Creating Effective PowerPoint® PresentationsMicrosoft® PowerPoin

Creating Effective PowerPoint® Presentations
Microsoft® PowerPoint® is a tool for creating dynamic oral
presentations. An effective PowerPoint® presentation has
maximum impact on an audience in minimal time. If you have
been assigned a PowerPoint® in addition to an essay or instead
of an essay, here are the key similarities [+] and differences [x]
between these two forms:
Table 1
Elements of an Essay and a PowerPoint Presentation
Elements
Essay
PowerPoint®
Design
x Text-based, regular black font, one inch margins, double
spacing
+ Visual design: color, theme, and layout options; art and
multimedia options
Title
+ Title page
+ Title slide
Introduction
+ Topic, issue, thesis statement
+ Slide title (topic); key points
Body
+ Paragraphs featuring one point each
+ Slides featuring one point each
Conclusion
+ Recap of main point, final thoughts
+ Slide listing recap of main points
Paragraphs
+ Unified and cohesive paragraphs with topic and concluding
sentences
x Unordered (bulleted) lists or a captioned image to convey key
points

Sentences
Complete sentences
x One-line fragments; unordered list (bullet points).
Lists
x Occasionally used to separate elements in a sentence.
+Lists are the building blocks of a PowerPoint®.
Visuals/art
+ Tables, charts, and graphs display data and research results
and make a paper visually appealing.
+ Images, art, tables, charts, and graphs increase the impact and
visual appeal of a presentation.
In-text citations
+ Quotes, paraphrases, summaries, and visuals require in-text
citations.
+ Quotes, paraphrases, and summaries, and visuals require in-
text citations.
Reference list
+ Last page lists full-citation references.
+ Last slide lists full-citation references
GETTING STARTED WITH SLIDES
Similar to drafting an essay, when creating a PowerPoint®, you
need to define your topic and focus, determine your audience,
and know your purpose--whether you are informing, educating,
entertaining, or persuading.
Another essential step that takes as much time when creating a
PowerPoint® as it does when writing an essay is to research
your subject matter and prewrite your ideas. A next step is to
make an informal outline to organize your ideas and establish a
clear beginning middle and end. With the groundwork complete
and content prepared, you are ready to create Slide 1.
Slide 1
1. New presentations begin with a title slide. Follow the
directions given in the text placeholders beginning with “click

to add title” (Figure 2).
2. Then, in the next box, add your subtitle. You may also use
this area to provide your name and the university name per APA
guidelines or any other information required on your title slide.
3. Since a PowerPoint® accompanies an oral presentation, you
may want to add speaker notes in the notes pane to elaborate on
the points on each slide.
Figure 1
PowerPoint® Side 1. Click to Add Title
Important: PowerPoint® has older versions and newer, PC and
Mac. Shown in Figure 1 is Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2013 for
Windows. All versions have the similar components. For the
purposes of this tutorial, the focus will be on steps and features
without addressing the nuances of different versions. The
PowerPoint® Help tool and the Microsoft® website, provide
specific details about your software.
Slides 2, 3, 4…
1. To insert slide 2, right-click the thumbnail of the slide that
you want the next slide to follow.
2. On the dropdown menu, click “New Slide” (Figure 3).
3. The new slide will open in a default layout. To use this
layout, “click to add title,” and in the body placeholder, you can
click to add text or select from the media options (Figure 4).
4. To use another layout, open the New Slide or Layout task
pane and select the layout that best suits your content (Figure
5). Continue inserting slides using the same steps as above, or
insert a “Duplicate Slide” and replace the text or image to
maintain consistent title placement and formatting.
Figure 2
Insert New Slide.
Figure 3
New Slide in Default Template, Click Text Placeholders to Add
Content.
Figure 4
Slide Layout Options
APA Citation Tips

