Phys 202:  Astronomy, Fall 2007

Presentation Grading Rubric

Your presentation should be a 5-8 minute talk about your topic, followed by two minutes for questions.  As in your paper, you are giving information about a topic or reviewing an article for your classmates.  You will want to have the same major outline:  background information, a summary of the information or article’s content, your commentary on the article or information.

Going over time is as bad as going too short.  I strongly recommend practicing, out loud, several times, preferably in front of someone.  It really does let you know what you need to work on, where there are awkward places and how your timing is.

 Thesis statement or question (10) Write it at the top of your works cited page and turn it in before the talk begins (or email it to me before class).

Organization (20)–make sure there is a clearly stated thesis; the main result or points stand out; there is a good balance between the general ideas and details; the details which were chosen support or help explain the main ideas; there is a logical progression from one idea to the next

Content (30)–the ideas are appropriate for your topic and your audience; the amount of material is appropriate; the information is stated clearly and correctly, especially the technical information; the vocabulary is explained

Delivery (30)–the talk is the proper length; delivered primarily from memory, not read from a paper, notecards or a computer, with eye contact made with the audience; the text is spoken smoothly without hesitations, “um”, “er”, “uh”, “ya know”, “like” etc.; tone and pitch is varied and appropriate; appearance or actions are not distracting; there is creative and effective use of audiovisuals and/or handouts if appropriate; there is appropriate response to questions

Citations (10)–to be handed in to me at the time of your presentation; if you are reviewing an article, that should be at least be present as well as any other sources (books, magazines, web pages, individual conversations etc) you needed to understand your article or find the answers to your questions, with complete and correct citations in the MLA style. 

Grading Rubric for Astronomy Paper

 (10 pts.) Works Cited: For the full points, the sources must be acceptable (evaluated to provide scientific information and not supposition) and properly cited.  Acceptable sources can be web pages, but those must be most closely evaluated.  Safer sources are from a journal or reputable newspaper (within the past year, preferably).  Please use MLA citation formats.

 (25 pts.) Background information: This section must be present, it must be of sufficient depth to enable someone who hasn’t studied that material to be able to understand your topic.  Also your explanation of the scientific information needs to be clear, complete and logical, showing that you understand what you are saying! 

(25 pts.) Summary: This should capture the main ideas of the article or provide the answers to your questions, distinguishing between the important discoveries and details, supporting information or examples.  Be aware, though, that sometimes examples or analogies can be great ways to help explain a confusing concept.  The ideas should be expressed in a logical fashion with a clear progression from one idea or topic to the next.

  (15 pts.) Conclusion: Here you should provide some of your thoughts, comments or criticisms.  These can be about the importance or significance of the research being reported on, the effectiveness of the article in communicating its information (given its intended audience) or why the topic was of interest to you.

(25 pts.) Mechanics: To earn the full points, there should be no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.  Your paragraphs should make a point and support it; transitions between paragraphs should be smooth.  Overall the paper should be well-organized (which will essentially be the format I’ve laid out for you!)  The paper should be the appropriate length, 2-3 pages.