Seminar Presentation - Guidance

1. A seminar topic presentation is a short informal talk giving the results of your researches into a seminar topic on the course. You are sharing your ideas or discoveries in a way that gives seminar participants an opportunity for discussion. These presentations form a normal part of the teaching and learning process in postgraduate studies.

2. Don't think of the seminar presentation as a test. You will not normally be judged on your performance. The person who will learn most from this exercise is you. The act of investigating sources, digesting information, and summarizing other people's work will help to clarify these matters in your mind.

3. You will also develop your confidence in handling information, making useful notes, and presenting an argument.

4. Seminar Topics can be chosen according to your own particular interests. If you are in any doubt, check with your tutor. They might be:

• a 'reading' of a set text from the course, applying one critical theory

• an account of one critical theory and how it can be applied to a couple of set texts

• a response to one of the tutorial seminar topics from the course materials

• an account of the publishing history or the critical reception of one of the set texts

5. A seminar presentation should not try to imitate an essay about seminar topic. It is better to offer a presentation on something smaller and more specific, rather than the type of general question posed in a coursework essay.

6. Don't write down the seminar presentation verbatim. Make outline notes, then speak to these notes using the set text, any critical theory, and your own extended notes as backup material.

7. If you have the resources, it is a nice courtesy to provide other members of the group with a copy of your outline notes.

8. Overhead projection facilities will often be available if you wish to show transparencies. Otherwise, photocopies of any illustrative material will be perfectly acceptable.

Suggested Headings

The general headings for your notes may vary according to the seminar topic of your choice and the approach you adopt. For a presentation in literary studies at post-graduate level, the following may be used.

The set text
Explain which edition you are using, and any special considerations. You might indicate which different editions exist, and what led to your choice of seminar topic.

The course topic or seminar question
You might say why you have chosen it, or why it seems significant. If possible relate it to the other major issues of the course.

The critical theory
Give a brief summary of the origin and principles of any critical theory you will be applying. This will help to 'situate' your remarks.

Your own argument
Give a general summary of what you have to say about your seminar topic, and its relation to the course as a whole. Make the stages of your argument clear, and indicate the conclusion to which they lead.

Scholarly details
You should provide full bibliographical details of any texts you use during the course of the seminar topic presentation.

Topics for discussion
A good seminar presentation should lead to questions or further issues raised by the subject of your enquiry. Including these issues as part of your conclusion should lead naturally into a discussion amongst the seminar participants.