Presenting the Argumentative Essay

Student Guide

Assignment Information
Purpose Create a multimedia presentation to deliver a convincing argument.
Time Approximately twenty minutes
Question How can you turn an essay into a clear and visually appealing multimedia presentation?
Summary In this assignment, you will use your revised argumentative essay to create a unified
presentation that includes a title slide, an introduction slide, three body-paragraph slides,
and a conclusion slide.

Assignment Prompt
Your school has recently decided to start serving genetically modified food as part of school lunches.
Give a multimedia presentation to the student council arguing for or against the new policy. Include
engaging visual elements and strong evidence that support your position.

Assignment Instructions
Step 1: Gather materials and necessary information.

a) Retrieve your revised argumentative essay.

b) Ask your teacher which presentation software you should use and where you should save
your presentation as you work on it. For example, you may use Microsoft PowerPoint. Your
teacher may also have specific guidelines about the file name you should use.

Step 2: Create your title slide.

a) Begin by creating the title slide. This slide will
ensure that you receive credit for your work,
but it is not actually part of your speech.
b) Include your presentation title, your name,
your teacher’s name, and the presentation
due date on the title slide.
c) Remember to save your work as you go.

Step 3: Create your introduction slide.

a) Create the second slide by clicking on the
“new slide” option (in the “home” menu of
PowerPoint). Remember that you can right-
click your mouse, click on tabs, and use drop-
down options to access other menus and
tools.
b) Place the introduction text in the notes section
below the slide by copying and pasting the
introduction paragraph from your revised
essay. This text will serve as the script for
your presentation.
c) Use your script as a basis to create bullet points on your slide. Remember to engage your
audience, introduce your topic, and present your thesis.
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 Student Guide (continued)

d) Add an image or a series of images to reinforce your argument. You can do this by using the
“insert” tool. Ask your teacher for guidance if you need help finding appropriate images.
e) Resize the images by clicking on the edge of each picture and using your mouse to drag the
image to the desired size.
f) When appropriate, add animations to the image and text by using your mouse to select the
item you want to animate and using the “animations” menu.

g) Remember to save your work as you go.

Step 4: Create three body-paragraph slides.

a) Use the “new slide” option to create three new
slides, one for each body paragraph.
b) Place the body-paragraph text in the notes
section below the slide by copying and pasting
the first body paragraph from your revised
essay.
c) Use your script to create bullet points on each
slide. Use what you have learned in the lesson
to create effective bullet points that convey the
essential parts of each body paragraph.
d) Use the “design” menu to change the look of the slide.

e) Add an image or a series of images to reinforce your argument. You can do this by using the
“insert” menu. Ask your teacher for guidance if you need help finding appropriate images.

f) Resize the images by clicking on the edge of the image and using your mouse to drag the
image to the desired size.

g) When appropriate, add animations to the image and text by using your mouse to select the
item you want to animate and using the “animations” menu.
h) Remember, clicking the button on the right-hand side of the mouse is often the easiest way
to access menus and options.

i) Remember to save your work as you go.

Step 5: Create the conclusion slide.

a) Use the “new slide” option to create the

conclusion slide.

b) Place the conclusion text in the notes section

below the slide by copying and pasting the
conclusion paragraph from your revised
essay.

c) Use your script to create effective bullet

points for the conclusion. Remember to
restate your claim, briefly summarize your presentation, and end with a gripping conclusion.

d) Use the “design” menu to change the look of the slide.

e) Add an image or a series of images to reinforce your argument. You can do this by using the
“insert” menu. Ask your teacher for guidance if you need help finding appropriate images.

f) Resize the images by clicking on the edge of the image and using your mouse to drag the
image to the desired size.

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 Student Guide (continued)

g) When appropriate, add animations to the images and text by using your mouse to select the
item you want to animate and using the “animations” menu.

h) Remember, right-clicking the mouse is often the easiest way to access menus and options.

i) Remember to save your work as you go.

Step 6: Cite your resources on a Works Cited slide.

Step 7: Evaluate your presentation using the following checklist. When you can answer “yes” to
all of the questions, you are ready to submit your presentation.

Yes No Evaluation Question

Does your presentation use visuals effectively?

Does your presentation present information in ways that will engage your audience?

Does your presentation use language that is appropriate to your audience and format?

Does your introduction slide capture the interest of the audience?

Does your introduction slide have a brief statement about the issue?

Does your introduction slide have a strong thesis statement that clearly states your claim?

Does the body of your presentation have three body-paragraph slides?

Do the body-paragraph slides introduce the topic of each body paragraph?

Do the body-paragraph slides provide supporting evidence in the form of details, statistics,
facts, and images?

Do the body-paragraph slides address counterarguments?

Does the conclusion restate the main ideas and how they support the claim?

Have you cited all the resources you may have used in MLA format?

Step 8: Revise and submit your presentation.

a) If you were unable to answer yes to all questions on the checklist, revise and save the
presentation before submitting it.

b) When you have completed your presentation, return to the virtual classroom and use the
“browse for file” option to locate and submit your assignment. Congratulations! You have
created a multimedia presentation.

c) Ask your teacher for further instructions about presenting your speech and multimedia
presentation to an audience of your peers.

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 Presenting the Argumentative Essay
Teacher Guide

Purpose
Students will turn an essay into a clear and visually appealing multimedia presentation using presentation
software such as PowerPoint or Keynote.

Student Guide
A PDF of the student guide is provided to students during the assignment. Be sure to either provide
copies to students or enable them to print the guides themselves when they reach the assignment at the
end of the lesson.

Background Information
This assignment concludes the two-lesson research workshop “Writing and Presenting the Argumentative
Essay.” Both lessons provide in-depth instruction on the creation of strong argumentative writing. The
second lesson provides specific instruction for tailoring the argument’s language and format to a speech
and multimedia presentation.

Preparation / Alternatives
▪ Teachers must provide students with presentation software.
▪ Teachers must determine the best manner for saving student work. Teachers should become aware of
their institutions’ computer-usage policies and protocols, as many computer labs do not allow users to
save work on individual computers.
▪ Teachers must also determine the best way for students to retrieve images for their presentations.
Many institutions employ firewalls and may restrict access to the Internet.
▪ Teachers may choose to extend the assignment by giving students the opportunity to present their
speeches and presentations to their peers.
▪ Teachers may choose to forgo the first lesson in this two-part workshop and use this lesson as a stand-
alone lesson; however, in such cases, teachers must provide students with the guidance they need to
create an original argument.

Assessing the Submitted Assignment

▪ Teachers can access submitted work via the Edgenuity Web Administrator at
learn.edgenuity.com/educator/.
▪ Teachers can access the assessment rubric for this assignment by clicking on the “course documents”
tab within the course structure.

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