Record a 9- to 11-minute presentation based on your close reading of "The Oval Portrait" by Edgar Allan Poe that answers one of the topic questions listed in the project. Do an initial reading of "The Oval Portrait" based on your first reading and choose a question to answer in your presentation.
Do a close reading of the story in order to answer your topic question. Analyze aspects of the story that are relevant to your question, such as the historical and literary context of its author, the story's plot or themes, or the author's word choices, style, and tone.
Formulate a thesis statement that answers your topic question.
Write an outline of your presentation that includes:
an introduction in which you state your thesis
a body, in which you present evidence to support your thesis
a conclusion that summarizes your evidence and restates your thesis
As you prepare your outline, reread the story as many times as needed to gather evidence from the text that supports your position. Write down quotations you'll use in your presentation. Use information you learned earlier in this unit, too.
Rehearse your presentation thoroughly until you can speak smoothly but naturally. Do not write out or read your presentation word-for-word. Read quotations to make sure they're exact, but use your own words for the rest of the presentation.
Record your presentation. Follow your outline and introduce your evidence appropriately while using cue words to help your audience understand the organization of your ideas. Your teacher may ask you to submit your outline.
Refer back to the rubric provided in the project to evaluate your performance before submitting it.