Revision for the 2nd Midterm Exam

Your Presentation

Your presentation (oral exam) will be on Tuesday, November 27th, at 18:00.

Your presentation can be about any of your written assignments, or another topic of your choice.

It should take 5-10 minutes.

Prepare a PowerPoint presentation (no more than 7/8 slides)

Slide 1: Title, your name, the date
Slide 2: Structure or Outline of the whole presentation
Slide 3: Part 1 (don't write "part 1." Give each part a clear heading)
Slide 4: Part 2, etc.
Last slide: Conclusion

Preparation:

• Practice, practice, practice!

PowerPoint Tips:

• Make Appropriate use of pictures
• Use contrastive colours (a dark text on a light background or a light text on a dark background)
• Use bullet points, not complete sentences. Each bullet should consist of an intelligible phrase
• Use a large font (avoid text smaller than 24 point)
• Use special effects ONLY when they are necessary to make a point
• Acknowledge your sources

Sample format from MIT: http://web.mit.edu/graphicidentity/templates/powerpoint.html

Presenting Effectively:

• Speak with confidence
• Make eye contact with the audience
• Avoid reading from the screen
• Use a pointer ONLY when necessary
• Relax
• Breathe

Source: http://rgs.usu.edu/studentresearch/htm/skills-and-resources/great-examples/great-presentations

Effective Power Point from Andy Rush

2nd Midterm Exam. Thursday, November 29th

Your second Midterm Exam will be on Thursday, November 29th.

It will include Units 4 and 5 of English for Science and Engineering. The following lessons will be included:

Unit 4: Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
Unit 5: Lessons 1, 2 and 4

Online magazine: The Scientist

I think you will enjoy this online magazine:

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.list/categoryNo/2903/The-Nutshell

MIT Gangnam Style

You might enjoy this MIT video. I think the best part is near the end, when you can see actual MIT laboratories and classrooms, and even hear some well-known professors speaking.

Optional Written Assignment 4. Deadline: November 15th

Write a report about a well-known accident 

(Exercise j, page 45, English for Science and Engineering)

Research and prepare a report about an accident. Describe what caused the accident (mechanical failure, electrical failure, materials failure, human error, etc.), how the accident could have been avoided, and what happened as a consequence of the accident.

Write between 170 - 270 words. 

At the end of your report, include a list of the websites you consulted (use the heading "References") and send your activity.

Here are some websites that contain accident investigation reports:

http://www.nist.gov/el/disasterstudies/

http://www.csb.gov/investigations/investigations.aspx?Type=2&F_All=y

http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/reports.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/search/?q=accident+report&x=12&y=13

Quality, Quality, Quality

• Some definitions of Total Quality Control (TQC):

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1387304/Total-Quality-Control-TQC

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/total-quality-control-TQC.html

• Using the PDCA cycle for your university studies: