Guide to Researching and Writing Seminar Papers

An outline for a seminar or scholarly paper is really just a plan for your paper. This outline will allow you to start writing in a coherent and logical order. This will cut down on the number of revisions you will have to make (to adjust the order and flow of the paper) and make your final paper easy and clear for a reader to follow.

TIPS ON OUTLINES:

TIP #1: "Devise a rough plan that breaks the line of argument down into its main ideas and develops a clear rationale for the ordering, building a logical overall presentation with a coherent beginning, middle, and end. Then develop each idea in turn. Think about how you came to the idea yourself, and make sure you adequately lead the reader to your point." (REALLY BASIC RULES FOR WRITING GOOD PAPERS IN LAW SCHOOL, Christians, Allison).

TIP #2: Organize your outline around issues, arguments, and analysis – not sources. An outline integrates information from a variety of sources and organizes it to support your thesis. In the same way that legal analysis in a brief or memo should not be organized around discussions of cases – but rather use those cases to support an assertion – a scholarly paper should be organized around arguments and issues supported by a range of authority. ("Strategies for Outlining Your Scholarly Paper" The Writing Center at GULC, 2014). 

Below is an example of a possible structure and outline you can follow for your seminar paper:

Part I: Introduction

• Inform the Reader Regarding the Content of the Paper
• State the Thesis or Provide a Brief Explanation of the Topic
• Create a Roadmap to the Paper

Part II: Background to the Topic

• Where did we start and how did we get here? (ex. U.S. Immigration Topic - Where did we start (historically, legally) and where are we now - address why things might need to change).

Part III: Problem to be solved or issue to be analyzed 

• Analyze the problem
  • Explain advantages and disadvantages of current approach
  • Explain the reasons change is needed

Part IV: Possible solutions or proposed way of analyzing an old problem in a new way

• Introduce your arguments to support your thesis or propose your solution and explain why it is preferable to other solutions.
• Explain the weakness of alternative proposals.

Part V: Conclusion