For the presentation, remember that you will not have enough time to cover EVERYTHING in your paper. Use "Open Office Presentation", "Star Office Presentation", or "Power-point". If you need special equipment, let the instructor know in advance! Focus on the graphs/figures from your report, and include bulleted items to illustrate your points. Do not use full sentences on the presentation slides, but enough to convey the idea.

Consult the class web page for how long your presentation should last, typically 15 minutes. You also need 5-10 minutes for questions. Time yourself - how quickly do you go through slides? Have a set of main slides that you will use for the presentation, and have a few others in reserve to address questions as needed. If you work with partners, make sure that you present a fair share of the slides, and that you are able to answer questions. Volunteer to answer questions when you know the answer.

In the allotted time*, you want to narrow your focus as time goes on. One possibility is to spend:

• First few minutes: introduction - information that anyone would understand
• Next few minutes: information that any student who's had computer architecture would understand
• Next few minutes: information that only students in your class would understand
• Last few minutes: conclusions - information that anyone would understand, plus points from earlier discussions.
• Finally: you say "Are there any questions?"

Include a slide with your references, and be sure to cite your sources during the presentation.

Include relevant observations, measurements, and statistics. For example, the VLSI class should: Include statistics such as timing information if available by simulation, or if not, your own analysis about critical path, delays, and clock cycles. Be sure to include size information: the total size of the circuit measured (X lambda by Y lambda), and the transistor count.

* It is difficult to present your work concisely within this time-frame. People find it much easier to talk about their projects without regard to time, rambling on about minor points. This shows that the presentation is not rehearsed, and that the speaker has not considered what factors are essential to the presentation, and what factors are merely details. Therefore, I may stop your presentation if you exceed the time-frame.

As Kai A. Olsen wrote in "The Economics of International Conferences," Computer, June 2004, page 90:        
        "...few understand the difficulty in giving a short presentation. Winston Churchill
        once said that he needed 10 minutes to prepare a three-hour presentation, but 10
        hours to prepare a 10-minute one."

Grades will be based on the following criteria:

• Preparedness
• Knowledge of project
• Technical Content
• Understandability
• Amount of work done
• Relevance to course
• Response to Questions
• Slide Quality
• Overall Presentation
• Time Awareness