Inquiry Process Toolbox

Tools for teacher and students to use during the inquiry process

 

 

Step 4 is writing your interpreted information into the format required by the assignment.

Document types

Script

A script is a a written guide of what you are going to say during your presentation

Guide for script writing:

  1. Introduce the topic - state the position and start with a hook which will engage your audience and make them responsive to your talk.
  2. Explain your idea - clearly and with conviction
  3. Describe your evidence
  4. Call to action - how and why you are implementing your idea
  5. Conclusion - reveal the new reality, how the audience lives will be affected if they act on your idea.

Visuals

Guide for creating a visual presentation:

  1. Should I use slides? If slides clarity information use them but keep it simple
  2. What goes on the slide:
    • Images and photos to help the audience remember the person, place or thing.
    • Infographics.
    • One point per slide.
    • As little text as possible.
    • No bullet points.
  3. Formatting the slide
    • Use consistent graphics and fonts
    • Use a common font like Helvetica or Verdana.
    • Font readable 42 points or larger.
  4. Reference material 
    • Images and text must be referenced
Delivery

Guide for delivery

  1. Engage - Ask the audience questions and get them to ask you questions
  2. Voice - Speak with a clear voice,  a good pace and volume
    • Use appropriate vocabulary
  3. Posture and eye contact
    • Stand up straight
    • Try to make eye contact with most of the audience
  4. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse - practise in front of the mirror, to your friends and family (once in your head is not enough)
  5. Give the Eulogy - just like you practised.
    • Imagine you are speaking to your peers in a normal conversation. 

Modified from TedTalks Speakers Guide (2017)

 

Five Tips for Avoiding Plagiarism

  1. First, use your own ideas. It should be your paper and your ideas that should be the focus.
  2. Use the ideas of others sparingly--only to support or reinforce your own argument.
  3. When taking notes, include complete citation information for each item you use.
  4. Use quotation marks when directly stating another person's words.
  5. A good strategy is to take 30 minutes and write a short draft of your paper without using any notes. It will help you think through what you want to say and not be too dependent on your sources.

Plagiarism can sometimes be the result of poor note taking, or paraphrasing without properly citing the reference. You can avoid plagiarism by:

  • citing your references
  • referencing correctly
  • recording direct quotes and paraphrases correctly when note taking.

Quotes

When you use the exact words, ideas or images of another person, you are quoting the author. If you do not use quotation marks around the original author's direct words and cite the reference, you are plagiarising.

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is when you take someone else's concepts and put them into your own words without changing the original meaning. Even though you are not using the same words you still need to state where the concepts came from.

Note taking

Poor note taking can lead to plagiarism. You should always take care to:

  • record all reference information correctly
  • use quotation marks exactly as in the original
  • paraphrase correctly
  • clearly distinguish your own ideas from the ideas of other authors and researchers.

Templates / Scaffolds & Tools