· Cite your research after the bullet point(s) that have the
quoted, paraphrased, or summarized text.
· You can insert textboxes as needed and position them on the
slide to add citations to images or charts from your research.
Refer to the Insert menu on the PowerPoint® toolbar to use this
feature.
DESIGNING AN EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION
PowerPoint® presentations are meant to be seen more than read.
Their impact depends on their visual appeal. Therefore, when
beginning slide 1, or while drafting your presentatio n, you will
want to apply design features. For the design to be effective,
consider the following tips and features:
1. Apply a theme (Figure 6). Add a design theme to your
presentation to establish the style and color scheme for bullets,
charts, SmartArt, and text, as well as the position of the content
placeholders. Slide layout options also remain available, and
you can resize and reposition any object on a slide (except the
stylistic patterns built into the themes).
2. Use a consistent background such as one design template
throughout.
3. Use a consistent color scheme throughout of no more than
three colors (or one design theme, Figure 7).
4. Use one type of transition (such as fade-to-black or dissolve)
between slides for consistency.
5. Use a consistent and plain font throughout such as Arial,
Times, Verdana, or Calibri. Use font sizes large enough to view
from anywhere in the room.
6. Use visuals such as charts, images, and clipart to illustrate
your content. However, do not add clipart simply to fill a slide
or make it more colorful.
Figure 5
Apply a Theme to Create a Consistent Design and Professional
Look.
Figure 6
Use Consistent Color Scheme Throughout the Presentation.

Figure 7
Example of an Ineffective Slide Design.
Ineffective presentations use poor slide design with distracting
colors, difficult to read fonts, too much text to be readable at a
glance, and irrelevant or inappropriate images for professional
and academic adult learners.
Figure 7 provides an illustration of an ineffective slide design
because
· the cartoonish clipart is unprofessional,
· the text is too small, ornate, and dense to read, and
· the neon colors in Figure 7 along with the extreme color
combinations are difficult to read. The templates in
PowerPoint® provide many acceptable options. Always consider
your topic, purpose, and audience when determining slide
design.
Figure 8
Illustration of an Effective Slide Design
Figure 8 provides an illustration of an effective slide design
because
· the title reflects the topic of the slide,
· the content is presented in 4-5 lines, and
· the use of bullet points and grammatical and parallel clause
and phrase structures.
APA Citation Tips
When using Microsoft® PowerPoint® clipart in your
Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation, according to APA, you
do not have to cite it. If you use clipart or images from a source
and permission and/or copyright is not required, you will want
to attribute those images to the source of the image with a
citation. Below is the citation and reference format for using
clipart or images:
In-text, aligned with image: (Name of image creator, Year
image was made or published)

Reference slide:
Name of image creator, A. A. (Year image was made). Title of
image. [medium or file type of image]. http://…
ADDING VOICE NARRATION TO A PRESENTATION
The following steps for adding narration to your presentation
are an overview of the detailed steps provided on the
Microsoft® PowerPoint® support page here: Record a Slide
Show with Narration.
1. After you have created your presentation and you have your
speaker notes prepared to read aloud, open the Slide Show tab,
and select Record Slide Show (Figure 9). You can select
whether you want to record from the beginning or from a single
slide.
2. Next, select what you want to record and start recording
(Figure 10). In most instances, you will want the recording to
match the amount of time you spend on the slide, so you will
select “Slide and animation timings.” If you will use a pointer
as you speak to highlight data on the slide or an aspect of an
illustration, also select “Narration, ink, and pointer.” This tool
will ensure any highlighting or typing you do on the slide as
you speak also gets recorded.
3. When you begin recording, the presentation will open in the
slide show view, and you can use the Recording toolbar to pause
and to advance to the next slide (Figure 11).
4. To end the recording, right click the mouse over the final
slide, and click “End Show (Figure 12).
5. To play the recorded slide show on your computer, open the
Slide Show tab and click “From Beginning” or to only play a
certain slide or to begin at a certain slide, click “From Current
Slide.”
6. Save your presentation as a PowerPoint® Presentation to play
it with the audio narration locally on your computer. Save As
MPEG-4 to produce your slideshow as a video to share online.
Figure 9
Navigate to the Slide Show Tab and Select Record Slide Show.
Figure 10

