The Assertion-Evidence Model of Slide Design in a Graduate Engineering Context
Shanmugaraj, N. & J. Wolfe
Students often design PowerPoint slides crowded with bulleted lists that ineffectively reinforce presentation takeaways. Research has demonstrated the benefits of an alternative called the assertion-evidence (AE) model, which uses an assertion heading of the slide’s bottom line and visual evidence in the body, in an undergraduate setting. However, graduate students in technical disciplines often feel this format cannot accommodate their specialized work in an expert-to-expert setting. We aimed to gather evidence that the AE model would positively impact expert assessments of a technical presentation. We recruited volunteers from an Engineering and Public Policy doctoral symposium. Six of 26 participants received slide design instruction, and audience perceptions of presentation quality were compared based on 93 completed surveys. The six participants who worked with writing tutors to implement the AE model received higher slide design and aggregate scores, suggesting the model does not negatively impact audience perceptions in an expert engineering setting.
Nisha Shanmugaraj, English DC
Joanna Wolfe, English DC