Update, 25 Apr: I am asking you to think of the oral presentation as a low-risk chance to push your own personal boundaries and try something new -- something that you don't know you'll be able to fit into a research paper.

Length: 4 minutes.

Your peers will respond better if you make good eye contact and keep them interested, but I am not going to evaluate you based on the number of "ums" you say during your presentation. This should be a working discussion of your ideas in progress, rather than a canned presentation.

Content

Rather than read word-for-word from a section of your paper, lead the class in a discussion of an issue that you are struggling with -- something that you can see good arguments both for and against.

You might consider as launching points some of the following:

• Quotes from the literary works you want to discuss, or academic articles that offer definitions of important terms.
  
• A pointer or objective from the course website or How to Read Literature like a Professor that you would like the class to focus on when giving feedback
  
• Your thesis statement, as it has changed during your recent writing activities.
  
• Questions that you want the class to address after your presentation.
  
• A list of your personal educational goals for this paper. (What do you hope you are learning? What can you teach your peers?)
  
• A research question you haven't yet had time to invesigate, but that you think you might need to look into in order to make a strong paper. (Perhaps someone in the class has already started working in that area.)

Please avoid "yes/no" questions, or simple questions such as "Do you agree with my thesis?" Your goal isn't to invite the class to agree with you, but rather to learn from the class where your thought processes might be improved as we move this paper into the final stages.)