PowerPoint and Speeches and APA

In many cases you may not only write a research paper for a class, but will have to prepare an PowerPoint ® presentation or speech to present to the class. Even though a presentation or speech are not formal research papers, you still must follow the conventions of citation and references in order to avoid plagiarism. Not only does this include taking the words and ideas from another source, but the graphics – art, photos, charts – from another source. Here are a couple examples of citations and of a reference page to be used in a slide program.




Notice that the citations and references are done exactly as in a research paper. You should include a reference slide at the very end of your presentation to allow your viewers (and those who have received paper copies) of the slide show the ability to look up the information you provided.

In a speech, while you may mention the author of a particular source of information you used, you should include a reference listing for your instructor when turning in any and all documentation of your speech. It is just as easy to plagiarize a speech as it would be a reference paper.

Research is like a treasure hunt...

You won't know what you'll find, and sometimes it isn't even what you were looking for! As I said in class, you've got to fill that basket with eggs you have found before you can make the omlet (or research paper in this analogy). If you can't find any purple eggs, you will have to go back and collect all the green and yellow eggs you can instead!

For those who haven't had my Lit class yet, the eggs stands for key words and key phrases, the basket full of eggs stands for your research articles collected.

Okay, so this narrowing down the topic using keywords is pretty tough -- it often requires us to go back and get rid of a couple words or phrases, add some new ones, and try researching again. Finding the right keywords can be particularly frustrating if you are researching a new-to-you area. That's why I encourage students to pick a topic they are interested in and one that focuses on your major. You then become more of an "expert" as you go through your core classes.

Experiment -- get three eggs together and then do some research in the library databases. See what you can find. If nothing works, go back and try to come up with a new topic area. It takes work. If you get frustrated (and you know who I'm talking to!), then walk away, or talk to a friend, or drop me an email. Bounce some ideas of others as to what you think is a topic you can stick with.