|
Click on each of the links below to see the text referenced by the annotation. Scroll up and down in the document to see examples of the annotation. (In Netscape 2, you must reload and scroll to see the annotations in the right frame.) Use your browser's Back button to return to this page.
|
|
Overview. This oral report is being presented as an introduction and overview for the written guide on the same topic. The audience, which consists of patients about to begin physical therapy, will listen to this brief presentation then receive the guide afterwards for more detailed information.
Context explanation. As in the classroom presentation of oral reports, you must start by explaining the situation in which the oral report occurs and the audience. Enables people in the classroom to understand who they are supposed to be as the audience. Keep this explanation of the context separate from the actual oral report. Visuals. In the classroom, the oral-report assignment requires you to use several visuals (transparencies, flip charts, etc.). Listing them here in the oral-report script enables you to refer to them quickly in the body of the oral-report script. Introduction to the oral report. The introduction to an oral report is critical: you must:
First part: about physical therapy. The first part of this oral report goes into the first topic cited in the overview back in the introduction: "some background on the field and some current information about physical therapy." Notice how the lead statement provides a strong indication of the topic. Second part: typical treatment cycle. This second part of the oral moves into a discussion how physical-therapy treatments work, the cycle of visits that one can expect. This second part of the oral part is also indicated in the overview in the words "an idea of the treatment involved with therapy." Included in this section of the report is information on the exercises and equipment typically used. Third part: benefits of physical therapy treatment. This part is also indicated in the overview back in the introduction. Notice the strong lead-in: "Now that you have an idea of the treatment involved, why is physical therapy a good idea for you?" Fourth part: disadvantages. This part is also indicated in the introduction. When you give an oral report, you want this tight connection between the overview in the introduction and the individual sections of your oral report. Use the same words so that the connection is abundantly clear to your listeners. Last part: conclusion. The presenter of this oral report wraps things up nicely in the final two paragraphs. She provides a nice review of what she has covered—but in such a way that doesn't seem tediously repetitive. She expresses what she hopes her listeners have gotten from her talk and indicates where more information can be found, namely her report.
Verbal headings. This oral report makes good use of "verbal headings," which are like headings used in written reports. At each point in the report where the presenter moves from one main topic to the next, notice how she emphasizes that shift of focus: typically, she echoes what she has just discussed, indicates what she is about to discuss, and ties them together logically. Scroll through the oral report and look at the verbal headings that have been highlighted. (Notice too that the first statement of the conclusion clearly indicates the report is coming to an end—in that sense, it's a verbal heading too.
|
| Interested in courses related to this page or a printed version? See the resources page. | Return to the main menu of this online textbook for technical writing. |