Seminar Paper Guidelines

Candidates for the Master’s Degree in Education (M.Ed.) complete seminar papers as a requirement for the degree.  A seminar paper is a scholarly review of the literature that focuses on some significant issue in the discipline of counseling.  Literature must be reported on both sides of the issue-pro and cons. Research findings and expert opinions are incorporated in the review.

Order of the Seminar Paper

Chapter I:  Introduction (At least 1.5 pages long)

• Can write from either an inductive or deductive argument
• Inductive format- builds toward a conclusion, since an inductive process is "emergent," one thing leading to another, building upon another, like scaffolding. The inferential thesis with an inductive approach would come near the end of the essay.                                                            
• Deductive format- the inferential thesis is delivered at the beginning, right up front. Think of this approach as "spilling the beans," essentially telling all that you know from the beginning and then using the rest of the essay to support or defend (provide evidence for) your thesis.
• Include your thesis statement

Chapter II: Purpose and significance of the Study (1 page long)

• Why is the purpose significant to the field of counseling?

Chapter III:  Definitions of Related Terms Used in YOUR Paper

Chapter IV:  Limitations of the Study (1 page long)

• What you did not research and why
• What didn’t you consider in your review?

Chapter V:  Review of Literature (At least 20 pages long)

Chapter VI:  Summary and Conclusions: Implications for Counselors

• Contain some generalizations’ derived from the review of the research
• Contain judgments as to whether the research is conclusive or conflicting

Contain some comments on application of the findings.

Proofreading – When turning in drafts of your work, you must include two copies, one that shows that the document has been proofread and one that is the corrected copy.  Drafts will not be read or accepted without evidence of proofreading.  Accepted documentation of proofreading is written feedback from the Writing Center. You may want to consider buying a membership to Paper Rater which is an online proofreading program which has various plans with monthly fees (paperrater.com) or any other online proofreading site.

Rubric for Seminar Paper