A Guide to Research Presentations

Today, I finished my tenth paper presentation. This is a huge milestone. I remember my first one, about Taylor Swift's albums. I presented it at MCC at this thing called Eve's Eve. The chair for the presentation, the Dean of Women's Affairs, said my paper was really good and recommended that I publish it. And so, that's what I did. In my second year of UG, I had a paper published. 

Now, guys... this post is kind of a how-to present and write papers guide. I've a lot of people asking me about this, and I thought this would be a nice way to help them. 

First... pick a topic you really like. One that you don't have to think about too much, so you know plenty of background information about your paper. For example, I write about things like Taylor Swift, the books I read, or the poems that my teachers taught me that really resonated with me. I find that this makes things easier, in the sense that you don't have to think too much about what you're writing, but that it comes naturally. 

Second, try to find something unique about the topic that you want to write about. You don't have to finalize it just yet, but have a few options in case your topic, which you think is absolutely unique, has already been written about. (That can totally happen. You can think you are the first person to figure something out, but someone might have already done so.)

Third, do some background work. By that, I mean find out what papers have already been published on the topic you want to do. I use consensus.ai, Google Scholar, and JSTOR to find authentic papers. (Note that certain papers might have to be paid for to access... don't use that. You can find free sources if you look a little bit.) Look at the papers and see what topics overlap. This is important because it will help in your literature review. 

Next, write your abstract. So, an abstract is not an introduction, but it shows what your paper will address, including the research gap. I put this step here because you need to do your background research before you write your abstract. It doesn't have to be long. Don't hint at your conclusion, because that wouldn't encourage people to read the paper if your findings are in the abstract. 

A literature review is basically the already established research on your topic. You will have to establish this in order to find a research gap, i.e., what your paper will address. This will be after the introduction, which goes after the abstract.

Then, you can either use sources, primary and secondary, and your primary source text, that is, your book, song, etc., that you are researching to defend your argument. It is important you do this in sections. Don't try to do everything all at once, but make a clear outline and fill it out with excerpts and extracts. 

Additionally, if you are trying to research a trend in current society, you can incorporate a survey in your work. I've done that a few times, too. Use an anonymous Google Form. Make sure not to collect names or email addresses of your respondents. You can use age to separate the participants. 

When you wrap up, make sure your conclusion mirrors your introduction and answers the question from your abstract. You could add a discussion section before this. That section could be used to talk about the results of your survey and its implications. 

Now... citations are the most important thing. Citations prove that your paper is legitimate. I usually use MLA citations. They vary depending on your source - book, article, song, etc. You can use purdue owl or other online sources to check your citations. Remember, they have to be intext and in your conlusion. Your format should also be MLA. 

But guys... the most important thing you need to do... is have fun. Being a part of the academic world is very valuable, and you can have a good experience in it if you write about something you like. 

Good luck and feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I'm open to answering questions in the comments!