Multi-Modals We know you hate them, here’s some survival tips.

Thesis Statements  Try not to pick anything too common, or too specific. You don’t want to be overwhelmed with research or underwhelmed.  Make it original! Make your inquiry question something that we wouldn’t have thought of.

Research?  USE GOOGLE SCHOLAR! You won’t have access to all websites and articles but most Google books will have free previews that can help a lot!  me at fithuni.edu.au to get some help! fithuni.edu.au fithuni.edu.au  VISIT es.com

Ugh so much reading  Don’t be picky, look over as many things as you can, if you haven’t looked at least 25 pieces of research you are not researching enough.  Don’t expect all sources to be relevant but don’t discount sources you think will have no relevance.  If there are major themes to focus on, FOCUS on them. Each conflict is defined by something that can relate to other conflicts ex: Holocaust is a Genocide…what makes it stand apart!

This Sucks!  Read the first two sentences and last two sentences of each paragraph on super long articles. You should be able to understand what the article is talking about and if it will be relevant to your task.  If you’ve read something that sucks, don’t forget about it! Put it in your rough bib and talk about why it was bad!  If you read something that you really don’t agree with, don’t be scared to write about that! Some of the best presentations and essays are people refuting an already created thesis!

Think about it!  Some major questions to think about: Why is this act so important? What do I think about this act? What does the world think about this act? Who was involved? Did it change things? What are some things people don’t know about this act? How would I have done things differently?  Imagine you have to prove you are the leading expert on this act of terrorism and we know nothing about it, don’t bore us, get us interested and engaged! If you’re bored with the topic, we’re bored too.

Now what?  Write anything and everything down in an outline of how you want things to go. This should be rough/crazy/messy because your ideas should be that way too!  Now take that outline and polish it! Go through all your points, if it doesn’t need to be in there, take it out. Some anecdotes are interesting but we don’t need the entire history of it.  Take that polished outline and cut it in half. That right there is your presentation.

Write and write and write again.  Start writing. It’s going to suck the first time around so get someone to read it to you and write again.  Once you have finished your second draft, walk away and do something fun.  Go back to your draft and edit.  Have someone else edit it as well.  If you can’t read it to someone with confidence, it is not your best work!

USE PEOPLE  Some people are smarter than you, some people are more organized than you, some people are just better at things, get over it and use them!  If you know someone who does exceedingly well at essays, they should probably read yours for you. If you know someone who is amazing at acting, ask them for presentation skills. If you know someone who has gone to university, ask for access to their databases.

What you need to hand in As a group you need to hand in a lesson plan, annotated bibliography and your “scripts”/ final draft. Your lesson plan will show how you are going to teach us about the act, what you are going to talk about, what resources you used and later you will complete a reflection on how you think it went. Lesson plan template will be online. You will be marked as a group, your annotated bibliography will be marked individually so MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS CONTRIBUTING. If you feel like someone in your group is lagging. Kick them out, no questions asked. Your mark is worth more than their laziness.

DON’T EVEN DARE!  Nothing is worse than watching you read off a paper. If you aren’t comfortable standing in front of the class, record yourself reading.  Don’t pick something you know you can’t put your best effort into. While it is great to try new things, now is not the time to practice your drawing skills or compose a piece of music if you have no prior experience.  Don’t mumble. If I can’t hear you say it, I’ll just assume it wasn’t said at all.  Don’t fidgit! If you really need to work out some anxiety, bring a paper clip to hold and fiddle with while you talk but don’t make it obvious!

These are dangerous times we live in.  Be respectful. There is nothing more disgusting than watching people laugh, giggle, or talk over presentations that deal with sensitive issues.  Be respectful to the people involved in your act of terrorism. Victims are people. Respect what they have gone through.

Make it exciting and engaging  Remember, this presentation is not as much about the history of the attack as it is about developing an inquiry about it.  If you only give us a history you will fail, think of a question you want answered about the attack and then answer it through facilitated and mediated class discussion.  You only have 7-10 minutes so don’t make a huge activity that won’t be finished in time.  Feel free to make worksheets that I can post online for the rest of the class to enjoy.

Don’t leave it till the last minute…  Seriously…don’t leave it till the last minute. If you can’t work weeks ahead of time, at least do your research and get a good outline ready  If you are going to leave it to the last minute, stock up on coffee and forget about sleep because you should still make it the best project you can do.  You can always tell if something was thrown together, whether it was thrown together 3 weeks before the due date or 3 minutes before. Don’t let your presentation fail itself.

Things that should be done by now, and if they aren’t get doing them!  You should have thesis statement. Not just something you’d like to maybe work on, but a damn good, glorious, beautiful thanks be to god thesis statement.  You should have some research done that is not wikipedia. Wikipedia is the devil, so tempting but so not good for your grades.  You should have a rough outline. Doesn’t matter if it’s a concept map, a binder full of research and ideas, or some symbols written in blood. If its going to help you organize your work than it should work!

Things you should not be doing.  Acting like an idiot.  Talking to other people about stupid things.  Googling things that have no relevance to your project.  Acting like an idiot.  Watching TED talks that have no relevance to your project (although TED is magical and I highly promote it)  Sleeping.  Texting.  Acting like an idiot.

GET WORKING  Come see me or Mrs. Rowlands if you need help.