Jeremy Johnston, a master’s candidate in English literature at the University of Windsor, will join 20 graduate students from across Ontario to present his research in the provincial finals of the Three-Minute Thesis Competition (3MT Ontario) in Waterloo on Thursday, April 14.
The communications competition challenges master’s and doctoral students to explain their research in plain language in just three minutes. The 20 participants in the provincial finals are all winners of local competitions hosted by each university in Ontario.
Johnston’s presentation analyzes young adult novels that deal with death and mourning. He found that literature discussing these themes can provide perspective for teen readers struggling with events in their own lives.
The hardest part of preparing for the competition was striking a balance between necessary information and creating a useful analogy for the audience, he says.
“I started with my core thesis idea and slowly tried different pieces of information,” says Johnston. “It took many hours of editing and revising.”
Sitting across from the competitors will be a panel of judges who will score the quality of the presentations and the presenters’ ability to engage the audience. The top five finishers will move onto the national level, an online competition coordinated by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies.
Johnston says he is excited about the opportunity to champion his school in Waterloo next week.
“I have nothing but good things to say about my experience at the University of Windsor, and I’m grateful to be able to represent the university moving forward,” he says.
The 3MT is hosted by Wilfrid Laurier University and will stream live over the internet. More information can be found at wlu.ca/3MT.
