TRiOSSS@Evergreen
SeminarResponseWritingWorkshop
2013
SeminarResponsePapers:  Whatareseminarpapers?–Atooltohelpstudentscommunicatetheir
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ideasandmakeconnectionsbetweenbooks,films,lectures,ideas,life
experiences,etc.
Whydowewriteseminarpapers?–Facultyaskforthemandtheyhelp
yousynthesisandcommunicateyourlearning.
HowcanIwriteagoodone?–Followthishandout,askforhelpfrom
faculty,peers,andtheWritingCenter.
Willithelpmeprepareforseminar?–YES! Howtopreparetowriteaseminarresponsepaper?
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Hasthefacultytoldyoutofollowaspecificformat?Ifso,useit.Ifnot,
continuethroughthishandout.
 Thoroughlyreadtheassignedreading/book.
 Makedetailednotesasyoucompletetheassignedreading/book.
 Writedownthreeimportantinsights,facts,orperspectivesthatyoulearned
fromthebookthatyouwillwanttokeepinmind?
 Makeapreliminaryoutlineoftheseminarpaper.
StandardSeminarResponseEssayOutline:
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Introduction
Body
Analysis
Conclusion
QuestionsyouplantoaskinSeminar
TheIntroduction:
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Introduceustothereading/bookandauthor
Whoistheauthorandwhatistheirbackground?
Brieflytellthereaderwhythebookisimportantandwhatyouplantotell
theminthepaper.
TheBody: 1. Whatdidtheauthorsay?
 WhatistheThesis?
 Whoarethecastofplayers?
 Whatresearchisusedtosupportthework?
 Whatdidthereading/booksayinplainlanguage?
2. Whatdoesitmean?
 Whatdoesthereading/bookmeaninrelationshiptothemaintheme
orquestionofyourprogram?
 Howdoesitconnecttoprevious/futurereadingsorbooksinthe
program?
3. Whyisitimportant?
 Whyorhowisthereading/bookimportantforsocietyasawholeand
yourprogram?
 Hasitchangedyourpreviousnotionsorunderstandingsofthework
intheprogram?
 Ifso,inwhatways?
 Whatdoesitmeanforyouasastudentmovingforward?
ProvideAnalysis
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Thepurposeofacriticalanalysisisnotmerelytoinform,butalsoto
evaluatetheworthorvalueofareading/bookandauthor’sreasoning
forwritingit.
Avoidintroducingyourideasbystating,"Ithink"or"inmyopinion."
Keepthefocusonthesubjectofyouranalysis,notonyourself.
Theanalysiswillpresentyouropinionsoftheworkandwhile
presentingvalidjustificationforthembasedonyourreading.
Conclusion
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Summarizethereading/book
Telluswhatyoutoldus…
Concludetheseminarpaperwithwhatyourreactionwastothe
particularreading/book.
Seminarquestions
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Listatleastthreerelevantquestionsyouplantoraiseinseminar.
OtherWaystoWriteaResponsePaper
WhatandWhySeminarResponsePapers:
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Conclusion:Repeat(inanewway)theWhatandWhystatements.Also
mentionwhatmaybesomebiggerimplicationsoftheWhystatement.Tryto
thinkofanewimplicationthatmaybetheauthordidn’tmention.
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QuestionsyouplantoaskinSeminar:TellstudentsyourWhatstatementand
askthemiftheyagree/disagreewithyourWhystatement.Takeyour
Conclusionandaskstudentsiftheyhaveideastowhatthebigger
implicationsofyourWhystatementmaybe.
Introduction:Whatareyougoingtotalkabout,andWhyisitimportant?
Body:ExplainWhatyouaregoingtotalkabout.Defineyourkeyword(s)
and/orconcept(s).Usequotesandparaphrasingfromthetext,useother
textsandmaterialsfromtheclass,useyourbackgroundknowledge.
Analysis:ExplainWhytheWhatisimportant.Connecttoclasssyllabus
questions,andthemes.Alsocontinuetousequotesandparaphrasingfrom
thetext,useothertextsandmaterialsfromtheclass,useyourbackground
knowledge.
UseQuotesforSeminarResponsePapers:(Thismaynotbeappropriate
touseinallclasses.Itcansometimeshelpwhenyoudon’tknowwhattowrite
about.)
 Pickone/twoquotesfromthereadingthatyoulike.
 Writeaboutwhyyoulikethem.
o ThiscansometimeshelpyoustartmakingconnectionstoWhatyou
wanttotalkabout,andWhyit’simportant.
o Italsocanhelpyoustartusingquotesandcitationsinyourpapers.