Assignment and Project Formats

Many of the projects (and some section assignments) allow you a choice of format such as report, slideshow, poster or oral presentation. 

All assignments and projects require a bibliography if any outside sources are used or even consulted. 

Graphics should be used with a purpose beyond decoration. This means that they communicate information that is not in the text or extend the information contained in the text. 

All projects require you to hand in rough work. This might be a set of notes, outline or rough copy. Somehow, you will need to demonstrate your process for completing the project. 

Illustrated report 

An illustrated report works well when you have a lot of content to communicate. Text is at the forefront here. You can think of this as an essay but with headings as well as photos and graphics. It must contain the following:

  • Title page (title, name, date, graphic)
  • Introduction
  • Main body (topic sub-sections with titles)
  • Graphics (see note above)
  • Conclusion
  • Bibliography

An illustrated report might look like the example to the right. 

Slideshow

A slideshow follows the same structure as the report (Title page, Introduction, Main body, Graphics, Conclusion, Bibliography but uses a series of slides to develop ideas. Photos and graphics should be front and centre in a slideshow.

Students may use any slideshow software such as PowerPoint, Google Slides, Libre Office Slides or Keynote. However, you must submit the assignment in a format that your teacher can read. Usually this will be as .pptx or .pdf

If you use Google Slides, you must download the file then upload it to the course. Using the "share" function is easy on your end but can cause difficulties for the teacher. 

Each slide in a slideshow should be composed of bulleted key words. Slides are not for paragraphs. A general rule is to keep each slide to no more than 15 words. 

You can use a suitable theme for your slideshow but be careful not to get carried away. Make sure that transitions are helpful and not distracting. 

Here is an example of a series of slides that make up a slideshow. Notice the emphasis on images. 

Poster

Posters work well to show the connection between ideas. Here, layout is at the forefront. Posters are handed in as hard copies on poster board. 

A poster will have a clear title at the top centre or in the middle. 

Posters will be broken into sections with titles.  Some may be larger than others. You can use a combination of paragraphs, bulleted sections and captioned photos or graphics. 

You will not need to include an introduction or conclusion with a poster but the layout should make it clear where the viewer begins, develops and ends. 

Put your bibliography on to the back of the poster.