Appendix 1

REPORT

Report is a document which presents focused, salient content to a specific audience. Reports are often used to display the result of an experiment, investigation, or inquiry.

Reports often use persuasive elements, such as graphics, images, voice, or specialized vocabulary in order to persuade that specific audience to undertake an action. One of the most common formats for presenting reports is IMRAD: Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion.

Paths to preparing effective reports

1. Determine your purpose. Before starting, consider the objective:

• What do you want to accomplish?

• Is your purpose to inform the audience or to persuade them to take action?

2. Develop a structure

• Before you begin the report, develop a list of main points. This is an especially critical step when you’re conveying a complex message. A well-developed outline will enable you to stay on point and address all relevant issues.

• While providing the necessary historical perspective, avoid including too much background in the introduction of your report. Instead, share your conclusion and then offer supporting reasons.

• The body of the document should be separated into distinct sections with clear headings, that make it easy for the audience to locate information.

• If your report is lengthy, consider preparing a summary, which should explain

your purpose, your conclusions, and the data you have to support your analysis. To determine what to include in the summary, you may find it useful to reread the document and highlight key information as you review.

3. Be succinct

• Keep reports simple and concise. Let the audience know upfront the topic you’re addressing and why it’s important to them.

• Tailor the information to the knowledge level of your audience.

• Use plain English whenever possible, and avoid buzzwords or acronyms unless they’re understood by everyone

• Pay attention to details.

Paths to presenting a report

1. Research your topic. If your topic is quite boring, search for some interesting facts about it that will wow your group-mates.

2. Take notes. Don't be afraid to jot down details. Be sure to use better words than “nice” or “big.” Rather opt for words such as “gigantic” or “fantastic.”

3. Add a little something to it. Why not add pictures or make a life size model from the topic. Drawing a time line, especially if it's a history report, can also work.

4. Practice! Practice! Practice! Look at yourself in the mirror and talk as if you're in front of people. Make sure that you're not leaning or fumbling around when you talk. With a bit more practice, you will be able to ace that report and look good at the same time

GROUP DISCUSSION

In group discussion people exchange and evaluate ideas and information in order to better understand a subject or to settle a problem. It is an active and dynamic experience in which all member of the group interact and listen to each other.

Paths to successful problem solving for group discussion:

1. Identify a problem

2. Prove the problem exists

• Find statistics

• Refer to your own personal experience or the experiences of people you know

• Quote expert sources

• Give specific incidents of the problem that have been reported in the news

3. Explain the causes of the problem

• Your research and reading can help you to discover the information

• Personal opinions are also valuable, and brainstorming can be a useful way to facilitate an exchange of thoughts

4. Explain possible impact of the problem

• Explain how people or society in general might be effected

• Share the results of your research as well as personal opinion

5. Present possible solutions to the problem

• Present suggestions made by authorities and concerned individuals

• Give our opinion about how to solve the problem

6. Select the best solution

• Ask the following questions as you discus the virtues and drawbacks of each proposed solution (If you can answer “yes” to the first two questions and “no” to the last question, you might have found a winning solution)

1. Will this solution eliminate one or more of the causes of the problem?

2. Will this solution eliminate the predicted future effects of the problem?

3. Will this solution create more problems?

• Select the best solution(s). Remember: While some solutions may not be perfect, they might still be the best solutions to the problem

Paths to being an effective group leader

1. Welcome the audience

2. Introduce yourself and the participants

• Introduce the members of the group to one another and to the audience

3. State the problem to be discussed

• Introduce the problem to be discussed

• Briefly explain the organizational plan to be followed

• Briefly indicate who will tell the audience what

4. Make sure that the organizational plan is followed

• Make certain the group follows the organizational plan in order and does not skip steps. If a group member goes off on a tangent, it’s your job to get him or her back on track.

5. Encourage all group members to participate

• To encourage shy group members to speak, you might call on them by name and ask: What do you think about that?

• Welcome questions and field them

6. Provide transitions between each step

• Summarize each step in the group discussion before going to the next step

• Hang over to next speaker

You might say:

Now that we have demonstrated that a serious problem exists, why don’t we move on and talk about the causes of the problem?

