English B Presentation Topic Choice

[annamoshammer]

Hi there

I have to do a 10-13 minutes speech/presentation for English B soon. It will be graded and the points will be sent to the IB, therefore they definitely count for my final IB points. The speech should either be focused on the Anglophone culture or deep personal interest and it should be followed by a discussion lead by me.
I do have a few ideas for possible topics, but I just wanted to ask if anyone has got experience concerning such presentation topics. Would be nice of you to just tell me several topics you or your classmates dealt with so I know approximately how to chose a topic.

Thanks

[Blackcurrant]

Wow, let's hope you don't choose to take on the whole of anglophone culture .

One question first to disambiguate: what do you mean "speech"? Do you mean a genuine speech (as in Martin Luther King or Odysseus to his kinsmen) or do you mean "talk" or lecture or whatever...?

One thing is essential if you want to avoid a wide, diffuse and uninspiring talk (if this is what you mean by speech): anchor your talk or speech on a cultural artefact. It could be a text, a picture or audio recording... something tangible on which to base your 10-12 minute talk or speech. That will keep your feet firmly on the ground, and keep you from uttering truisms, sweeping generalities, and banalities that can otherwise creep in. It will also allow you some critical purchase on your topic, lending clarity and sharpness to your presentation... thus enhancing your chances of doing well and impressing your teacher and classmates (which of course is not the main purpose, but anyway...)

Let me know if this helps at all.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Blackcurrant