Hello, dear friend, you can consult us at any time if you have any questions, add WeChat: daixieit

ECON5004: Communication in Economics

Semester 2, 2023

Assignment: Presentation 1: Public/Professional

What’s the bottom line?

You need to give a 5-minute speech between weeks 3-9 that is appropriate for a non-specialist economics audience. The speech has to be built around a main argument that you hope to convince your audience about. The speech is the final step of a cumulative assessment that also involves writing a short abstract and participation in your presentation session.

Assignment Outline

Students are required give a presentation targeted for a public/professional audience. These 5-minute presentations will be given between weeks 3 and 9. Students will communicate an argument providing economic insight on a topic of professional and/or public interest, without interruption. Student’s can choose the topic and main argument of their presentation, which should fall under their group’s theme.

By Monday 11:59 pm in the week of their presentation students are required to submit a title, 1-sentence main argument, and abstract for the presentation. The abstract will be a 150-250 word preview and summary of the presentation: it will raise the main issue, (re-)state the main argument, and very briefly summarize the main supporting evidence. Students are highly recommended to have at least a full outline, if not a full first draft, of their presentation complete by the time they submit the abstract. The tutor or instructor will give feedback, including a provisional mark, within 48 hours of submission of the abstract, or by Wednesday 11:59 pm, whichever is later. The student should revise their abstract in light of the feedback, only receiving an official mark for the Final Abstract submission.

The assignment description will be updated with additional information on the form of submission. Students will also be required to run their abstract through an AI/LLM-based tool prior to submission. In the meantime, week 3 presenters should ensure that as they write their abstract they do so with metadata recorded for their document. Microsoft Word is recommend; PDF submissions will not be accepted.

Presentations should be given orally, without slides, props or other materials, though you are allowed to use cue cards, a sheet of notes, or a device (e.g., phone or tablet) as a prompt.

Immediately after the presentation, a classmate (one of the other presenters in the same session, who will be designated the night of the presentation) will be asked to provide a very short critique of the presentation (less than 1 minute), only on the quality of the presentation (clarity of main argument, organization of content, flow, eye contact, pace, tone, etc.), not the content.

Each presentation will be followed by a short discussion period (“Q&A”) with the audience. Class members will be expected to ask 2-3 questions or provide comments in response to the presentation, which will be moderated by the presenter. The 3 presenters preceding a presenter are eligible to be called upon for a question by the assessor, if no one is asking questions.1

In addition to their own presentation, students will be assessed on their participation in the session, by providing a constructive critique, and participating in the Q&A.

Tips on Topic, Content, Presentation

Students should select a topic that yields a substantive economic analysis or insight. Think of yourself as presenting to a reasonably curious, general audience that is not necessarily trained in economics, with your goal being to distill economic insights in order to convince them of your position on a particular (economic) issue. While presentations may delve into political aspects of an issue, political rants will not be looked upon favourably.

The instructor will provide tips in lecture on how to prepare and present, in the week 1 lecture.

Due Date

Presentations occur on a weekly basis, between weeks 3 to 9, usually at the start of lecture. Each student is expected to give one such presentation during the semester.

First draft of abstracts are due by Monday 11:59 pm in the week of the presentation, submitted on Canvas. After getting feedback, final abstracts are due before 6 pm on the Friday of presentation. Only abstracts submitted under the Final Abstract Canvas submission link will receive a mark.

Grading Weight

14% of the course grade, with three aspects:

1. Written abstract (4% of course grade). 50% will come from the clarity of the argument and arrangement of evidence, and 50% will come from the quality of the writing (grammar, spelling, etc).

2. Presentation (8% of course grade). 30% of the presentation mark will come from the clarity of the argument (ability to communicate an argument that is appropriate for the allotted time), 30% will come from the evidence presented (ability to gather and arrange evidence in support of the main argument), 30% will come from the quality of the presentation (clarity of communication, eye contact, pace, finishing within the allotted time, etc), 10% will come from handling and responding to questions after the presentation.

3. Participation in giving feedback to classmate, and Q&A (2% of course grade). Students will receive 0/2 of they fail to give feedback, and lose 1/2 marks each time they are called upon for a question in the Q&A and fail to respond, when eligible.