Class 6: Midterm Prep & Paper Writing Strategy

Midterm Presentation Prep

Lead with Concept, Not Tech

The professors emphasized that midterm presentations should lead with the concept and question, not the technical details. Don’t start with “I made this with Arduino and here’s what it does.” Instead, structure it as:

What is your project about? (the concept)
What is your question? (the why)
What are you making? (the artifact)
How does what you’re making respond to that question? (the connection)

This framing is critical because it determines the quality of feedback you’ll receive.

Prepare for Things Going Wrong

If your prototype has failed or isn’t working, you should still have weeks of documentation on your website to show process
At minimum, you can show stages of progress on your computer or printed out
Have videos of things working even if they aren’t working at the time of presentation
Avoid PowerPoint slideshows of your process if possible, but use them as a backup if needed
Don’t open with “I wanted to do X but couldn’t because I didn’t have time.” Focus on what you have

Camila shared that her own thesis project broke the night before presentation. She pivoted, found solutions, and that piece ended up being shown in a gallery. Embrace the chaos.

Practice Your Narrative

Practice beforehand. This was stressed by both professors. Reasons:

During the actual presentation, you’ll be emotionally responding to critics, reading their body language, watching how they look at your work
If you already know your territory and can get through everything in ~3 minutes, you’ll be relaxed enough to actually respond to the dynamics in the room
If you haven’t presented your work in public much, the emotional factor will be bigger than you think
Being prepared = being free to adapt in the moment

Write Your Feedback Questions

Write specific questions you want the critics to answer. This has been said many times but is especially important at midterm because:

Without directed questions, you’ll get feedback that could throw you off for the final
You’ll feel frustrated that you didn’t receive the feedback you actually needed
Ahmad usually prints a questionnaire that guest critics fill out. Matt and Camila will scan and send the responses directly

Presentation Day Logistics

There will likely be an afternoon slot and evening slot, class split in half
Each group will have a setup window
Pair up with classmates to present to each other during setup as a warm-up
Don’t just sit there nervously waiting
Document everything: take photos of your work installed, get someone from the other time slot to photograph you with your work
It goes really fast and you’ll forget to take pictures. These are great for your thesis website

Thesis Paper

Timeline

Date	Milestone
March 11	Midterm / Prototype presentation
Mid-spring break	Rough draft due (optional but highly recommended)
April 13	Final paper due

That’s roughly one month from now to finish the paper.

Writing Strategy

Matt recommended cycling through all sections with free writing and brainstorming, rather than tackling them one by one:

Open each section and write some initial thoughts
Schedule time blocks for writing now
As you get closer to the deadline, you’ll have already thought about all sections
This makes the final writing process about iterating, not facing a blank page

Paper Format

There is a required template/style guide on the thesis website
The bare minimum formatting follows a standard academic thesis format
However, many past students have turned their papers into art books
Camila has example thesis pieces in the Google Drive folder for inspiration
You get to choose how far you take the design, as long as required sections follow formatting guidelines (for ProQuest acceptance)
The paper will include visual elements: documentation photos, data tables, etc. Almost no one submits pure text

Spring Break Draft Review

This is the last class before spring break
Submit a rough draft by mid-spring break so professors can read and give detailed feedback
This is the only time they’ll read your paper before the final submission
Optional but highly recommended by both professors
You can specify what kind of feedback you want (e.g., “no line edits” or full line edits)
Submit as a Google Doc (preferred, allows tracked changes/suggestions) or PDF
Even if formatting isn’t done, send whatever content you have

AI Strategies for Thesis

Matt mentioned useful approaches for using AI tools during thesis work:

Use AI as a project manager/coach rather than a text generator
Many students turn to AI for text generation when stressed. Instead, use it to organize, plan, and keep you on track
Governance strategies to keep AI as a supporter, not a creative contributor
Several students are building interesting tool stacks for 3D models and 2D assets

Key Takeaways

Lead with concept and question at midterm. Tech details come after the “why.”
Practice your presentation. Comfort with your narrative frees you to respond in the moment.
Write specific feedback questions for critics. Otherwise you’ll get unhelpful or derailing feedback.
Document everything on presentation day. Photos go fast, capture them.
Start writing all paper sections now. Cycle through with free writing to avoid blank-page panic.
Submit a rough draft mid-spring break. Only chance for professor feedback before the final.
Paper can be an art book. Follow required formatting but push the design if you want.

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