Presentation Slides — Guidelines and Rubric

Purpose

These guidelines help you create slides that focus on the content of your presentation and provide structure for your work.

About the Slides

General Guidelines

• You are encouraged to revise your slides after receiving feedback. Revisions may improve your presentation, but your slide draft grade is based only on what you submit by your deadline.
• As usual, if you need to break any rule to improve the slides, you can do it provided that you clear with your instructor in advance.
• Word limit: Your slides (excluding bibliography) should contain no more than 150 words total. Slides support what you say—not replace it.
• Slide count: Plan for about one slide per minute. Most strong presentations have 6–10 slides total, each focused on a key idea.
• Screenshots: Avoid screenshots unless cleared with the instructor. Do not use screenshots of formulas from books or papers.
• Images: All images must be relevant and clear. Credit all images in the "Image Credits" section of your bibliography slide.
• Keep slides visual and concise.
• AI Policy: Follow the course AI policy. AI can help with brainstorming, but slides must reflect your own understanding and voice.

Typography

• Font: Choose a consistent font throughout your presentation
• Titles: 40–44 pt
• Body text: At least 35 pt
• Avoid: Thin, light, or condensed typefaces

Design Principles

• One solid background color per slide—no gradients, textures, or images behind text
• Avoid cluttered slides—use minimal text, clear layouts, and ample white space
• Consistent text color across all slides as much as possible
• Strong contrast between background and font

Required Slides

Your slide deck must include the following 7 required slide types. You may include additional slides, and the order is up to you—arrange them in whatever way makes sense for your topic.

How to label each required slide: Add a small red square with an 18pt white bold number at the bottom-right corner of each required slide. The square should be just large enough to contain the number clearly. This makes it easy for the grader to identify which requirement each slide fulfills.

Example: A slide for "Timeline and Context" would have a red square with white "1" in the bottom-right corner.

The 7 Required Slide Types (use these numbers):

1. Timeline and Context: Show when and where your topic fits in mathematical history
2. Primary Source: Include an image or text from a primary source with your explanation of what it shows
3. Mathematical Concept: Clearly describe the object/theorem/idea you are discussing
4. Worked Example: Present one example that YOU actually solved yourself
5. Learning Moment: Explain one thing you didn't understand at first but figured out
6. Audience Question: Pose a question to your audience
7. Annotated Bibliography: Include all sources with brief annotations explaining how each source was used. Use your words. This slide should also include an "Image Credits" section listing where each image in your presentation is from.

Note: If any of these requirements creates a problem for your specific topic, discuss it with the instructor in advance.

Format and Submission

Two Submissions Required

1. Draft Submission — via Brightspace

• Submit: lastname_slides_9up.pdf (nine slides per page)
• This is your draft for feedback
• Due date: See course schedule (Lecture 1 or Lecture 2)

2. Final Submission — 24 hours before your presentation via Google Form

• Submit TWO files:
  • lastname_slides_full.pdf — One slide per page (for display during presentation)
  • lastname_slides_9up.pdf — Nine slides per page (for grading)

How to Create 9-Up PDF

Most presentation platforms can print multiple slides per page. For PowerPoint (available via Office 365):

1. File → Print
2. Under 'Settings', click 'Full Page Slides'
3. Select '9 Slides'
4. Save as PDF

Grading Rubric