This is BIOLOGY seminar. I will be looking for a focus on the contribution a person made to the SCIENCE OF BIOLOGY. I want some background on who the person is, but there will be no credit awarded for discussions of sociopolitical philosophies, or your personal take on the individual's personal philosophy. You have 20 minutes to effectively communicate who the person is/was, what they did, SCIENTIFICALLY, and how that/those contribution(s) affected the SCIENCE OF BIOLOGY.

I will be looking specifically for a student to take complex concepts and make as them easier to understand without gutting the meaning of the concepts. I will not give any credit for the use of other peoples words to boil down complex concepts.

Thus the main thing I am looking for is for you to describe the SCIENTIFIC achievements of the person in question, and how they affected science in general. Average, a C grade, will go to a general discussion of a person's scientific achievements. A typical webpage/encyclopedia type presentation will result in a C grade at best irrespective of anything else. A well constructed, concise, thorough overview of a person's scientific achievements and their meaning to science will receive an A grade irrespective of anything else.

Excessive verbiage, especially on minor points, violates the "concise" criterion. Lack of understanding, which is evidenced by the use of overly technical terms more than anything else in these presentations, violates the "well constructed" criterion. Superficial treatment of major points (the opposite of dwelling on minor points) violates the "thorough" criterion. A hesitating, halting pattern of speech is indicative of a lack of understanding of subject material, as is any manifestation of a lack of self confidence. Presentation of graphics that are not FULLY explained are also indicative of a lack of understanding (if you understood the material you could make a graphic that is more to the point).

A truly superior presentation is intellectually challenging and easy on the ears. You should have more points than you can deliver in a 20 minute talk following your research, and you should boil them down to the most important points, which you then present. I will look at three things when making my assessments of your talks:

Content
Organization
Presentation style

A breakdown in any one of these could lead to a very poor grade, if severe enough.