1. Aylin AKÇA OKAN METU, Ankara 2003-2004 Fall
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar
Aylin AKÇA OKAN
METU, Ankara
Fall

2. Outline Details of the Course / Grading / Schedule
How to Give a Seminar
Technical Writing
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

3. Details of the Course Course Content
An individual instruction course on giving technical presentations
To have experience in research and preparation for oral presentations on scientific research
To learn how to use multimedia in seminars
To learn to describe the scope and relevance of the thesis, the reviewed literature and its relevance to the research
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

4. Details of the Course Schedule
Session
Session 2 · Introduction
· Seminar & Research Essentials
Session 3 · Arrangement of seminars (offline)
No session
Session 4 Group 1
National Holiday
Session 5 Group 2
Session 6 Group 3
Session 7 Group 4
Religious Holiday
Session 8 Group 5
Session 9 Group 6
Session 10 Group 7
Session 11 Group 8
Session 12 Group 9
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

5. Details of the Course Things to do
Send an empty mail to with the subject “first” just after the class.
Till next week, send an abstract of your subject (~ 1 page).
FILO
If your abstract approved, send your report one week before your presentation.
Give your presentation on the specified date.
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

6. Details of the Course Important Dates
Proposal submission deadline :
Approval of proposals : Proposal submission week
Presentation dates : –
Report submission deadline : Presentation date – 1 week
Late submissions cancel –5 points / day.
Submissions later than 3 days will not be accepted.
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

7. Details of the Course Proposal
Title of your subject
Your name & your supervisor’s name
Abstract
Provide information that will help the reader decide whether to continue to read the report or to put it aside.
Try to limit the Abstract to one page (no diagrams) and should have a length of words depending on the report.
Three foci of the abstract:
(a) what was done
(b) how it was done
(c) what are the key results
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

8. Details of the Course Grading (tentative)
Report 30%
Presentation 50%
Questions & Answers + Attendance 20%
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

9. How to Give a Seminar Contents
Opening
Introduction
Body
Summary / Concluding Comments
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

10. How to Give a Seminar Opening
Introduce yourself (and your supervisor)
Say what you are here to talk about, ie give a brief summary without giving the whole talk
Tell them what you hope they get out of this talk  
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

11. How to Give a Seminar Introduction
Give some background
You are the expert…we know nothing.
Give the basic background
Set yourself up for the main topic
State the objectives and tell the importance / value
Keep it brief Good rule of thumb is the 2-2-2
Two sentences of background
Two sentences summarizing results
Two sentences summarizing conclusions  
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

12. How to Give a Seminar Body
Prefer top-down design
Avoid too much detail
Remember who the audience is and tell the specific problem being addressed
Use figures and diagrams – make sure they are large enough and visible enough to see
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

13. How to Give a Seminar Summary / Concluding Comments
Wrap it all up / Restate the key points
Affirm the objectives
Restate value
What is the take home message?
Indicate completion
Thank the audience
Call for questions
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

14. How to Give a Seminar Recommendations - 1
Any effective talk must :
(1) communicate your arguments and ideas,
(2) persuade your audience that they are true, and
(3) be interesting and entertaining
Your Presentation must :
(1) Give an opening statement to familiarize the audience with your subject matter.
What is your key message? Can you write it down as a single sentence?
(2) Speak slowly, clearly, and loud enough to be heard by all.
(3) Remember the 5WH's: who, what, why, when, where, and how.
(4) Summarize your talk at the end in a few sentences.
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

15. How to Give a Seminar Recommendations - 2
Face the audience and try not to read, but talk
Anticipate questions ahead of time
Expect general questions
Prepare things that time forced you to omit
Maintain control of the discussion
Stop and think
Answer succinctly (or agree to discuss later)
Prevent interruption
Be honest
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

16. Technical Writing Basics
The 3 C’s: Correct, Clear, and Concise
The No. 1 problem : the logical structure & the logical link
The structural principles
Active vs. passive
The strong verb vs. the weak verb + the abstract noun
Write the way you talk: write (and read) with your ears
Parallelism
Conciseness
The English grammar: the tenses
The English grammar: the dangling modifiers/participles
The ambiguity
The generic vs. the specific
What scientists said vs. what they meant
The general components of a typical technical paper
References
C.Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar

17. Now it is your turn...