Seminar writing and presentation is what you must encounter as a student. Writing a seminar paper is very easy if you understand the simple steps involved. We want to show you how to write a quality and presentable seminar paper with ease.
Before we go into the steps, here is a simple definition of Seminar
“A conference or other meeting for discussion or training.”
“A class at a college or university in which a topic is discussed by a teacher and a small group of students.”
Have defined that lets look at seminar paper. A seminar paper is a work of original research that presents a specific topic and is presented to a group of interested persons, usually in an academic setting.
There are various formats for writing a seminar paper, this depends on schools and your course of study. However, these formats are not much different from the general format we will show you here.
The steps below will give you the guide to writing a quality and well researched seminar paper.
Step 1 – Choose Your Topic:
You should choose a specific research topic that falls within the scope and specifications given to you.
Note
– You should not pick a broad topic that will be difficult to exhaust.
Eg Do not choose something like “Effects of Banking” or Something like “Effects of Banking on Economy” but select something more specific like “Effects of Banking Reforms on Nigerian Economy”
Remember to choose a case study where necessary, this will help narrow down your topic more. For example the above topic with a case study could be “Effects of Banking Reforms on Nigerian Economy A case study of Central Bank of Nigeria”
– You should avoid choosing topics you cannot find enough information on or topics that are too technical for you.
– Ensure your academic supervisor approves your topic before you start writing on it.
Step 2 – Find and Gather Your Information
Take your time to research and collect necessary information for your paper. You can get information through the Internet, School Library, E-libraries, journals, newspapers, magazines, your textbooks and notebooks etc. Use search engines like Google to start with. Or better still use specialized information portal like projectstoc.com to search for relevant information. Remember while doing your research to note down books and materials details for your references/bibliograpghy. These includes the Author, Title, Name of the Publication, Date of the publication or copy right date, page numbers, month if known and Year of publication.
Step 3 – Make an Outline
Draft an outline for your work. This will help you to know information you need and help you stay focused.
Your outline is a rough sketch of your table of contents. You list out major points under which you list sub topics and sub sub topics as the case may be. Remember your outline have to start with introduction.
Step 4 – Gather your notes and arrange them
Take time to organise your notes properly. Avoid including unnecessary information. Ensure you avoid plagiarism. Make sure you have permission to use any information you gathered where necessary. Ensure your information is up to date and relevant.
Formulate a specific thesis that includes an argument and address your research topic in a new and potentially controversial way. Begin drafting arguments in defense of your thesis.
Articulate responses to the authors, books and papers you will be citing.
Your paper should engage directly with other work already done regarding your research topic, but should take a different stance towards the topic.
Step 5 – Writing your paper
Based on the information you gathered and your outline, develop your paper.
Remember the format of a seminar paper.
– Title Page (The title of your seminar paper should state your topic exactly in the smallest possible number of words.)
– Author’s Name ( Put your name, your ID number, the name of your department, and the name of your university under the title.)
– Table of Contents
– Abstract
The abstract should state the most important facts and ideas in your paper. It should be complete in itself. The length of the abstract should be about 200 words. The abstract should state clearly:
the problem studied,
the method used,
the main results,
the main conclusions.
Do not put information in the abstract which is not in the main text of your paper. Do not put references, figures, or tables in the abstract. It is advisable to write Abstract last.– Main body (Introduction, Sections, Summary and Conclusion)
The main body of your paper should be divided into sections, each with a separate heading.The first section should be an introduction to your topic. This section should review the background of your topic and give an outline of the contents of your paper.
You should get the information for your paper from various sources, such as books, journals, lecture notes, etc. You must write the paper yourself using this information. You must not copy text written by other authors. Instead, select only the information you need and summarize this information in your own words.
The final section of your paper should summarize your conclusions.– Symbols and Units (if any)
– References
You should start the main body with introduction which should be the first thing in your outline.
Ensure you re-read all the notes you made on the topic.
Use the writing technique that suit you.
Re-read your work and check for consistency. Remove any bogus information or repetitions.
Elaborate on difficult points in clearest method.
Re-read your work and possibly ask someone to proofread it too.
Remember to cite all your sources.
Check to ensure your paper addressed all the issues raised by your topic.
Ensure you and your supervisor are satisfied with the work before typing and printing the final draft.
Remember the earlier you start, the better, so that you won’t write under undue pressure.
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