Conference Papers - UNC Writing Center

Conference papers can be an effective way to try out new ideas, introduce your work to colleagues, and hone your research questions. Skiptomaincontent Home/Tips&Tools/ConferencePapers ConferencePapers Whatthishandoutisabout Thishandoutoutlinesstrategiesforwritingandpresentingpapersforacademicconferences. What’sspecialaboutconferencepapers? Conferencepaperscanbeaneffectivewaytotryoutnewideas,introduceyourworktocolleagues,andhoneyourresearchquestions.Presentingataconferenceisagreatopportunityforgainingvaluablefeedbackfromacommunityofscholarsandforincreasingyourprofessionalstatureinyourfield. Aconferencepaperisoftenbothawrittendocumentandanoralpresentation.Youmaybeaskedtosubmitacopyofyourpapertoacommentatorbeforeyoupresentattheconference.Thus,yourpapershouldfollowtheconventionsforacademicpapersandoralpresentations. Preparingtowriteyourconferencepaper Thereareseveralfactorstoconsiderasyougetstartedonyourconferencepaper. Determinethestructureandstyle Howwillyoustructureyourpresentation?Thisisanimportantquestion,becauseyourpresentationformatwillshapeyourwrittendocument.Somepossibilitiesforyoursessioninclude: Avisualpresentation,includingsoftwaresuchasPowerPointorPrezi Apaperthatyoureadaloud Aroundtablediscussion Presentationscanbeacombinationofthesestyles.Forexample,youmightreadapaperaloudwhiledisplayingimages.Followingyourpaper,youmightparticipateinaninformalconversationwithyourfellowpresenters. Youwillalsoneedtoknowhowlongyourpapershouldbe.Presentationsareusually15-20minutes.Ageneralruleofthumbisthatonedouble-spacedpagetakes2-2.5minutestoreadoutloud.Thusan8-10page,double-spacedpaperisoftenagoodfitfora15-20minutepresentation.Adheretothetimelimit. Makesurethatyourwrittenpaperconformstothepresentationconstraints. Considertheconventionsoftheconferenceandthestructureofyoursession Itisimportanttomeettheexpectationsofyourconferenceaudience.Haveyoubeentoanacademicconferencepreviously? Howwerepresentationsstructured?Whatkindsofpresentationsdidyoufindmosteffective?Whatdoyouknowabouttheparticularconferenceyouareplanningtoattend?Someprofessionalorganizationshavetheirownrulesandsuggestionsforwritingandpresentingfortheirconferences.Makesuretofindoutwhattheyareandsticktothem. Ifyouproposedapanelwithotherscholars,thenyoushouldalreadyhaveagoodideaofyourpanel’sexpectations.However,ifyousubmittedyourpaperindividuallyandtheconferenceorganizersplaceditonapanelwithotherpapers,youwillneedadditionalinformation. Willtherebeacommentator?Commentators,alsocalledrespondentsordiscussants,canbegreatadditionstopanels,sincetheirjobistopullthepaperstogetherandposequestions.Iftherewillbeacommentator,besuretoknowwhenheorshewouldliketohaveacopyofyourpaper.Observethisdeadline. Youmayalsowanttofindoutwhatyourfellowpresenterswillbetalkingabout.Willyoucirculateyourpapersamongtheotherpanelistspriortotheconference?Willyourpapersaddresscommonthemes?Willyoudiscussintersectionswitheachother’sworkafteryourindividualpresentations?Howcollaborativedoyouwantyourpaneltobe? Analyzeyouraudience