelling presentation a person should answer three basic questions:

What topic can impress my target audience?
Why is this topic valuable for the target audience?
How should I present the topic to impress my target audience?

To answer these question one should research, find a topic, read and analyze literature on the topic, jot down useful and impressive facts, create a thesis statement, and support the idea with facts, textual explanation, and visual aids.

To do everything right, students must study the requirements of their colleges. One should definitely know the volume of the presentation (how many slides to include), time (how much time one has to introduce the presentation), formatting (spacing, font selection, structure, etc.), and the deadline. Consequently, it is better to have a well-structured outline that will help not to miss important details and cope with the task before the deadline.
An outline reflects the structure of the presentation, the time required for each section, supporting facts, and time for proofreading and editing. For example:

Slide 1. Title and details about the author and/or university (depending on the requirements) + a picture
Slide 2. The Introduction + a picture (time)
Slide 3. Thesis statement + diagram
Slide 4. The body of the message (names of subsections and time)
Slide 5. Subsection 1 + sample + visual aid
Slide 6. Subsection 2 + scale
Slide 7. Subsection 3 + picture
Slide 8. Conclusion + diagram (time)
Slide 9. References + hyperlinks
Slide 10. Thank you for your attention!

Experts say that 10 slides are absolutely enough to present all the necessary information and compose a compelling presentation in Classic English Literature.

How to Write Presentation in Classic English Literature: Structure

The structure of a presentation reminds of an essay structure. It also has a title, an introduction, a body, a conclusion, and references or bibliography. Unlike an essay, a presentation must not tell details and a full description of the topic. The purpose of a presentation is to support the words of the speaker who has written it. Moreover, the speaker should not read from it but create a paper with hints and use it instead of a presentation.
One can find useful online tools to create a presentation. The most popular ones are:

If you look at the outline presented above, you will see that one slide represents one idea. It should not be overloaded with text. Sometimes students choose a small-sized font to include everything they need. As a result, the slide looks messy and the readability reduces to a minimum. How to reduce the number of words? The best way is to use symbols or just give keywords instead of full sentences. Later the speaker will explain each key to provide the core information.

For example, a student needs to present the following analysis of betrayal is Shakespeare’s novels.
‘Betrayal leads to madness and suicide’. – ‘Betrayal ruins families and moral standards’. – ‘Betrayal makes people suffer.’ – ‘Betrayal provokes a collapse’.
A slide should include the following keys:
Betrayal:

psychological well-being;;
morality;
the well-being of the country.

Instead of 20 words, the slide contains only 8. A speaker should add missing information orally.

Introduction

The introduction slide informs the audience about the subject, object(s), and goals of the presentation. The text must be brief and to the point. A student should better present a thesis statement as a separate slide to let listeners concentrate on its idea.

The Body

As a rule, a topic has several thematic sections. Each section presents an idea and must be connected with another section. A student can present them logically, chronologically, by priority, and by theme. Experts recommend summarizing each slide before proceeding to the next one. Slides that belong to the body should not inform about things that were not given in the introduction and thesis statement.

NB! Don’t forget to support ideas with shreds of evidence and visual aids. Professionals advise students to include not more than three subsections in a body section to let the audience remember the message of the presentation. More than 3 ideas will prevent listeners from getting the crux of the matter.

The Conclusion

This slide sums everything up by restating the idea and goals. The best way to conclude is to present the data in the form of a diagram, table, scale, or infographics. Professionals always use words and phrases that help everyone understand that the speaker is getting to an end. Among them, you can find ‘to sum up’, ‘to wrap up’, ‘in the end’ , ‘in a word’, and others. Due to that, a student can ‘wake up’ the listener’s attention.

How to Write a Presentation in Classic English Literature: Final Steps

It goes without saying that the text of the presentation is to be ready before a person starts composing a presentation. After that, just like in the outline, a student should highlight the key points and reduce the number of words to a minimum. After that, one should look for supporting visual aids. Where to take them? There are 4 possible ways:

copy them from the Internet and cite the used pictures in sources on the last slide
create new ones using the old ones where one takes the already existing materials and changes them by editing
use visual aids from free sources that post materials without authors
create them

Why is important to present unique materials or at least cite them? Thanks to that, owners of the materials will not blame a student for plagiarism. Edited pictures are regarded as new ones.
The final step in the creation of a presentation is the creation itself. A student should investigate available programs and choose the best or the easiest one. If you have never created presentations, we will give you basic instructions.

open the program;
look at the available layouts and choose the one you like;
choose the style of the chosen layout;
insert the text;
add corresponding visual materials;
edit and format the text and pictures;
arrange slides (logically, by priority, etc.)

It is better to ask someone to switch slides or set the time for the automatic switch. In both variants, you should be prepared. If you ask for someone’s help, an assistant should know the word that will signal about time for switching. If you choose the second variant, you must be sure that you manage to cope with the selected time frame.

How to Write a Presentation in Classic English Literature: Tips for Improvement

To improve the presentation students should do some after-writing tips.

Start and End Strong

It is very important to hook the target audience and keep it until the final word. How to do that? A student should find catchy facts, statistics, jokes, and striking stories. You should talk about things that interest your audience. Professors appreciate when their students argue and present provocative statements. It creates a dialog and interaction between the audience and the speaker.

Cite Only Reliable Sources

The last or pre-last slide of your presentation should show the used sources. There must be only trustable sources without unchecked and doubtful data. This is the list of websites you may use in your research.

In the above-mentioned websites, you can find information about masterpieces in Classic English Literature, works that have similar ideas, and discussions on their value and contribution. Some websites will help you find literary devices and analysis of the most popular writings.

Proofread Twice

It is a bad idea to show the presentation full of grammar and formatting mistakes. That is why it is important to read the text and check if it has mistakes. One can scan the information through grammar checkers and correct them. Students should pay attention to visual details as well. The size of the picture and the color of the text and headings matter. Do not make slides too colorful and bright. It will complicate the reading and distract readers from the core idea. Remember to compose not more than 10 slides.

Use Plagiarism Checkers

Plagiarism Checkers help to identify stolen extracts. Professors can ban the work in case most of its information is not unique. Moreover, if you decide to publish the presentation you might have problems with copyright policy. Plagiarism Checkers can be free that simplifies the matter.

Use Samples

One of the best ways to create a presentation is to study sample works. A student can ask professors and senior students who have excellent presentations to share samples. They can provide necessary details about formatting, structure, and other things. The Internet is full of free examples. One should look for them on websites devoted to writing services. Colleges and universities also give sample works on their official websites.

References:

Classic vs Classical in English. Jakub Marian. Retrieved from https://jakubmarian.com/classic-vs-classical-in-english/
Ks, A. (2018, March 19). 10 Presentation Tools to Win Over Your Audience. Retrieved from https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/presentation-tools/
Diamond, J. (2013, August 5). The 25 Best Websites for Literature Lovers. Retrieved from https://www.flavorwire.com/407418/the-25-best-websites-for-literature-lovers

How to Write a Presentation in Classic English Literature: What to Expect & Consider