How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation as a student of Sociology
In the theoretical world of sociology filled with texts, presentations bring a breath of fresh air in this discipline. Even though theories cannot be left behind, using PowerPoint presentations as a pedagogical tool introduces a new way to look at theoretical concepts. Through this intervention, teaching and studying can be done in a crisp manner with precise arguments, examples taken from current affairs, and visuals that help improve engagement. Since online education has now become the new normal, presentations have become a more popular tool than ever to be used in a classroom setting.
In this new setting teachers/professors often give assignments where students have to make and present a PowerPoint presentation. In this article, we will help you to make a PowerPoint presentation as a student of sociology. We will take a running example throughout the article through which we will provide you a step-by-step guide. Let us take a protest or movement and then explain sociologically how it is a “Social Movement”. So, we will use the example of the “Fridays For Future” which began in 2018, also known as the “Greta Thunberg Movement”, and then prove how it is a social movement within sociological discourse.
Number of Slides
If you have been given the assignment to make a presentation, then your professor must have allocated you a range of slides that you need to stick to. If this is not the case, it is up to you who has to set a limit for yourself. The ideal number of slides depends on the topic you choose and the weightage of the assignment you have received. For the sake of explanation, let’s stick to 10 to 12 slides, excluding the title slide and the references slide.
Outline for the Presentation
Once you have fixated on your topic and the number of slides you are going to stick to, the next step is to prepare an outline for your presentation. In your outline, you will demarcate how many slides one concept, argument, or example would take. Then you will determine if or not you will use an image in the slide, and what ratio will be there for the image and the text. There should be a balance between the text and images in your presentation. The main aim of a presentation is to look pleasing to the eyes while communicating the main arguments which you are supposed to make.
Therefore, to prove that “Fridays For Future” is a Social Movement, the outline would be somewhat like:
Slide 1: Introductory Slide
Slide 2: Introducing “Fridays For Future”
Slide 3: Brief of the movement
Slide 4 to 10: Your argument
Slide 11: Conclusion
Slide 12: References
Make your Presentation
Your outline will guide how you complete your PowerPoint presentation. Follow the outline and you will make a presentation with minimal fuss. Let’s plunge into the details now.
Slide 1: Introductory Slide
- Your name, roll number, course name, and the teacher in charge.
- Image optional for this slide.
Slide 2: Introducing “Fridays For Future”
- Introduce its timeline, location, aim, leaders, slogans, etc. (in bullet points).
- Put an image of the movement preferably of any slogan or the leader.
Example:
Slide 3: Brief of the movement
- In few words explain the main details of the movement.
- Put an image of the masses of the movement.
Example:
Slide 4 to 10: Your argument
- In these middle slides decide what you will write and cite to back up your argument. Use examples and images to convey your point across.
- Slide 4: Use this slide to signify your research question or the main topic. Put a large image here which represents the movement.
- Slide 5 and 6: In Slide 5, introduce a theorist who talks about social movements. Highlight the main points of their argument. In Slide 6, justify how “Fridays For Future” does or does not meet the criteria for it to be classified as a “Social Movement”.
- Repeat what you did in Slides 5 and 6 in slides 7, 8, 9, and 10 as well. Introduce multiple theorists and their understanding of social movements and then correlate them with the conditions of the “Fridays For Future” Movement.
Example:
Slide 11: Conclusion
- In this slide write your concluding argument where you state if according to your analysis “Fridays For Future” Movement is a social movement or not
Slide 12: References
- Cite all the resources you used to research and compile this presentation.
DO NOT FORGET: Cite all the sources, including the sources of the images you have used throughout the PowerPoint. Notice how we have put the source of the images below them wherever we have applied them.
How to make your presentation look Academic/ Formal
- Keep the background color neutral, such as white, black, or grey.
- Keep the font colors neutral as well. Stick to either black or white font color based on your background color.
- Keep the font setting the same, i.e., all the Titles of your slide should have the same font type, size, and spacing. Similarly, all the content of your slide should also have the same font type and size.
- Avoid underlining in presentations. If you want to highlight something, use bold or italics instead.
Presenting your presentation
If this is an assignment, there are high chances that you will need to present your PowerPoint in the class as well. The motive of any presentation is to use as little text as possible. Therefore, when you present your work, you get the opportunity to elaborate and explain all of your mentioned arguments in detail. The best way is to NOT repeat what’s written on your respective slide but rather speak what you had to leave behind.
Since you will make your presentation only after thorough research on the topic, while you are presenting you can:
- Elucidate your point with greater finesse.
- Throw in examples to explain exactly what you aim to say.
- Add definitions and examples of social movements apart from what you mentioned in the PowerPoint presentation.
- You can also explain in detail the points that you had to cut short when talking about the aim or history of the “Fridays For Future” Movement.
- You can discuss the consequences of the movement and what is its status today.
- In the case of the “Fridays For Future” Movement, you can also point out how this movement led to the popularity of Greta Thunberg and brought enormous amounts of focus to environment based movements and protests. This movement also proved how movements can be spread across nations via the internet and the contribution of children and youth to bring a change.
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