Submission & Presentation Guidelines

Role of the Faculty Sponsor

Student presenters are required to ask a faculty member in their field of study to sponsor their work. The faculty sponsor should be willing to offer guidance as the student develops and refines his/her/their paper or presentation. Submissions written or created for class are encouraged, but the work presented at the conference should be a revised and improved version of the original. Students should plan to work with their faculty sponsor to revise their papers or presentations before submission. Faculty sponsors are invited to attend the conference and to serve as panel moderators.

Submission Guidelines

We invite undergraduate students currently enrolled in any two- or four-year college, university, or community college to submit their original scholarship, including creative work, in any area of the humanities including, but not limited to, the following disciplines: literature, creative writing, philosophy, ancient and modern languages, history, ethnic studies, religious studies, women’s studies, cultural studies, film and visual culture, sociology, anthropology, and the fine arts. Examples of various presentation formats include reading a paper or a piece of creative writing, presenting a PowerPoint slideshow, reciting original poetry, giving a speech, or showing an original short film. Students will have 10 to 15 minutes to present their work (approximately 6 to 8 typed, double-spaced pages). Electronic submissions are encouraged and should be sent to Nikole King at nikole.king@nic.edu by Monday, September 27, 2021. Submissions may also be mailed to Nikole King, North Idaho College, English Department, 1000 W. Garden Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814. Please note that papers or presentations longer than 10 double-spaced pages (not including a title page or a works cited/references list page) will not be accepted. Poetry submissions should be limited to what can be read or recited within the allotted 10- to 15-minute timeframe.

Individual student submissions should include the following:

1) a copy of the student’s completed paper or presentation with the student’s name removed.

2) a 100- to 200-word abstract of the paper or presentation. (Please note that abstracts will be published in the conference program.)

3) the Individual Submission Form with faculty sponsor signature. (Faculty may also email Nikole King to verify that the student is working with a sponsor.)

Group submissions (faculty only) should include the following:

1) a two- to four-sentence description of the panel to be printed in the conference program.

2) a 100- to 200-word abstract of each student paper or presentation to be printed in the conference program.

3) the Group Submission Form with faculty sponsor signature.

4) any individual paper or presentation (with the student’s name removed) that the faculty sponsor thinks should be considered for an award and forwarded to the Awards Committee. Otherwise, individual presentations do not need to be submitted.

Faculty, please note: The Selection Committee will not review the individual papers or presentations of group submissions (just the panel description and the individual abstracts). We are counting on faculty to thoroughly vet their students’ presentations and work with their students to ensure the presentations meet the standards of a professional academic conference. Faculty who sponsor a group are strongly encouraged to attend the conference and moderate their students’ panel.

Presentation Selection

Vetting for the conference will be handled primarily through the faculty sponsorship program. While the Selection Committee reserves the right to make final decisions regarding what is accepted or not, we will generally accept work that is complete, submitted by the deadline, and meets basic professional standards. It is our aim to provide a pedagogical opportunity to help motivated undergraduate students develop their presentation skills and to celebrate their intellectual and creative endeavors. Final decisions will be made within two weeks of the submission deadline.

Award Nominations

When reading for selection, the Selection Committee will also look for papers or presentations that stand out as particularly remarkable and forward those to the Awards Committee. Typically, about a dozen or so submissions are nominated and three to five are chosen to receive an award. In the past, awards have been given in the following categories: Best Research Essay, Best Literary Essay, Best Creative Writing: Poetry, Best Creative Writing: Fiction/Nonfiction, Best Art History Essay, Best Overall Conference Submission. Award categories are subject to change and will be determined by the field of nominations. Award recipients will be announced at dinner before the keynote speaker.

Panel Format

Once submissions have been reviewed and selected, they will then be grouped into panels of three to four presentations of similar subject matter or theme. There will be three to five concurrent panels per session depending upon the total number of presentations selected. Each presentation is allotted 10 to 15 minutes not including questions and critical discussion. (Please see “Presentation Tips and Suggestions” below.) The remaining time after all presentations have been given will be for questions and critical discussion. Either a student or faculty member will moderate each panel. Presenters can expect to see about 10 to 25 people in the audience.

Audio Visual Equipment

All conference rooms in Lee-Kildow Hall come equipped with a digital projector and screen, a podium computer with Windows PC and Office, and a document camera. If you plan to use A/V equipment, you will have access to Google Drive, or you may bring your work on a flash or thumb drive. Please do not bring your presentation on a laptop.

Presentation Tips and Suggestions

• Edit your presentation for a wider academic audience, versus editing for a particular professor in a specific class, and summarize when necessary. References in a philosophy paper, for example, may not be familiar to a student majoring in a different discipline.
• Simply reading a paper or a piece of creative writing is a common professional academic presentation format, but you may also choose to present a PowerPoint slideshow, recite your work, or give a speech. Whatever format you decide to use, plan to practice out loud ahead of time. Read, recite, or talk slow, slower than you think necessary.
• Check for length, using a timer when you’re practicing. Typically, one typed, double-spaced page takes about two minutes to read, so please make any necessary cuts to remain within the allotted timeframe.
• Project your voice, particularly if you’re in a larger room. If you choose to read, keep your paper low and not in front of your face. Likewise, don’t hide behind the podium if you’re standing.
• Underline or highlight any words you want to emphasize. Similarly, note any places in your presentation where you want to pause for emphasis.
• If you plan to read your work, try to balance reading and talking. Write “look up now” on your paper in places where you can look at the audience while you’re talking rather than reading.
• Practice saying any words or names that are difficult to pronounce. It is better to stumble over a word in private than in front of an audience.
• If you’re not using PowerPoint slides, consider providing other visual aids like overheads or handouts.
• During the question and answer period, it is okay to ask someone to repeat or rephrase the question. Doing so will give you more time to think of an answer. It is also okay to say you don’t know the answer and that you’d like to think about it a little more. Often someone in the audience will have a good idea to share with you. Be open to suggestions and feedback.
• Take notes when the other students on your panel are presenting so you can engage in the critical discussion following the presentations.
• Dress professionally, but comfortably (“business casual”). Jeans and a t-shirt are not appropriate, but a suit is also not necessary.
• Plan to attend other conference panels besides your own. Sharing ideas and engaging in critical thought with your peers and faculty in the conference setting is often a rewarding intellectual experience.