Biology Seminar @ Harding University

Presenter's Checklist of Common Errors

Below is a list of the most common errors that befall students while preparing and presenting their senior seminar. It is not meant as an all inclusive list. However, while careful perusal of the seminar website will reveal a complete set of guidelines, it would be prudent to go over this checklist with your advisor at least one week prior to your presentation date. Before presenting, make sure the following statements describe your seminar and your state of preparation!

• My title is appropriate for a scientific presentation.
• I have not used a distracting background.
• My light-colored font contrasts sharply with my dark background.
• I have not scanned in a table.
• I have used large font to be easily seen by anyone setting anywhere in the room.
• I have used the correct format for the name-year literature citation system in the text and the Literature Cited as prescribed by either the journal Cell or Ecology.
• I have cited each reference and referenced each citation in my Literature Cited.
• My abstract is less than 200 words, of Times Roman 12-pt font, is double-spaced, and contains the hypothesis, general methodology, quantitative results, and conclusions. I have not cited literature in my abstract.
• My tables do not have too many cells.
• I have not used complex diagrams that I do not intend to discuss thoroughly.
• The axis and tick labels on my graphs are easily readable.
• I have not used 3-D graphs unless required by the data.
• My text slides (except question and conclusion slides) use keywords and phrases, not complete sentences.
• I have not placed information on a slide that I do not intend my audience to read.
• I have correctly used scientific names.
• I have not used a literature citation as the primary title for a slide.
• I have not used undefined terms or jargon to which senior BIOL and BCMB students have not been exposed in a core course (i.e., BIOL 254, 259, 315).
• I will not say, “This leads me to my question,” or  “As you can (clearly) see.”
• I am prepared to explain why my topic is currently biologically relevant.
• I understand that I will be asked to quit and sit down if my talk exceeds 18 minutes.
• I understand how my seminar will be graded because I have read the Presentation Scoring and Evaluation Form.

Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance. -Samuel Jackson

Maintained by J. M. Goy - Questions or Comments? jmgoy@harding.edu