Click "Start Recording.”
Figure 11
Screenshot of Upper Corner of Presentation Where the
Recording Toolbar Appears
Figure 12
Right click the Final Slide to Open the Slide Show Controls and
Select End Show to Stop Recording.
Figure 13
Save your Recording as a PowerPoint® to Play the Slide Show
Locally on Your Computer, or Save it as a MPEG-4 Video to
Publish it as a Video to Play Online.
Recording Tips
1. As you narrate your presentation, do not speak while the
slides are transitioning from one to the other. Speak when the
slide is loaded and stop speaking before you advance to the next
slide. Recordings attach to each slide separately, so you may
therefore re-record individual slides and not the whole slide
show as you create your presentation.
2. Check your settings and audio by recording the first slide
only and then playing it back and making any necessary
adjustments to your audio.
3. Record your presentation in a quiet setting and using a
headset or earbuds to ensure clear good sound quality.
· For more tips and detailed directions for recording a slide
show, please visit Microsoft® PowerPoint® support
here: Record a Slide Show with Narration and Slide Timings.
Part 2: Reference summaries (50 points/ 10% of the final
grade)Due date:
Create a reference list of at least 5 scholarly sources that you
will use in your presentation. References should use APA
format (6th edition). For assistance with APA format, visit the
UMUC library site at the following link:
http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/apa_examples.cfm

Finding scholarly sources
Being an informed consumer of social research is an important
skill. At UMUC, we are fortunate to have access to an extensive
collection of journals, periodicals and books, but what do you
do when you don’t have an academic library? Google it, of
course! Google Scholar is readily available to anyone with
access to the Internet. Simply open http://scholar.google.com
and type in your search words.
For this part of the applied final project, you will use the
UMUC library databases or Google Scholar to:
· Locate 5 scholarly or credible sources on your chosen topic
· Locate at least 1 article that addresses your topic from the
perspective of a different country or culture
· Locate at least 1 article related to policy (i.e. what policies
exist, are being considered, or are needed to address your issue)
What is a scholarly or credible source? For your project, you
should be relying on sources that have credibility. Appropriate
sources would be articles written by experts in the field, articles
found in peer-reviewed journals, published documents from
well-known research groups (e.g. Pew Research), and reports
published by government agencies (e.g. NIH, CDC).
Inappropriate sources would include popular websites (e.g.
about.com, ehow.com, Wikipedia) or media outlets (e.g. Fox,
MSNBC, WSJ, NY Times, Forbes, etc.). These sources do not
always accurately report their findings and are sometimes prone
to bias. If a website or article fails to report the credentials of
the author and does not provide citations for the information
contained in the article, chances are it is not a scholarly source
and therefore should not be used.
For more information, the UMUC Library has more information
on how to evaluate your sources available
at: http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/how_evaluate.cfm

Submit a summary of each article using the worksheet that
follows. In your own words, identify the key findings of the
article. Do not simply state what the article was about (e.g.
"This article talks about cyberbullying."). What specific
information did you learn from your source? (e.g.
"Cyberbullying has become a popular means of abuse among
teenagers, affecting about half of all young people.") The
purpose of this summary is to prove that you have actually read
and understood each of your sources. Your summaries should be
2-3 paragraphs in length. Do NOT simply copy and paste the
abstract or any other part of your source! This is plagiarism and
is a violation of university policy that can result in being
reported to the Dean’s office.
The purpose of this assignment is to 1) ensure that you are
using appropriate, scholarly sources, and 2) to make sure you
are on track for your final presentation to the class.
Complete and save the worksheet as a document or .pdf and
submit as an attachment within the Week 4 module.
Reference Summary Worksheet
Reference 1 – Cross-cultural reference
Citation in APA format (2 pts)
Key findings (6 pts)
In 2-3 paragraphs, summarize the main findings in your source.
How do you know that this is a credible/scholarly source? (2
pts)
Reference 2 – Policy reference

pts)
Reference 3
pts)
Reference 4
pts)
Reference 5

pts)

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