7. Bring the discussion to a close

• After 25 -30 minutes conclude the discussion. Concluding a discussion is the same as to make a brief summary

8. Thank the participants

• After concluding the discussion, be sure to thank the participants for their time and hard work

• If an audience is present, thank them for listening

Path to being a responsible group member

Each participant should prepare by reading and thinking about the topic beforehand. During the discussion, participants should feel free to comment, ask questions and share information. All participants must be prepared and alert during the entire discussion. The following steps will help assure an animated and productive group discussion:

1. Be prepared with evidence

• prepare for discussion by researching quotations, facts, statistics and examples. Write possible contributions for each step of the discussion on note cards so that you can refer to them as needed during the discussion

2. Make a sufficient number of contributions

• contribute at least three timed during each step of the discussion. Your comments don’t need to be lengthy. Talk when you have a thought to share, a question to ask, or when you feel a point needs to be clarified for the audience

3. Don’t’ monopolize the discussion

• Don’t interrupt other group members while they are speaking. Give all participants a chance to speak and express themselves

4. Be open-minded

• Acknowledge other people’s opinions and their right to express them. If you disagree with someone’s opinion, let the person express the idea completely without interrupting. If you want to introduce a contrary point of view, do so politely.

5. Pay close attention to other participants’ contributions

• Listen carefully to other participants’ ideas. Taking notes will help you to remember what they have said. You may be asked to help the group leader summarize each step in the discussion

6. Refer to all group members by name

• Whether you refer to them directly or indirectly, use participants’ names. For example, don’t point to Mark and say, “I’d like to add to what HE said”. Say, “I’d like to add to what MARK said”.

DEBATE

A debate is a speaking situation in which opposite points of view are presented and argued. Each speaker attempts to convince the audience to agree with his or her ideas. A debate thus consists of two opposing persuasive speeches.

1. Speaker A speaks in favour of the topic or proposition being debated.

2. Speaker B speaks against the topic or proposition.

3. The speakers take turns giving main speeches and rebuttals.

4. In the main speeches, the speakers focus on presenting evidence to convince the audience to agree with them.

5. In the rebuttals, they focus on attacking their opponent’s position and trying to disprove his or her evidence.

6. When the speakers have finished, the audience decides which of them has won the debate.

Before the debate:

1. Each pair of opponents decides on the topic to be debated.

2. They form a proposition, or a statement that can be argued

3. They decide who will speak in favour of the proposition and who will argue against it.

Model of a debate

1. With your opponent choose a topic.

2. Form a proposition. Decide who will speak in favour of the proposition (Speaker A) and who will speak against the proposition (speaker B)

3. On your own, prepare for the debate. Analyze the audience, gather information, and organize your speech.

4. Conduct the debate as follows:

1. Speaker A

• Gives his or her main speech for four minutes.

• Defends or explains, and provides evidence for the proposition

2. Speaker B

• Gives a rebuttal for a maximum of four minutes, summarizing his or her disagreement with Speaker A’s information.

• Then gives his or her main speech, again for a maximum of four minutes, disagreeing with Speaker A’s proposition, providing evidence, and summarizing his or her own view

3. Speaker A

• Gives a rebuttal for a maximum of four minutes

• Restates his or her original points

• Restates and tries to disprove Speaker B’s argument

• Reemphasizes his or her original argument, providing more evidence.

• Restates his or her original proposition.

5. The audience votes for the better speaker.

SYMPOSIUM

A symposium is a group presentation that generally consists of four or five participants. Each participant gives a short speech focusing on a different aspect of the same topic.

For example let’s say your theme is climate change. Individual members could speak about such related topics as the following, which are all different facets of climate change:

• Global warming

• Depletion of the ozone layer

• Air pollution

• Water pollution

In preparation for the symposium, the participants do the following:

1. Select a group leader

2. Choose a general topic that is of interest to all

3. Establish the purpose of the symposium, which could be to inform, to persuade, or to solve a problem

4. Brainstorm possible subtopics

5. Choose the best subtopics and assign one to each participant

6. Then each of the participants on his/her own prepare for his/her part of the symposium. Individual presentation should be 3 – 5 minutes

7. Present the symposium

Group leaders have numerous responsibilities throughout the symposium:

1. At the beginning they:

1. Introduce the participants

2. Provide an attention-getting opener

3. Preview the subtopics to be covered

2. During the symposium, they provide transitions between each speaker’s presentation

3. At the end they:

1. Summarize the subtopics discussed

2. Conclude the symposium gracefully

3. Thank the audience and the participants

4. Lead a question-and-answer session

Audience members may direct questions to the entire group or to specific participants.