C6.6 Presentation Assessments
What is a Presentation exam in the UK? How to do a Presentation?
In domestic universities, high schools, and other educational institutions, Presentations are basically non-existent. However, in foreign countries, almost all schools require individual or group Presentations. These can be regular assignments or graded exams—failing a Presentation counts as a failed module, requiring a resubmission, and there are quite a few each semester.
To be honest, it’s not easy to accurately translate "Presentation" into a single Chinese word. It can be called a speech, a demonstration, or a summary report for lecturers.
Therefore, international students who are studying abroad for the first time may not understand what a Presentation is, how to do it, or how to get a high score when they encounter it for the first time.
For example, friends who like the Apple brand may know that Apple holds annual launch events. The themed speeches delivered by Jobs on stage are a form of Presentation.
At school, lecturers will assign Presentations on relevant topics, which can be individual or group-based. An individual Presentation is like Jobs'—standing on stage alone to deliver a speech and presentation. For group Presentations, members take turns speaking; the group needs to divide tasks and collaborate to complete the content, while individuals work independently.
In fact, students attending classes in the UK will also find that lecturers basically use PPT for all their lessons, which is also a form of Presentation.
Ways of Delivering a Presentation
Presentations are delivered via PPT (PowerPoint), a Microsoft office software also known as presentation software. Unless specified otherwise, all Presentations are displayed using PPT. The content on the PPT should be concise, focus on key points, and contain minimal text.
You need to stand in front, face the audience, and speak with your back to the PPT. Of course, you can glance at the PPT occasionally during your explanation to guide the audience.
Alternatively, instead of speaking in front of the lecturer or audience, you can record a video and send it to the lecturer—this is usually only required if the lecturer specifies it.
Structure of a Presentation
Although PPT is used, the content structure is equivalent to writing a short Essay. It should be an academic paper centered on a theme, finally presented on PPT through charts, figures, key texts, etc., which you will then explain.
In other words, it is more convenient to write the paper first before creating the PPT.
IntroductionStart with an opening speech, mainly introducing yourself and team members (if applicable), what you will talk about today, how you will structure the presentation, and its purpose.
BackgroundProvide background information related to the theme assigned by the lecturer.
Main BodyFocus on the content you have written around the theme, including key significance, advantages, disadvantages, etc.
ConclusionSummarize the content in a way that connects the previous points. Do not put forward new viewpoints. Even if making recommendations, they must be based on content mentioned earlier.
Q&A SessionAsk the audience if they have any questions and answer them. When answering, you can repeat the other person’s question first to organize your thoughts. If there are no questions, say "Thank you all" to conclude
For Presentations, try to wear formal attire or have all group members dress in a unified style, especially for exams. This looks more professional and shows your attitude. For regular Presentations, casual and comfortable clothing is acceptable.
Write key words, phrases, or sentences on small cards in advance. It is allowed to bring these cards when presenting—they help you quickly recall content if you get nervous and blank out.
Speak at a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow. Adjust your volume to the situation—speak louder in large classrooms with many people, and engaging delivery with audience interaction can earn extra points.
Adhere to the time limit. Presentations have specific time requirements (usually 15-20 minutes, depending on the lecturer’s instructions). Points will be deducted if you exceed the time without finishing, so manage your time carefully. If you’re running out of time, only state the key point of the current slide and move on quickly.
Practice thoroughly at home before the formal Presentation, including pronunciation, intonation, body language, facial expressions, grammar, and transitional phrases. Memorize key content first, then use note cards for prompts—this will boost your confidence during the presentation. Examples of transitional phrases: what you’ll cover next, what the next slide is about, or introducing a team member to continue.
If you forget your content and don’t have note cards, rely on the key words on your PPT. When you get stuck, guide the audience to look at the PPT, read the content aloud, then turn to the audience to explain it. This is a practical method—nervousness often causes memory blanks, even with cards. So PPT content is crucial—only include key points.
Make multiple backups of your PPT: save it on a USB drive, cloud storage, and your email. Bring a laptop with the PPT saved too. This prevents issues like a faulty USB drive or no internet. If you present later, you can still revise the PPT if needed. In case of no internet, the university’s equipment can connect your laptop directly to the large screen.
Watch TED talks regularly to learn from others’ presentations—this helps reduce stress and anxiety.
If a previous group member misses an important point that could earn extra marks, the next member can supplement it during their part.
Welcome / Hello everyone / Good morning.
Today I’m going to talk to you about......
My presentation will be divided into two/three/four parts.
Firstly, I’m going to cover the....background.
Then I’m going to talk to you about......
Next, I’ll be discussing......
And finally, I'm going to examine......
Firstly, secondly, thirdly, finally…
I'm going to…
take a look at…
talk about…
examine…
tell you something about the background…
give you some facts and figures…
fill you in on the history of…
concentrate on…
limit myself to the question of…
Please feel free to interrupt me if you have questions.
There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.
I'd be grateful if you could hold your questions until the end.
As I said at the beginning…
As you may recall, we are focusing on…
I'd now like to move on to…
I'd like to turn to…
That's all I have to say about…
Now I'd like to look at…
This leads me to my next point…
This graph shows you…
Take a look at this…
If you look at this, you will see…
I'd like you to look at this…
This chart illustrates the figures…
This graph breaks down…
As you can see…
This clearly demonstrates …
From this, we can understand how / why…
This section of the chart is particularly interesting…
In conclusion...
Overall...
Well, that's about it. We've covered…
So, that was our... Briefly, we…
To summarise, I…
I hope today’s presentation has provided useful insights related to my opening points…
That concludes my presentation. Thank you.
Does anyone have any questions?