Admin Law Case Brief Presentation Assignment Wrap Up - 2014

1. Admin Law Case Brief Presentation Assignment Wrap Up - 2014 Dr. Joe Saviak

2. Wrap Up – Lessons to Carry Forward • Our students are the high performers – dedicated and motivated – want to succeed – if you show them what you want done and how to do it, they will get the job done! • However, our students may not have had a lot of research papers & professional presentations during their first two years in college – it may be 10-15-20-25 years since they have been in college – they may not get a lot of specific direction or training on effective writing & professional presentations at work • We have many new students and this was their first written assignment and professional presentation in our program • I am invested in your success! This means that we need to build the specific skills required for success in our program – with practice & experience, these skills will definitely be strengthened

3. Wrap Up – Lessons to Carry Forward • With each assignment, I will identify the strengths for you to retain, the areas for improvement, & how to specifically implement those improvements - it is your job to make those improvements – replicate success (and don’t repeat errors ) • Overall, students did well with this assignment – I realize that you will not have this exact same assignment in future classes but you will need the exact same skills (research, writing, presenting) in your future classes – and definitely for your career and maybe graduate school too for some students • By learning the lessons to carry forward through this wrap up, we are ensuring your future success! Expect that you will make some mistakes – that’s why it is called learning 

4. Wrap Up – Lessons to Carry Forward Content Problem:Typos! Solution:Catch and correct them! Grammar, word choice, sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, etc. • Read over very carefully before turning in – it’s not a mistake if you catch it! • Multiple eyes mean fewer mistakes (in group work, more than one person can review the entire document to catch & correct typos) • Do not rely exclusively on Spellcheck – learn the rules of effective writing so you have the ability to catch & correct mistakes.

5. Wrap Up – Lessons to Carry Forward Problem: Overuse of Quotes! Scenario #1 – direct quote with no citation/reference = plagiarism Scenario #2 – direct quotes with citation/reference but not presented as direct quotes – big mistake – no original intellectual work product Scenario #3 – paper is just a series of direct quotes – no original intellectual work product Solution: Use maybe 1 quote per assignment – express concepts in your own words • Your assignments are all about other people’s work & research expressed in your own words • Always use citations & references • If it is a direct quote, treat it as such • We write to become effective writers (if we depend on quotes all the time, we will not become effective writers)

6. Wrap Up – Lessons to Carry Forward Problem:Following the Rules Solution:Follow the Rules! • If the assignment calls for summary of two law review articles, then it needs to have summaries of two law review articles • If the assignment calls for the Court’s Rationale and the Court gave 3 reasons for its decision, you need to articulate all 3 reasons underlying its rationale for the decision (all the answers were in the Court’s opinion you read) • If there were 2 questions for the Issues before the court, the Holding should have 2 answers to each question within the Issue section • If the assignment called for a Synthesis and Evaluation (combined or not), then you need to produce that required section • Include all key facts in the Facts section • Present the author’s views as their own in the law review article summary because they may or may not be correct or controlling for the case • Get the Issue right in the Issue section – if more than 1 issue, present all of them • Don’t present a party’s arguments as the Court’s reasoning unless the Court adopted that reasoning for their Rationale for their decision

7. Wrap Up – Lessons to Carry Forward Problem: Lack of organization/structure to your writing Solution:Clear organization & strong structure to your writing – the reader should not be required to cross an obstacle course to get to your point – effective writing requires clear organization & strong structure – easy for the reader to follow along & get your point – it does not ramble, start, back up and hit the point again later, or fail to sufficiently develop and fully explain the point (drive-by) – if it is a major point, you introduce the point, effectively explain the point, and reinforce the point (in a research paper, that occurs in different sections – Intro, Body, & Conclusion) Problem:Using APA correctly Solution:Learn APA – internal citations (Saviak, 2014) or (Saviak, 2014, p. 2) and references – consult APA website, Purdue The Owl, the Proctor Library APA Guide, or contact a reference librarian here – learn APA by researching specific questions using these resources

8. Wrap Up – Lessons to Carry Forward Delivery • Don’t read your presentation – present it! • Practice! • Use all tools that effective presenters employ – eye contact, hand gestures, voice (tone, pace, inflection), body language • Avoid doing anything that distracts or detracts – rocking the podium or continuously shifting from side to side (good news - we are on dry land ) – continuously shuffling your notecards (it’s not Vegas here ) - placing a barrier between yourself & the audience like standing behind the computer (it reduces your ability to use hand gestures, etc. & connect with your audience). • You want to be well rehearsed, smooth, engaging, & professional from start to finish – nice transition between speakers • Dress appropriately for a professional presentation • Be enthusiastic! It’s easier for the audience to be interested when the presenter is enthusiastic