CSCI 618: Paper Presentations

Mini-Homeworks

Presentation Rubric (20 points)

Criterion Points Description
Provided Appropriate Background for the Paper 0pts Context and Background not clear
1pts Some context and background described but not complete
2pts Appropriate context and background provided for the problem to be understandable
Described the problem statement / relevant research question(s) appropriately 0pts Problem statement / relevant research question(s) missing or not clear
1pts Problem statement / relevant research question(s) were mentioned but not described properly
2pts Problem statement / relevant research question(s) described adequately
Key takeaways presented properly 0pts Key takeaways not presented or barely presented and not clear
1pts Some slides had key takeaways but some seemingly key points in presentations were unaddressed
2pts Most slides had key takeaways but the key points were not connected well enough so the overall presentation lacked clarity
3pts Key takeaways were present and were connected well across the presentation
Presentation Delivery 0pts The presentation was quite mechanical and lacked flow and engagement with audience
2pts The presentation was well-delivered adn enagaging, it had a nice flow to it and seemed like a personal/human take on a paper rather than crude summarization
Self Auditing Slide

A slide that should explain the thought process behind making that presentation, why certain slides were presented, and the expected flow that the presenter had in mind when presenting. 		0pts No self auditing slide was included/Inadequate details were present
1pt A good self auditing slide was presented at the end of the presentation.
Level of Technical Detail 0pts Technical detail was too much or too little for any understanding of the content
1pts Too many technical details were present which hid the main takeaway
2pts Adequate amount of technical detail calibrated with the presentation
Q and A 0pts Student was not able to answer any questions or have informed discussions.
1pts Student was able to answer questions or discuss with others but the responses were not complete or unclear.
3pts Student was able to answer an adequate amount of questions with appropriate context from the talk, existing knowledge discussed in class, and clarity. Moreover, if the student did not have a definite answer, the student provided insights on the confusion on why the student was not able to provide an answer.
TA Check in 0pts No check in with the TA was done
5pts Student checked in with the TA before the presentation
Total 20 points

Presentation Tips


Some general advide regarding the talk:

  1. Try to do one practice talk before your talk, with any of your friends, classmates etc. if possible. One of the surest ways of giving good talks is to get feedback and be reasonably well prepared.
  2. You are totally not expected to cover everything in your paper! In fact, most likely you will only have time to cover one or two main results. Try to convey one or more key insights or takeaways instead of a lot of technical details.
  3. On a related note, even if the paper is notation-heavy, it does not mean your talk has to be so. Try to use a minimum amount of notation to convey what you want to say. It is common to make simplification in talks even if that means sacrificing generality or even rigorousness.
  4. To combine the above two points, when you read the paper and plan your presentations, try to identify one or two key ideas that you want to present. You should try to present at least one theoretical result in a self-sufficient way in the presentation, including the proof or proof sketch (you'll probably only have time to do this for one theoretical result). This would mean that you might have to present the result in the most simple and cleanest setting, trying to avoid all extra details and jargon. Try to also relate the presentation to material covered in class wherever possible.
  5. We encourage you to watch these extremely nice short videos by Uri Alon on how to give a good talk: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] .