SL-P2 Selecting and organising information for a prepared presentation Quiz: AQA English Language, Unit 4

The 20 questions

1. What does it mean to 'select' information for a prepared presentation?

   • Choosing the most relevant and useful ideas and facts to meet the purpose, leaving out the rest
   • Including every fact found in the research so that the audience can judge the speaker's effort
   • Selecting only information that the speaker already knows well, to avoid having to check anything
   • Choosing information at random on the day of the presentation, so that the talk feels spontaneous

2. Which is the best way to organise information in a prepared talk?

   • Putting all the detail first and the main idea last, so that the audience waits for the key point
   • Presenting the points in whatever order they were first found, so that the research process is shown
   • Arranging the points in a logical order, such as from general to specific or in order of importance
   • Mixing the points together so that each one supports every other point at the same time in the talk

3. A speaker has ten facts but time for only four. What should they do?

   • Speak very quickly so that all ten facts can be included, even though the audience cannot follow them
   • Ignore the purpose entirely and choose the four facts that are most interesting to the speaker alone
   • Include all ten facts but skip the explanations, so that the audience hears every fact only briefly
   • Select the four most relevant facts that best serve the purpose and audience of the presentation

4. Which feature shows effective organisation of a talk about a local festival?

   • A talk that begins with the final statistic, then returns to the start, with no clear points between
   • A talk that repeats the first sentence at the end of every paragraph, so that it sounds structured
   • A talk that lists the stalls one after another with no link to the purpose or any overall message
   • An opening that states the topic, three developed points about the festival, and a clear conclusion

5. Why should a speaker signpost the structure of a presentation?

   • It avoids the need for a conclusion, since the audience will assume the talk has ended by signposting
   • It helps the audience follow the sequence and know where the talk is going next
   • It makes the talk shorter, because each signpost removes a part of the presentation automatically
   • It replaces the need for any content, since the audience can imagine the content from the signposts

6. Which example best shows selection of evidence in a presentation?

   • Listing every example that the speaker has encountered, so that no single point is left unsupported
   • Repeating the same example three times, so that the audience remembers it more easily afterwards
   • Choosing a single clear example that illustrates the point, rather than a long list of similar cases
   • Using examples that are completely unconnected to the topic, to show the speaker's wide reading

7. What is the danger of including too much detail in a presentation?

   • The audience may lose the main message and the talk may run over its time limit
   • The speaker will automatically be awarded a higher grade, since more content shows more research
   • The audience will not need to ask any questions, because the talk will have answered all of them
   • The audience will remember every detail, which makes the presentation more memorable overall

8. Which statement shows a speaker has selected information to suit the purpose of persuading the audience?

   • The speaker chooses facts that support the case for the new library and omits minor, unrelated points
   • The speaker includes every fact about libraries in history, whether or not it supports the case being made
   • The speaker chooses only facts that oppose the case for the library, so the audience is kept guessing
   • The speaker includes facts about an unrelated topic, so that the audience is surprised by the variety

9. What does 'organising information and ideas effectively' mean in a spoken presentation?

   • Arranging the content in a clear sequence that builds understanding and supports the purpose
   • Placing the most complex idea at the start and leaving the simplest ideas until the very end
   • Presenting the content in a single long section without any breaks for the audience to absorb it
   • Delivering the content without any sequence, so that the audience can take the points in any order

10. Which is a sign of an unsuitable choice of information for a talk to Year 9 pupils?

    • Using a simple chart that the pupils can read quickly, with a clear label and a title above it
    • Using a short example from everyday life, which the pupils are likely to recognise and understand
    • Using a question to check understanding, so that the pupils can respond and the talk stays engaging
    • Using a long, highly technical explanation without defining any of the key terms for the pupils

11. Which of these shows a speaker has checked information before presenting it?

    • Making up a figure to fill a gap, on the assumption that the audience will not check it afterwards
    • Stating a figure from memory without checking it, since memory is always accurate enough for a talk
    • Confirming the source and date of a statistic, so that the figure can be stated accurately to the audience
    • Including a figure that the speaker has heard in a conversation, without ever finding a source for it

12. What is the best way to structure the conclusion of a prepared presentation?

    • Summarise the key points briefly and restate the main message so the audience leaves with it clearly
    • End mid-point without any summary, so that the audience is left to draw its own conclusions alone
    • Repeat the whole presentation in full, word for word, so that the audience hears it a second time
    • Introduce several new points that have not been discussed, so that the audience is surprised at the end

13. Which is the most accurate description of an 'effective range of strategies' to engage an audience?

    • Using no techniques at all, so that the audience is not distracted from the content by any tricks
    • Using only jokes and games with no content, so that the audience remembers the speaker as entertaining
    • Using a single technique throughout, such as reading from a script, so that the audience can predict it
    • Using a mix of techniques, such as questions, examples and varied delivery, to hold the listeners' attention

14. Which of these is the best reason for selecting information with the audience in mind?

    • The content then becomes more complex, since a sophisticated audience expects dense technical content
    • The content then matches what the audience needs to know and can understand within the time
    • The content then becomes longer, since the audience always needs more detail than the speaker does
    • The content then becomes the speaker's own view, since the audience only wants to hear that view

15. Which is an example of a relevant point rather than an irrelevant one in a talk about a new cycle path?

    • The speaker's holiday last summer took place in a hot country with many beautiful beaches to see
    • The speaker's favourite food is pizza, and the speaker has eaten pizza in every city visited
    • The new path will reduce traffic on the high street, according to the council's own traffic survey
    • The cycle path is painted in a shade of green that the speaker's grandmother once admired greatly

16. A speaker presents a graph but fails to explain its key trend. What is the weakness?

    • The graph is in the wrong colour, which affects the grade more than any other feature of the talk
    • The graph shows too few values, so the audience cannot tell whether the presentation is accurate
    • The audience may not understand why the information matters, so its purpose is not achieved
    • The graph has been selected correctly, but the speaker has made the presentation too brief to finish

17. Which strategy helps a speaker decide what to leave out of a talk?

    • Keeping every point just in case the audience asks about it later in the question session
    • Asking whether each point supports the main purpose, and cutting any that do not
    • Including every point in the first half and then deciding what to leave out during the questions
    • Leaving out only the points the speaker finds difficult, so the talk feels confident and clear

18. What makes a conclusion to a presentation effective?

    • It apologises for the length of the talk, so that the audience is ready to leave the room promptly
    • It introduces a new issue that has no link to the topic, so that the audience will want to ask questions
    • It repeats an earlier point at length, so that the audience is worn down into agreeing with the speaker
    • It reminds the audience of the central message and invites reflection or a clear next step

19. Which choice shows a speaker has organised a presentation in a way suited to a formal setting?

    • Reading out the notes without any introduction, so that the audience hears the content directly
    • Ending abruptly after the last point, so the audience knows that the talk is over immediately
    • Introducing the topic clearly, developing the points in order and closing with a short summary
    • Starting with a joke and then moving at random between unrelated topics as they come to mind

20. Why is it important that information in a talk is accurate and checked?

    • Because an audience may act on, or repeat, information that is wrong, so accuracy protects the listeners
    • Because accurate information removes the need for any explanation, so the talk can be very short
    • Because accuracy only matters for written work, so spoken information can be approximated freely
    • Because checked information is always longer, which earns more marks for the presenter overall

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