Knowingyouraudienceiscriticalforanywritingassignment,butconferencepapersarespecialbecauseyouwillbephysicallyinteractingwiththem.Takealookatourhandoutonaudience.Anticipatingtheneedsofyourlistenerswillhelpyouwriteaconferencepaperthatconnectsyourspecificresearchtotheirbroaderconcernsinacompellingway. Whataretheconcernsoftheconference? Youcanidentifythesebyrevisitingthecallforproposalsandreviewingthemissionstatementorthemeoftheconference.Whatkeywordsorconceptsarerepeated?Howdoesyourworkrelatetotheselargerresearchquestions?Ifyouchoosetoorientyourpapertowardoneofthesethemes,makesurethereisagenuinerelationship.Superficialuseofkeytermscanweakenyourpaper. Whataretheprimaryconcernsofthefield? Howdoyoubridgethegapbetweenyourresearchandyourfield’sbroaderconcerns?Findingtheselinkagesispartofthebrainstormingprocess.Seeourhandoutonbrainstorming.Ifyouarepresentingataconferencethatiswithinyourprimaryfield,youshouldbefamiliarwithleadingconcernsandquestions.Ifyouwillbeattendinganinterdisciplinaryconferenceoraconferenceoutsideofyourfield,orifyousimplyneedtorefreshyourknowledgeofwhat’scurrentinyourdiscipline,youcan: Readrecentlypublishedjournalsandbooks,includingrecentpublicationsbytheconference’sfeaturedspeakers Talktopeoplewhohavebeentotheconference Payattentiontoquestionsabouttheoryandmethod.Whatquestionscomeupintheliterature?Whatfoundationaltextsshouldyoubefamiliarwith? Reviewtheinitialresearchquestionsthatinspiredyourproject.Thinkaboutthebigquestionsinthesecondaryliteratureofyourfield. Tryafree-writingexercise.Imaginethatyouareexplainingyourprojecttosomeonewhoisinyourdepartment,butisunfamiliarwithyourspecifictopic.Whatcanyouassumeheorshealreadyknows?Wherewillyouneedtostartinyourexplanation?Howwillyouestablishcommonground? Contextualizingyournarrowresearchquestionwithinlargertrendsinthefieldwillhelpyouconnectwithyouraudience. Youmightbereallyexcitedaboutapreviouslyunknownnineteenth-centurypoet.Butwillyourtopicengageothers? Youdon’twantpeopletoleaveyourpresentation,thinking,“Whatwasthepointofthat?”Bycarefullyanalyzingyouraudienceandconsideringtheconcernsoftheconferenceandthefield,youcanpresentapaperthatwillhaveyourlistenersthinking,“Wow!Whyhaven’tIheardaboutthatobscurepoetbefore?SheisreallyimportantforunderstandingdevelopmentsinRomanticpoetryinthe1800s!” Writingyourconferencepaper Ihaveareallygreatresearchpaper/manuscript/dissertationchapteronthissametopic.ShouldIcutandpaste? Becarefulhere.Timeconstraintsandtheneedsofyouraudiencemayrequireatightlyfocusedandlimitedmessage.Tocreateapapertailoredtotheconference,youmightwanttoseteverythingasideandcreateabrandnewdocument. Don’tworry—youwillstillhavethatpaper,manuscript,orchapterifyouneedit.Butyouwillalsobenefitfromtakingafreshlookatyourresearch. Citingsources Sinceyourconferencepaperwillbepartofanoralpresentation,therearespecialconsiderationsforcitations.Youshouldobservetheconventionsofyourdisciplinewithregardtoincludingcitationsinyourwrittenpaper.However,youwillalsoneedtoincorporateverbalcuestosetyourevidenceandquotationsofffromyourtextwhenpresenting.Forexample,youcansay:“AsNietzschesaid,quote,‘Andifyougazeforlongintoanabyss,theabyssalsogazesintoyou,’endquote.”Ifyouusemultiplequotationsinyourpaper,thinkaboutomittingtheterms“quote”and“endquote,”asthesecanbecomerepetitive.Instead,signalquotationsthroughtheinflectionofyourvoiceorwithstrategicpauses. Organizingthepaper Therearenumerouswaystoeffectivelyorganizeyourconferencepaper,butremembertohaveafocusedmessagethatfitsthetimeconstraintsandmeetstheneedsofyouraudience.Youcanbeginbyconnectingyourresearchtotheaudience’sconcerns,thenshareafewexamples/casestudiesfromyourresearch,andthen,inconclusion,broadenthediscussionbackouttogeneralissuesinthefield. Don’toverwhelmorconfuseyouraudience Youshouldlimittheinformationthatyoupresent.Don’tattempttosummarizeyourentiredissertationin10pages.Instead,tryselectingmainpointsandprovideexamplestosupportthosepoints.Alternatively,youmightfocusononemainideaorcasestudyanduse2-4examplestoexplainit. Checkforclarityinthetext