How do you write a seminar paper?
Introduction - Set out the "Crux" of the Paper. Introduce and note why the topic is important. Briefly summarize necessary background information. ...
Background - Orient the Audience. Describe the genesis of the subject. ...
Analysis - Explain the Thesis. Large-Scale Organization: ...
Conclusion. Restate the thesis of the paper.
A seminar paper is a work of original research that presents a specific thesis and is presented to a group of interested peers, usually in an academic setting. For example, it might serve as your cumulative assignment in a university course. Although seminar papers have specific purposes and guidelines in some places, such as law school, the general process and format is the same. The steps below will guide you through the research and writing process of how to write a seminar paper and provide tips for developing a well-received paper.
Learn the basic features of a seminar paper. A seminar paper is an advanced piece of research writing, but it shares many of the same features as a regular research paper. Before you begin writing your seminar paper, it is important to make sure that you understand how a seminar paper differs from a research paper. Unlike a basic research paper, a seminar paper also requires:[1]
an argument that makes an original contribution to the existing scholarship on your subject
extensive research that supports your argument
extensive footnotes or endnotes (depending on the documentation style you are using)
Ask for clarification if needed. While you may have written many papers in the past, it is important to make sure that you understand the details of your current assignment before you get started. As soon as your professor assigns the paper, read the guidelines carefully and highlight anything that you do not understand. Ask your professor to clarify the instructions if anything seems unclear or if you just don’t understand the assignment. You may also consider talking to your professor about your intended topic to make sure that you are on the right track.
Make sure that you understand how to cite your sources for the paper and how to use the documentation style your professor prefers, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago Style.
Don’t feel bad if you have questions. It is better to ask and make sure that you understand than to do the assignment wrong and get a bad grade.
Plan ahead. Your professor will be expecting original analysis, extensive research, and excellent writing. Therefore, it is important that you get started early and do the best work that you can do. Begin working on the paper as soon as it is assigned and take advantage of your university’s writing center for extra help.
Since it's best to break down a seminar paper into individual steps, creating a schedule is a good idea. You can adjust your schedule as needed.
Do not attempt to research and write a seminar in just a few days. This type of paper requires extensive research, so you will need to plan ahead. Get started as early as possible.[3]
Generate ideas for your seminar paper. Before you begin writing your paper, you should take some time to explore your ideas and get some things down on paper. As with other types of writing, basic invention activities like listing, freewriting, clustering, and questioning can help you to develop ideas for your seminar paper.[4]
Listing List all of the ideas that you have for your essay (good or bad) and then look over the list you have made and group similar ideas together. Expand those lists by adding more ideas or by using another prewriting activity.[5]
Freewriting Write nonstop for about 10 minutes. Write whatever comes to mind and don’t edit yourself. When you are done, review what you have written and highlight or underline the most useful information. Repeat the freewriting exercise using the passages you underlined as a starting point. You can repeat this exercise multiple times to continue to refine and develop your ideas.[6]
Clustering Write a brief explanation (phrase or short sentence) of the subject of your seminar paper on the center of a piece of paper and circle it. Then draw three or more lines extending from the circle. Write a corresponding idea at the end of each of these lines. Continue developing your cluster until you have explored as many connections as you can.[7]
Questioning On a piece of paper, write out “Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?” Space the questions about two or three lines apart on the paper so that you can write your answers on these lines. Respond to each question in as much detail as you can.[8]
: 5.Create a research question to help guide your research. A research question is what you will attempt to answer with your research. Creating a research question will help you to stay focused as you research your topic. It can also serve as the starting point for your thesis later on.[9]
For example, if you wanted to know more about the uses of religious relics in medieval England, you might start with something like “How were relics used in medieval England?” The information that you gather on this subject might lead you to develop a thesis about the role or importance of relics in medieval England.
Keep your research question simple and focused. Use your research question to narrow your research. Once you start to gather information, it's okay to revise or tweak your research question to match the information you find. Similarly, you can always narrow your question a bit if you are turning up too much information.
6.Collect research for your paper. In order to find support for your argument, you will need to gather information from a variety of sources. See your assignment guidelines or ask your instructor if you have questions about the types of sources that are appropriate for your seminar paper. Books, articles from scholarly journals, magazine articles, newspaper articles, and trustworthy websites are some sources that you might consider using. You might begin by doing some background research and then move into some more focused research as you learn more about your topic.[10]
Use your library’s databases, such as EBSCO or JSTOR, rather than a general internet search. University libraries subscribe to many databases. These databases provide you with free access to articles and other resources that you cannot usually gain access to by using a search engine. If you don't have access to these databases, you can try Google Scholar.
7. Evaluate your sources to determine their credibility. It is important to use only trustworthy sources in a seminar paper, otherwise you will damage your own credibility as an author. Using the library’s databases will also help to ensure that you are getting plenty of trustworthy sources for your paper. There are several things that you will need to consider in order to determine whether or not a source is trustworthy.[11]
Publication's credentials Consider the type of source, such as a peer-reviewed journal or book. Look for sources that are academically based and accepted by the research community. Additionally, your sources should be unbiased.
Author's credentials Choose sources that include an author’s name and that provide credentials for that author. The credentials should indicate something about why this person is qualified to speak as an authority on the subject. For example, an article about a medical condition will be more trustworthy if the author is a medical doctor. If you find a source where no author is listed or the author does not have any credentials, then this source may not be trustworthy.[12]
Citations Think about whether or not this author has adequately researched the topic. Check the author’s bibliography or works cited page. If the author has provided few or no sources, then this source may not be trustworthy.[13]
Bias Think about whether or not this author has presented an objective, well-reasoned account of the topic. How often does the tone indicate a strong preference for one side of the argument? How often does the argument dismiss or disregard the opposition’s concerns or valid arguments? If these are regular occurrences in the source, then it may not be a good choice.[14]
Publication date Think about whether or not this source presents the most up to date information on the subject. Noting the publication date is especially important for scientific subjects, since new technologies and techniques have made some earlier findings irrelevant.[15]
Information provided in the source If you are still questioning the trustworthiness of this source, cross check some of the information provided against a trustworthy source. If the information that this author presents contradicts one of your trustworthy sources, then it might not be a good source to use in your paper.
8.Read your research. Once you have gathered all of your sources, you will need to read them. Read your sources very carefully. Read the sources multiple times if necessary and make sure that you fully understand them. Misunderstanding and misrepresenting your sources can damage your credibility as an author and also have a negative effect on your grade.
- Give yourself plenty of time to read your sources and work to understand what they are saying. Ask your professor for clarification if something is unclear to you.
- Consider if it's easier for you to read and annotate your sources digitally or if you'd prefer to print them out and annotate by hand.
