Robert Hatch

Seminar discussions are invaluable for developing intellectual and verbal skills. If language is the common coin of academe, students must develop critical skills in thinking, writing, and verbal exchange. Such skills, however, do not come easily nor do they translate automatically into effective seminar exchanges. The following suggestions may prove useful to seminar participants.

Discussion of Readings:

1. Read the material with care (re-read key sections) keeping in mind criteria discussed in the ‘Academic Reading’ handout above. Make annotations in your text as appropriate–or use ‘post-’ems’ or slips of paper at key places in the text. Points for discussion arise from ‘close reading’ and thoughtful reflection. Make a 4×6 card for each chapter; write down the thesis, objectives, the basic structure, notes on evidence, and any questions that come to mind.
2. Make a separate list of questions and concerns with specific reference to pages in the text. Be prepared to defend your examples. Issues are the key: identify; define; classify; illustrate; compare and contrast; analyze. Read the material carefully, critically, analytically, and creatively.
3. What are the issues and what is the argument about: describe the evidence, reasoning, and means of persuasion. Do the issues involve description (what is the major impression?); Narration (relate the time, pattern, point of view, selection of material, meaning). How is the argument affected by structure, diction, metaphor, tone? What is the audience? Finally, stick to the text. Resist the seductions of free association. Readings are shared and time is short.

Presentations

1. Be clear about presentation criteria; recall the importance of time, place, theme. If 30 minutes is allotted, prepare accordingly. The place brings expectations about the format (sitting/standing; formal readings or prepared outline); theme also suggests the contours of your presentation.
2. Be prepared; research your topic thoroughly and then practice your presentation. Confidence is fostered by understanding (careful research and preparation) and effective communication requires the added effort of acknowledging your audience. Pay attention to reasoned and creative strategies. Your first obligation is clarity then rigor then nuance. Have textual evidence at hand.
3. If you evaluate your subject with care, you will know what should be emphasized and what can be omitted in the seminar exchange. Think critically about your arguments, evidence, and examples.

How to critique a Presentation

1. Learn to listen critically and sympathetically. Listen for what the presenter means rather than pick at words or specific arguments. In pressing for clarity, your first responsibility is to make the best case for the presenter; your contribution is to show how that case could be made more persuasively.
2. Focus attention on the assumptions of the presentation; the structure of the argument; the types of evidence presented (or neglected); the examples selected. Have textual evidence at hand.
3. If warranted, propose alternative assumptions. Suggest more effective arguments, assuming you have reasons and evidence; propose additional and/or alternative evidence; counter examples, etc.
4. Avoid gamesmanship–‘making points,’ ‘louder voice,’ and ‘fastest gun’ don’t work. Effective conversation should benefit everyone. Present your views succinctly. Learn from others by acknowledging their effectiveness. If you’re brilliant and articulate, don’t dominate discussion on this conviction alone. rah.jan.98

RESEARCH ESSAY OUTLINES: PROCEDURES & FORMAT

Dr Robert A. Hatch


Students are required to approve all research topics with the instructor. To assist students in selecting an interesting and manageable topic, a list of suggested topics has been included with the syllabus. The list is by no means exhaustive and is intended to pose suitably focused titles. I include the following guidelines for submitting the Outline, Bibliography, and Computer Search, which is due no later than week IX. The topic for the completed research essay {15-20 pages} must be approved by the instructor.

Begin Early:

The most difficult task in writing an essay is selecting a manageable topic. Central to your success is restricting the topic and focusing on clearly identified issues and supporting your position with evidence. Begin early; I suggest the following procedure:

1. Clarify for yourself what topic holds the greatest interest; determine what issues make the topic meaningful, controversial, troubling. Find the best general sources available to help clarify your concerns. Set a time limit for yourself; you must identify a topic, clarify the issues, and if the topic is manageable. Are there sources available? How can the topic be more narrowly focused?
2. Once you are satisfied with your topic and that sources are available, you must then begin to research your topic with good organizational skills and discipline. Don’t get side tracked; as Lewis Carroll suggested to the Alice: begin at the beginning; go to the end; then stop.
3. Computer Search: The library has a lot of books. Learning how to make a library work for you is a critical and joyful experience.

   First, learn how to use LUIS; if you need help, arrange for assistance from the reference librarian. Check the major authors most frequently cited in the works that you have already consulted. Good research is sleuthing: read footnotes with care; dig through the ever more detailed layers of scholarly publication–which often means specialized journal articles.

   Second, discuss you research project with the reference librarian; inquire what search options (on-line; CD-ROM) are available and most promising. Pursue every avenue for titles that seem interesting and suggest solid scholarship. Avoid encyclopedias and books with large type and glossy illustrations. Learn to use search tools, electronic, on-line, and the stuff you may find in the old oak cabinets. Obtain ‘hard copy’ printouts and take careful notes for future use. Develop a file system; attempt to travel your research road one time.

   Third, sift and winnow. Think about how existing publications have identified, organized, and interpreted the issues that initially drew you to the topic. Having obtained copies of the books, monographs, articles, and other materials, read them with care–several times.

4. Outline: An outline is required for the course and by most successful writers. It should include the following components: a) Thesis: The thesis statement is critical; it reduces to one clear sentence your considered conclusion–your position and interpretation–of the problem, question, or issue that you initially identified. Most writers labor distill their entire research essay into a simple declarative sentence. It will be difficult; it requires careful thought. b) Objectives: Your objectives state clearly what you hope to achieve in the essay, that is, what you will identify, describe, illustrate, and demonstrate, in your essay.

   Having stated your thesis and objectives, you must developed a detailed outline of your essay. Aristotle provides a plan: a beginning; middle; end: introduction; body; conclusion. Developing a detailed outline will save time and possible embarrassment when writing your essay; it is time well spent. Pay particular attention to organization and the relationship of the parts; is your argument coherent? Do you have evidence for your interpretation? Are there graceful transitions?

5. Bibliography: Having had your topic approved and supported by a general literature search, an outline with carefully considered thesis and objective statements, you must also develop and submit a Bibliography on your topic. No paper will be evaluated without a bibliography; include all relevant materials as ‘Works Consulted.’ The format should follow the Chicago Manual of Style, now an industry standard in academe. Follow this manual for footnotes and other apparatus.