Talk Rubric
This is a "bottom line" rubric; the most important aspect of the
presentation is making sure your classmates get 45 minutes of value
out of your talk.
There are three things we will be watching for:
Basic Comprehensibility
• Speaking clearly, slowly, and loudly enough for people to easily
understand the words that you are saying. (Tip: it is better to say
fewer things slower than to cram material at the risk of no one
understanding anything.)
• Making sure the overall structure of the presentation is clear
enough for someone to "get back on the train" if they accidentally
doze off for a bit. (Tip: remind people where you are in the structure
at every transition.)
Answering the Basic Questions
Read how to read a paper first.
By the end of the talk, the audience (your fellow students) should hopefully
be able to answer the following questions:
- What problem is the paper trying to solve?
- Why is the problem interesting?
- What is the primary contribution?
At some point in the presentatation, you should also answer
- What are the key takeaways?
This can come at the end, or somewhere in the middle.
Finally, you should answer
- How did they do it?
as much as is possible in the time that you have.
Correctness
Is your understanding of 1-5 correct. If you are having
trouble understanding the paper, feel free to talk to the TA.
Notes
• Bring a video recording device if you'd like, to the practice talk and/or to the final presentation. Watching yourself give a talk can be
a surprising and motivating experience if you've never done it before.
• You will be graded on absolute quality, not on the improvement
between your practice talk and your final talk. So if you give a great
practice talk it is completely acceptable to give the same talk again.