COSP 2012 :: Raquel Fernandez
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Instructions and grading of paper presentations
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This assignment requires you to read a recent conference paper on 
the topic of distributional (vector-based) semantic models and prepare
a presentation. The papers will be difficult. Although you are not 
expected to understand every single technical detail in them, you are
supposed to get a good overall understanding of the main points of the
paper and a sufficient grasp of the techniques employed (given what we
have covered in the course and your individual background). 

Your talk should take at most 20 minutes. This means you will not be 
able to explain everything that's in the paper. Make a sensible selection
that shows what you consider to be the most important points of the paper.

You should prepare slides and send them to me no later than 10am on 
the morning of your presentation. PDF files are strongly prefered over
anything else (such as Power Point).

Your duties don't end with the presentation of your own paper. The 
presentations will span four days and everybody is expected to 
contribute to these sessions. You don't need to read in full detail all
papers, but you should look into the papers that will be presented by
other students in advance and be ready to discuss every paper. 

Each 20-minute talk will be followed by a 10 minute question and
discussion period. Only very quick clarification questions are allowed 
during the talk.

This assignment will be graded according to the following criteria:[*]

1. Subject Knowledge and Understanding (40%)

* Low:
   The student does not grasp the contents of the paper. The 
   student cannot answer well formulated questions about the topic
   of the paper or other related subjects treated in the course.
* Medium:
   The student has a rather superficial understanding of the paper
   and the wider area and is able to answer rudimentary questions
   but fails to elaborate.
* High:
   The student shows a good understanding of the paper (given her/his 
   background), makes connections to the course and to other talks 
   when that's relevant and answers most questions with some elaboration.

2. Organisation (15%)

* Low: 
   The audience cannot understand the presentation because it is
   poorly structured. The student manages the time badly and does not
   stick to the timeframe given. 
* Medium:
   The audience has difficulty following the presentation because
   the student jumps around. The student rushes through some things
   or elaborates on basic points in excessive detail.
* High:
   The student presents the information in a logical, interesting
   sequence which the audience can follow. The student keeps a good
   pace throughout the talk and ends on time.

3. Clarity (15%)

* Low:  
   The audience cannot understand the presentation because the
   explanations or the slides are messy or obscure.
* Medium: 
   The audience has difficulty following the presentation because
   the explanations are not clear or they are not at an adequate
   level of depth, either too complex or too trivial.
* High: 
   The student presents the information clearly and at an adequate
   level of depth in a way that most of the audience can understand.

4. Quality of Slides (10%)

* Low:
   The slides include superfluous material or hardly any content
   at all. There are multiple spelling, grammar or formatting errors.
* Medium:
   The slides include some material that does not support the 
   presentation. There are some spelling, grammar or formatting errors.
* High: 
   The slides explain and reinforce the presentation. There are no
   spelling, grammar or formatting errors.

5. Presentation Skills (5%)

* Low:
   The student makes no eye contact with the audience and only 
   reads from notes or constantly looks at the slides. The student
   speaks too quietly for the audience in the back of the class to hear.
* Medium: 
   The student occasionally makes eye contact, but still reads mostly
   from notes or mostly looks at the slides. Some audience members 
   have difficulty hearing the presentation.
* High:
   The student maintains eye contact with the audience and does not 
   need to rely on written notes. The student uses a clear voice so 
   that all the members of the audience can hear the presentation. 

6. Participation (5%)

* Low:
   The student stays quiet during all of the question periods or asks
   just a basic clarification question.
* Medium:
   The student asks a good question or two and pays attention to the
   other talks.
* High: 
   The student pays attention to the talks, engages with the speakers, 
   asks good questions (while also leaving time for others to ask questions).


7. Overall Impression (10%)

* Low: 
   The student was uninspired and got through the talk and everything 
   else with lack of interest or involvement.
* Medium: 
   The student communicates the material in the paper adequately 
   and generally pays attention.
* High:
   The student demonstrates high all-round quality in delivery and 
   understanding, and shows involvement with the topic throughout all
   the presentation sessions.


   
[*] These grading criteria are based on an evaluation rubric for presentations 
    by the University of Texas at Austin Computational Linguistics Lab.
    http://tinyurl.com/ckdma6a