A certain number of seminars at the end of the year or semester is reserved for the protection of term papers. For this event to go smoothly, you need to prepare for it in advance. In this article we will talk about how to defend coursework in a seminar.
The first step to the diploma
Such performances in front of teachers and spectators prepare you for what will inevitably happen at the end of training. It's about defending a diploma. If you, of course, manage to get to this stage. From the first year you train to write and present your opuses. First, on a relatively simple material, then move on to increasingly complex issues.
Usually in September, the head of the seminar offers students a certain number of topics on which, by the end of the year, semester, or by a specially agreed date, you will have to write a term paper on the topic of your choice.
By a specific date, it is necessary to present the completed task to the seminar leader and to hand over to opponents from among the students of the group a copy. If you do not have time, the teacher should know about it. Otherwise, the lesson may be frustrated, which will only be your fault. An opponent is one who, regardless of personality and particular preferences, should clearly indicate the strengths and weaknesses of the document he is considering.
Defense of term paper: speech (sample)
First of all, you should prepare a short text for your presentation, in which it is necessary:
- Briefly outline the essence of the issue raised, its value and novelty for science.
- It is enough to cover the history of the study of this topic, while you should mention your venerable predecessors, not attributing the glory of the discoverer to yourself only.
- Show how you personally see the problem and what smaller parts you divided it into (don't forget to justify the reasons for this).
- Briefly and succinctly state the content of each of the main (that is, those dedicated specifically to solving the posed problems) parts of your work.
- In more detail, dwell on the conclusions that you made during the study of the issue.
If you are defending a term paper in economics or another similar discipline, it will be useful to use specific figures, facts, data in your speech.
A speech sample should look like this:
- A polite greeting. "Hello, dear teachers, opponents and chairmen of the commission! Let me introduce you to the course work on the topic ..."
- Relevance. "First of all, I would like to talk about what interest is the problem that is being considered in this paper."
- Tasks. "When writing a term paper, I set myself the following goals ..."
- Key points, arguments. "The first question to which I would like to draw your attention ...", "Analyzing the problem, I came to the conclusion ...", "In connection with the above arguments and data, we can assume ..."
- The practical part. "Through the following studies, I was able to find out ...", "The experiment was ..."
- Findings. "In conclusion, it remains for us to confirm the initial hypothesis ...", "We were able to complete the following tasks ...", "As a result of the work, it turned out that ..."
- Parting. "Thank you for the attention of all participants in this hearing: teachers, opponents and the chairman of the commission!"
Speech by opponents
After you have made the report, it's time to express your opinion to your critics from among the students of the group. Do not try to embellish your work on defense: the audience and the teacher will still notice the flaws and mistakes made.
Depending on his preferences, the opponent can start the speech by analyzing strengths or weaknesses. It is not so important what he will say first.
His presentation usually consists of two parts:
- A presentation of the strengths of the report.
- Analysis of weak points and comments, tips and tricks for each case.
At the end of his speech, the opponent gives a brief but clear assessment of the work as a whole. It should be as objective as possible and proceed only from the quality of the text.
How to protect term paper in case of disapproving comments? Remember that your response to any negative comments should be adequate. Do not engage in polemics with teachers, shout something from a place. All of my objections and explanations can be expressed in the last speech.
Final word
After one or two opponents, other students who wished to make their remarks, and a summing up teacher, your turn to deliver a speech again.
In the final word you should:
- answer all the questions asked;
- Explain those moments of your work regarding the content of which friction or misunderstanding arose during the hearing;
- to thank all those who participated in the analysis and discussion.
Optimal Performance Duration
Many students are perplexed: how to protect term paper, if everything is given no more than half an hour? Do not worry - this is quite enough.
Usually, more than one work is heard at a seminar, so the presentation on the main part, and possible opposition, and the final word should not be too long. It is a mistake to think that the assessment depends on the duration of the defense process.
With the main performance, you need to meet a quarter of an hour, five minutes is given for the opponents' performance. As much to answer the questions asked. And another five minutes for the final word.
Criteria for evaluating your performance and the whole work
Everything that depended on you, you did. But the process of protecting term papers also includes obtaining an assessment of the entire work as a whole. The following criteria for determining the quality of the text are adopted:
- If it has noticeably more strengths than weaknesses, then it worked out perfectly.
- Are the positive and negative parts equally? Poorly lit or generally unworked moments do not spoil the big picture too much and can be easily corrected? In this case, a good rating is given.
- If the strengths and weaknesses are balanced, then we can talk about the need for improvement with a satisfactory overall exchange rate.
- Negative moments noticeably spoil the picture? In this case, the operation is unsuccessful, but can be corrected taking into account the comments and recommendations made.
- If against the background of a frankly weak exchange rate an occasional thought flickers, then the text is bad and does not require adjustment, but a total alteration.
Usually diligently written, correct term paper deserves “excellent” or “good”. It is important to consider that even weak text due to carefully thought-out protection can be rated much higher. At the same time, an ideally written scientific work can be “unsatisfactory” if its author, in the process of defense, did not make a proper impression on his critics and teachers.
The importance of training
Do not be afraid and avoid the honorable duty of being an opponent. In any case, you will have to criticize at least one work of your group members. Take this great opportunity to practice before your own performance.
Performing the function of critic, you undergo additional training: looking for other people's flaws and ways to fix them, you may suddenly figure out what exactly needs to be improved in your own text, without waiting for your listeners to point out the same thing.
The defense of the term paper, the sample of speech of which you can take from this article, is the final and final stage of all your work on a specific topic, so you can’t do without thorough preparation. It is also important to know the chosen field of science very well. Think for yourself: how to defend a term paper on a topic that you don’t understand? This is practically impossible, therefore, first of all, it is worth exploring the area of your scientific interest well.