JEA 101_1314

How to Write a Seminar Paper A Practical and Useful Guide

A seminar paper is a self-written discussion of a narrowly defined subject-matter. These guidelines will help you to prepare your paper in formally correct methods. The guide gives you hints for the compliance with the formalities of the layout. Please read the guide carefully; it is fundamental for the evaluation of your work.

The introduction The seminar paper should be 5 to 7 pages long (not less and not more), only paginated pages are counted. All papers should be printed one-sided. All seminar papers must be handed in a printed as well as in an electronic version (uploaded on Merlin).

Typographic guidelines Font: Times New Roman, consistent for entire standard-sized paper Font size: 12 pt Line space: 1.5 Headlines: 14 pt
Text in justification (block form)

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Your paper should include four major sections: the Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References.

TITLE PAGE

University of Zadar Centre for Foreign Languages Course:JEA 101_1314, g1,2,3,4 Instructor: Marijana Birti Vui / Nikolina Krpina Student: Email address:

TITLE Seminar paper

Zadar December 15th 2013

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ABSTRACT
(the first paginated page of your seminar paper) Abstract Begin a new page. Your abstract page should already include the page header (described below). On the first line of the abstract page, centre the word Abstract (no bold, formatting, italics, underlining, or quotation marks). Beginning with the next line, write a concise summary of the key points of your research. (Do not indent.) Your abstract should contain at least your research topic, research questions, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions. You may also include possible implications of your research and future work you see connected with your findings. Your abstract should be a single paragraph double-spaced. Your abstract should be between 150 and 250 words.

Keywords: You may also want to list keywords from your paper in your abstract. To do this, indent as you would if you were starting a new paragraph, type Keywords: (italicized), and then list your keywords. Listing your keywords will help researchers find your work in databases. Do not list more than 5 and less than 3 words.

Title of seminar paper Name/surname of a student: JEA 101, g1,2,3,4

Abstract

Keywords: (3-5 words)

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THE MAIN BODY

(or the structure of the very content) The main body A research paper always has the same structure:

Introduction Aim Theoretical background Research Conclusion

Now take each one of these sections and make subsections. Go with a presumed structure. You will most probably change it again. The important thing is, break the whole paper down into sections which, in the end, will cover about a page or even half a page. Now you have slots and can start to fill them. Its much easier, because you can concentrate on one thing at a time and you dont need to have the whole paper in mind. The actual writing The introduction usually covers what you will do in the paper. Leave the introduction until the end of the work. Then write down what you have done but in a way which gives the impression that you have written this before you have actually done it. Dont say what you are not going to do. This will become clear anyway. If you deliberately leave out a subject which you feel should be part of the paper, then this is the only case you should give reasons why you do it. The aim covers what you want do in the paper. Its good to start with this, because it doesnt matter if you will actually fulfil what you aim for. If you wont, you will be allowed to say so. The aim will be something like In this paper I want to The theoretical background is the hardest part. Here you take the literature and tell the reader that you know what others have said about your subject before you. The research connects the theoretical background with your aim. Its a bit of work to, but you are actually quite free here. The conclusion basically says the same thing the introduction does, but in past tense. You also reflect on what you have been able to prove and what not.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY (the last page)

Any cited literature must be listed in the bibliography and all references listed in the bibliography have to be cited somewhere in the text. The following information must be quoted according to APA style of referencing. Name and surname Year of publication Title of book / working paper / article Title of journal / anthology / working paper series where article was published For journals: Volume; issue; pages Edition of book Place of publication / publisher First and last page of article in the journal / anthology where published Internet address where article was downloaded (only if not published in a journal), day and time of access

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Acknowledging your sources Reasons for referencing a source: To show where your idea originated from To show that you have done research to find evidence for your viewpoint; references help to give your text academic weight. To show that you are aware of the opinions/views expressed by writers in the field. To allow the reader to look at the original source if necessary.

Not referencing your sources, and thus failing to acknowledge other peoples ideas, is considered to be plagiarism. This is not accepted academically. Ways of referencing to a source: Quotation: Citing the exact words of the author Paraphrasing: Retelling what the writer said, in your own words. Summarising: Identifying the point you want to make from your source, and writing it in your own words. Whereas a paraphrase will include all the detail, a summary will be shorter, and will include only the key information.

Generally, writers use a mixture of summarising and paraphrasing, and only use quotations occasionally. Usually, quotations should only be used when you feel that the author expresses an idea or opinion in such way that it is impossible to improve upon it or when you feel that it captures an idea in a particularly succinct and interesting way (Trzeciak & Mackay, 1994, p.59).

There are different types of referencing in the literature; stick to one style for your paper. In your future academic research, the choice of the referencing style (and other formatting guidelines) depend on the journal you are going to submit your paper. ***For the purposes of this seminar paper you will be using the APA style of referencing.

APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. Book citations in APA generally require author name, publication year, work title, publication city, and publisher. How to cite in APA style, click on the following link: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20110928111055_949.pdf IN-TEXT CITATION: (Power Point) https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/17/

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In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining

Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones. If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters long or greater within the title of a source: Permanence and Change. Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs: Writing New Media, There Is Nothing Left to Lose. (Note: in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized: Writing new media.)

When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word:Natural-Born Cyborgs. Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's Vertigo." Italicize or underline the titles of longer works such as books, edited collections, movies, television series, documentaries, or albums: The Closing of the American Mind; The Wizard of Oz; Friends. Put quotation marks around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles, articles from edited collections, television series episodes, and song titles: "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds"; "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

Short quotations If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.
According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199). Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?

If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.
She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

Long quotations Place direct quotations that are 40 words, or longer, in a free-standing block of typewritten lines, and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the

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quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.
According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners. APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

Summary or paraphrase If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number (although it is not required.)
According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.

APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

Some tips and tricks

The hardest part of all is getting started. Just do so. And dont worry, if the first things you write are not the best. That is why its a good thing to start with the aim. Because its the easiest part. Try to use a similar structure in each paragraph: introductory sentence, which says what you will do in this paragraph, the actual content, and a conclusion sentence, which says what you have done in the paragraph. Needs lots of space. Make lots of titles and subtitles. They need lots of space. And: take care about line height and font size of the actual text. And in addition, it will help you in structuring the actual writing. If your paper is too short, browse for paragraphs of which the last line is almost complete. Fill in a word somewhere and youll get an extra line. If you do this in the whole of the paper, you will be able to generate an extra page for each ten pages.

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The guide was based on the following materials:

1. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

2. http://www.vwl2.ovgu.de/vwl2_media/download/guideseminar.pdf
3. www.unizd.hr/.../upute%20za%20pisanje%20seminarskog%20rada.doc

4. http://tudresden.de/die_tu_dresden/fakultaeten/fakultaet_wirtschaftswissenschaften/bw l/ee2/lehrstuhlseiten/ordner_lehre/ordner_vorlagen/EE2_Scient_Writing_Work ing_v10_fk_10112010.pdf 5. http://writeronart.com/reviews/how-to-write-a-seminar-paper-a-practical-andactually-useful-guide/