Other Visually Rich Texts: Brochures and PowerPoint Presentations

<body>  <a href="#lastcrumb" title="Skip Breadcrumb Navigation" onfocus="expandMenu('breadskip');" onblur="hideSkip('breadskip');" ><img src="/wps/media/styles/1480/_skins_/D/default_blue/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1" alt="Skip Breadcrumb Navigation" border="0" hspace="0" vspace="0"></a><div class="submenu" id="breadskip"><span class="breadcrumbs">[Skip Breadcrumb Navigation]</span><noscript>: <a href="#lastcrumb"><span class="breadcrumbs">[Skip Breadcrumb Navigation]</span></a></noscript><br> </div> <table border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="0"> <tr align="left" valign="top">  <td align="left" valign="top"><a href="/long_alexander_an_1/27/7031/1799965.cw/index.html" target="_top" class="breadcrumbs" >Home</a></td>  <td align="left" valign="middle"> <img src="/wps/media/styles/1480/_skins_/D/default_blue/breadcrumb_arrow.gif" alt=" arrow " width="21" height="9" hspace="0" vspace="2" border="0"> </td>  <td align="left" valign="top"><span class="breadcrumbs"><a name="lastcrumb" id="lastcrumb">Other Visually Rich Texts: Brochures and PowerPoint Presentations</a></span></td> </tr> </table> <p /> <span class="breadcrumbs">No Frames Version</span><br> <span class="homepageTitle">Other Visually Rich Texts: Brochures and PowerPoint Presentations</span><p /> <b><P>Brochures</P></B> <P>It is possible that your instructor, to help you understand the use of visuals and to develop your ability to combine text and image, might have you compose a brochure or newsletter as part of a class assignment or writing project. Doing so will allow you to experiment with visuals, place them in conjunction with text, and discover how an effectively used visual can greatly enhance your written text. Even simple graphics, such as ClipArt, can make a statement. For instance, look at the "eyes" in the brochure <A HREF="/wps/media/objects/1757/1799998/HIVpamphlet.doc" TARGET="_BLANK" >"College Students and HIV."</A></P> <P> The "eyes" are simple graphics, but students placed them in an attempt to "draw the reader's eyes" to the important information contained in the brochure. You might also note how the students used different shades and fonts of text to emphasize important information and to vary the text so that it wouldn't be boring to read. Again, these are simple graphical manipulations that can help to attract a reader's attention and draw it to vital information you are interested in communicating. What might you have done differently? How else might you have manipulated the text or graphics in this brochure to make it more appealing, particularly to college-aged students?</P> <b><P>Using Visuals in Academic Presentations</P></B> <P>Writers in academic situations increasingly give presentations in media other than print. In classes or at conferences, they may project text onto a screen for the entire audience to see. Indeed, a frequent task for people in the academy-and in the world of work in general-is reporting and explaining recommendations, decisions, findings, and actions. These reports can vary greatly in length, from a short memo or letter to multiple pages. They may be read by several individuals or by only one specific reader. </P> <P>A presentation developed with PowerPoint or other software such as Corel Presentation, is an example of such a <i>multi-media</i> report. In fact, in addition to institutions of higher learning, many businesses have invested in data projectors and use PowerPoint as well, so working knowledge of this useful tool is good to have. Using this software, you create a series of slides to present the information in a visually attractive and appealing way, perhaps even using graphs, charts, and pictures to highlight certain issues or draw attention to important information. Using PowerPoint, you may also determine the type of transitions between slides, make your text appear in a certain order, and even animate your text.</P> <P>An <i>academic</i> visual presentation may be based on an essay, prepared in traditional format, and it may aid the writer in emphasizing her main points to an audience to whom she is presenting the paper. Some presenters print out the slides of the presentation and distribute them on a paper handout or give members of their audience a CD for them to use in reviewing the presentation. This can be useful since the content of the presentation usually amounts to a detailed outline of the essay or talk. Converting your written work to a PowerPoint presentation is a quick way (1) to outline your paper and (2) to check to see if the organizational strategy you have used actually makes sense and seems to flow logically and reasonably. You might want to try this with an essay or project you are working on. </P> <P>For instance, Jonathan used <A HREF="/wps/media/objects/1757/1799998/Technology_Presentation.ppt" TARGET="_BLANK" >PowerPoint slides</A> to talk about the YOUth & AIDS Web Project, which can be found online at <A HREF="http://oz.uc.edu/~alexanj/What.html" TARGET="BLANK" >http://oz.uc.edu/~alexanj/What.html</A>.</P> <P>Each slide presents both a "screen shot" of a particular page of the YOUth and AIDS Web Project and offers a brief description of what that particular page is supposed to do. The combination of images (pictures from the Website) and explanatory text allowed Jonathan to talk about the Web project and show an audience of his peers some of the exciting work his students had been doing. The images are eye-catching, and the text clearly explains the <i>main </i>points Jonathan wanted to communicate about the project.</P> <P>When composing such presentation in PowerPoint, you should pay attention to organization, clarity, conciseness, and length, being careful not to cram too many words onto a slide in such small print that it is unreadable from the back of the room. Avoid simply listing points densely on a page, but include enough content on each slide to hold the audience's attention. Indeed, for such reports, <b>clear organization</b> is crucial. Carolyn Stoll, a writing instructor at the University of Cincinnati who has all of her writing students compose at least one multi-media presentation, gives this advice:</P> <P>All reports have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion, and informal reports are no exception. In the <b><i>introduction</i></b>, one usually explains the subject, purpose, or possible results of a given problem, action, event, or question to the reader. In the <b><i>body</i></b>, you should display a detailed account of the work reported on, including enough evidence and reasoning to allow your readers to judge if your analysis has been adequate. The <b><i>conclusion</i></b> of your report would summarize your findings and indicate their significance. The conclusion might also include recommendations where you tell your reader what they ought to do, or what is going to be done if the decision is up to you. <br> <p /> <ul> <li> <a href="/long_alexander_an_1/27/7031/1799998.cw/sitenav/index.html">Site Navigation</a><br /> <li> <a href="/long_alexander_an_1/27/7031/1799998.cw/leftnav/index.html">Navigation for Other Visually Rich Texts: Brochures and PowerPoint Presentations</a> <ul> </body>