Onewaytoanticipatehowyourideaswillsoundistoreadyourpaperoutloud.Readingoutloudisanexcellentproofreadingtechniqueandisagreatwaytochecktheclarityofyourideas;youarelikelytohearproblemsthatyoudidn’tnoticeinjustscanningyourdraft. Helplistenersunderstandyourideasbymakingsurethatsubjectsandverbsareclearandbyavoidingunnecessarilycomplexsentences. Includeverbalcuesinthetext Makeliberaluseoftransitionalphraseslikehowever,therefore,andthus,aswellassignpostwordslikefirst,next,etc. Ifyouhave5mainpoints,saysoatthebeginningandlistthose5ideas.Referbacktothisstructurefrequentlyasyoutransitionbetweensections(“Now,Iwilldiscussmyfourthpoint,theimportanceofplasma”). Useaphraselike“Iargue”toannounceyourthesisstatement.Besurethatthereisonlyoneofthesephrases—otherwiseyouraudiencewillbeconfusedaboutyourcentralmessage. Referbacktothestructure,andsignalmomentswhereyouaretransitioningtoanewtopic:“Ijusttalkedaboutx,nowI’mgoingtotalkabouty.” I’vewrittenmyconferencepaper,nowwhat? Nowthatyou’vedraftedyourconferencepaper,it’stimeforthemostimportantpart—deliveringitbeforeanaudienceofscholarsinyourfield! Rememberthatwritingthepaperisonlyonehalfofwhataconferencepaperentails.Itisbothawrittentextandapresentation. Withpreparation,yourpresentationwillbeasuccess.Hereareafewtipsforaneffectivepresentation.Youcanalsoseeourhandoutonspeeches. Cuestoyourself Includehelpfulhintsinyourpersonalcopyofthepaper.Youcanremindyourselftopause,lookupandmakeeyecontactwithyouraudience,oremploybodylanguagetoenhanceyourmessage.Ifyouareusingaslideshow,youcanindicatewhentochangeslides.Increasingthefontsizeto14-16pt.canmakeyourpapereasiertoread. Practice,practice,practice Whenyoupractice,timeyourself.Areyoureadingtoofast?Areyouenunciatingclearly?Doyouknowhowtopronounceallofthewordsinyourpaper?Recordyourtalkandcriticallylistentoyourself.Practiceinfrontoffriendsandcolleagues. Ifyouareusingtechnology,familiarizeyourselfwithit.Checkanddouble-checkyourimages.Remember,theyarepartofyourpresentationandshouldbeproofreadjustlikeyourpaper. Printabackupcopyofyourimagesandpaper,andbringcopiesofyourmaterialsinmultipleformats,justincase. Besuretocheckwiththeconferenceorganizersaboutavailabletechnology. Professionalism Thewrittentextisonlyoneaspectoftheoverallconferencepaper.Theotherisyourpresentation.Thismeansthatyouraudiencewillevaluatebothyourworkandyou!Soremembertoconveytheappropriatelevelofprofessionalism. Worksconsulted Weconsultedtheseworkswhilewritingthishandout.Thisisnotacomprehensivelistofresourcesonthehandout’stopic,andweencourageyoutodoyourownresearchtofindadditionalpublications.Pleasedonotusethislistasamodelfortheformatofyourownreferencelist,asitmaynotmatchthecitationstyleyouareusing.Forguidanceonformattingcitations,pleaseseetheUNCLibrariescitationtutorial.Werevisethesetipsperiodicallyandwelcomefeedback. Adler,Abby.2010.“TalkingtheTalk:TipsonGivingaSuccessfulConferencePresentation.”PsychologicalScienceAgenda24(4). Kerber,LindaK.2008.“ConferenceRules:HowtoPresentaScholarlyPaper.”TheChronicleofHigherEducation,March21,2008.https://www.chronicle.com/article/Conference-Rules-How-to/45734. ThisworkislicensedunderaCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs4.0License. Youmayreproduceitfornon-commercialuseifyouusetheentirehandoutandattributethesource:TheWritingCenter,UniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHill MakeaGift GraduateServices MakeanAppointment VisitOurBlog