Suggestion 42. Structure a lecture as you would a journal article

IF YOU WANT TO:

• Give lectures that are easy to outline

• State objectives for each class session

• Summarize major points

Structuring your lectures as you would a journal article.

"Each lecture should have a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end," a professor of history notes. A faculty member in computer science concurs, saying that he prepares his lectures so that they have the oral equivalents of an introduction, headings, subheadings, summary, and conclusion.

"Orally highlighting the structure of a lecture serves the same communication functions as using paragraphs and different type faces in a journal article," he says. "It tells the audience what the topic is, why it is important, what its chief components and their relationships are, and what conclusions we can draw."

"I firmly believe in sharing the structure and reasoning of my lectures with the students," he explains. "I begin each lecture by stating my objectives. For example, `Today we are going to discuss X and its effects of Y and Z.' I make frequent transitional phrases, and I leave time to summarize the major points at the end of the hour."

Limitations on Use of Suggestion

  Discipline:  None
Course Level:  None
 Course Size:  None
        Mode:  Lecture

Copyright 1983 by the Regents of the University of California

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