Psych 101 – Spring 2016

Oral Presentation Guidelines

DESCRIPTION
This presentation is a way for you to show us what you have learned from the first half of the
semester by applying the language of psychology to a real-world situation that you might
encounter in your future. It is useful to know how to effectively persuade and communicate
with others, since you are surrounded by persuasion (eg. television commercials, newspaper
advertisements, presidential campaigns, etc.) and live in a world driven by it. Being able to
successfully form and present a cohesive argument is a very valuable skill. Boring and
ineffective presentations are not given much attention and are often quickly forgotten. The
purpose of this project is to help you practice and master effective presentation skills and gain a
better appreciation for the methods of communication.
ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY
Your 8-minute oral presentation will be to form a persuasive argument for or against a change
in the following policies:
(1) Should the United States lower or raise the current drinking age of 21?
People in favor of higher drinking ages claim it reduces traffic fatalities and other alcohol-
related accidents, while also keeping alcohol away from teenagers, whose brains are still
developing. Those in favor of lower drinking ages show the United States trails behind other
developed countries –including Iceland, Japan, South Korea, and others– who have lowered their
drinking age to 18 or younger. Furthermore, they claim lowering the age would also reduce
problems with underage irresponsible binge-drinking.
(2) Should recovered memories be admissible in court?
Opponents of using these memories in course believe there is little or no validity to the
phenomenon they refer to as “false memory syndrome.” They have even created a national
False Memory Syndrome Foundation as a resource for people who claim they have been falsely
accused of crimes based on recovered memories. Some clinical studies have proven some of
these recovered memories to be valid, such as World War II veterans’ traumatic, wartime
experiences. However, opponents claim these memories can be manipulated by a therapist or
even through police questioning. Scientific research and clinical studies have shown
discrepancies in whether these memories are valid and whether they can be proven true.
(3) Should there be an age minimum for prescribing adolescents psychoactive drugs?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2011-2012 National Health
Survey, 7.5% of children aged 6-17 used prescription medication during the last 6 month for
emotional or behavioral difficulties. It also shows that a higher percentage of children insured by
Medicaid were prescribed these medications, compared to children with private health
insurance or who were uninsured. The long-term effects of these psychotropic medications on
brain development have not been extensively studied.
(4) Should juvenile delinquents be tried as adults?
States across the US have recognized that children who commit crimes are different from adults,
since they are (as a class) less blameworthy due to their less-developed brains. Thus, they
created a separate youth-based justice system different from the adult criminal justice system.
This separate system provided minors with rehabilitation as its primary goal. In most states,
delinquents are children under the age of 18 who have committed a criminal act. However, most
states allow adolescents under the age of 21 under the supervision of the juvenile court. Judges
can “waive” the protections that juvenile court provides if the case is serious and/or violent
enough, the minor is older, or the minor has been in trouble before.
(5) Should therapy or behavioral conditioning be used to treat behavioral/emotional
issues instead of prescribed drugs?
Prescribed drugs work quicker on symptoms than therapy, but can have serious side effects that
are quite common. Specifically, opponents refer to the link between antidepressants and suicide
rates among children and adolescents “a very serious issue.” They also point out the taxing
effects of the trial-and-error method for finding a prescribed drug that effectively gets rid of
symptoms without unacceptable side effects for each individual. Both therapy and medication
have roughly equivalent benefits for short-term treatments. However, some patients respond
better to psychotherapy than medication, and vice versa. The benefits of therapy are also
limited by the cost, quality of therapist, and type of therapy. Some people prefer medications to
therapy, since it works a little faster and may involve less time and effort.

Whichever topic you choose, your oral presentation should consist of TWO (2) arguments with
TWO (2) supporting pieces of evidence for each and AT LEAST ONE (1) opposing argument. In
addition to the presentation itself, you will be turn in a short paragraph with a brief summary of
what topic you choose and how you intend to approach your presentation. You will also create
an outline that summarizes your viewpoint and arguments.
The purpose of a persuasive argument is to convince an audience to accept a specific point of
view or take certain action. In persuasive arguments, it is your job to convince your audience to
accept your perspective in a completely fair manner. An effective persuasive argument not only
shows why the presenter’s opinion is correct and/or important, but also why the opposing view
is incorrect. It will also use various tools and modes of persuasion, which are broken down
below.
ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES
FOR THE PRESENTATION ITSELF:
You will be trying to convince a roomful of stakeholders (investors with an interest in social
justice) to invest their money towards your issue. Although they have all graduated from high
school, they have various levels of knowledge of psychology. For that reason, make sure you
break down complicated vocabulary into easy-to-understand terms that all levels of our
audience can follow along with, but not too easy to feel undermined and have them lose
interest.
Your presentation should follow this basic structure:
Introduction
 Grab the audience’s attention
 Give an overview of the argument
 Close with a thesis/focus statement that reveals position to be argued

Body of Viewpoint
 Each argument should be introduced with a transition and topic sentence, to specify
what you will be focusing on and to maintain the flow of your speech
 Each argument should have two pieces of evidence for support
 Counter-arguments should fairly represent the opposing viewpoint, but have rebuttals
to refute each point

Conclusion
 Restate your thesis (not just repeated)
 Summarize your main arguments
 End with a call to action

FOR YOUR PROCESS WORK:

(1) Guidelines for the PARAGRAPH, due April 6th
Your paragraph WILL NOT be graded. It is a BRIEF, short paragraph (6 sentences MAXIMUM)
describing your chosen topic, why you’re interesting in that topic, and how you plan to
approach your presentation.
It is simply a way for us to see what topic interests you most and how you will structure your
presentation, such as how you plan on introducing opposing arguments and what type of
concepts, studies, and other evidence you want to bring into your presentation.
(2) Guidelines for the OUTLINE, due April 20th
Similar to the organization of your presentation, you will be creating an outline that WILL NOT
be graded and summarizes your stance on your chosen issue, arguments, and conclusion.
There are a couple ways to organize your persuasive presentation, such as incorporating your
counter-arguments as they come up during your own supporting arguments or summarizing
and refuting them before your conclusion.
Although the organization might vary, your outline should have five main components: the
introduction, first argument (with evidence), second argument (with evidence), counter-
arguments, and conclusion. Characteristics of each component is broken down under Content
Guidelines, a separate sheet of information that will be provided to you.
For your outline, you will write one sentence (maximum 2) to summarize your information in
the following format:

I. Introduction
a. Hook: Gain interest of your audience and set the tone for your presentation
b. Narrow your focus: Give background information and move from general ideas
to more topic-specific ones
c. Thesis/Focus statement: What your presentation will prove. After hearing your
thesis, audience should know what your main arguments will be
II. First Argument
a. Topic sentence summarizing your first point
b. First piece of evidence to support your first argument
c. Second piece of evidence to support your first argument
III. Second Argument
a. Topic sentence summarizing your point
b. First piece of evidence to support your second argument
c. Second piece of evidence to support your second argument
IV. Opposing Viewpoints
a. Opposing point(s) to your argument
b. Rebuttals to opposing points
c. Redirection and elaboration on previous arguments
V. Conclusion
a. Restate thesis/focus statement
b. Summary of main arguments
c. Personal comment or call to action