Presenting your Ideas

Abstract

Whilst you are a postgraduate you will naturally channel your energies into producing the work that is an integral part of your course and its assessment: coursework, assessed pieces, project reports and a more extensive research project. What you might not be expecting at the outset are the additional ways in which you might be asked to present your ideas, involving work that is not part of your overall assessment but which might, nevertheless, be crucial to the successful management of your course. Courses will differ greatly in their requirements, but you need to consider four important additional ways of presenting your ideas, particularly if you are considering a career in your chosen field:

• research presentations

• seminar presentations

• conference papers

• publication.

You might not receive extensive support or instruction in how to prepare and present your ideas in these different formats. You might also feel that these tasks are a burden, getting in the way of your research plans and putting you under pressure for little return on your efforts. For both of these reasons, it is necessary to explore in some detail why they are important, how you can master them and how best to maximise the benefits to you as you manage your course.