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A question for 'U
From the Spring 2001 Parent Newsletter
By Rod Loper, University Counseling & Consulting Services.
Dr. Roper has retired, but Scott Slattery now addresses questions
from parents and guardians of University of Minnesota students. Please
address your questions to Dr. Slattery at 612-625-4568, or e-mail
slatt008@umn.edu.
Q: My son
was due to graduate this spring, but now he says he won't have his
senior paper done. He has been stressed over this paper all year,
and he seems to think that he just can't get it right. Is there somewhere
he can get help with this?
A: Many students
find that the senior paper presents a challenge. The senior paper
is intended as an opportunity for students to prove their ability
to define a problem or issue, research background information about
the topic, and express an opinion or argument related to the topic
competently and persuasively. It is really not intended to be a barrier
to graduation, nor is it expected to be the ultimate, definitive research
paper on a topic.
From your question, I gather somebody, either your son or the professor,
wants his paper better in some way. I have had clients over the years
confront this graduation requirement with a variety of responses,
some problematic. Many students have slipped through school without
experiencing writing at this length and depth. They can dash off essays
or pull research from the Internet that meets minimal expectations,
but their high school skills and habits make thin soup when they are
working with the deeper topic that some departments expect for a senior
paper.
Other students might attach to this project all the changes that come
with graduation and what that step implies. Procrastination on the
senior paper can delay a scary transition and postpone coming to grips
with the next life stage. By putting off completion of the paper—and
graduation—they think they can keep the old gang together for
a while.
I have also seen cases where there was a genuine impasse between the
faculty adviser and student, where one party or the other misunderstood
something. Students are usually expected to work closely with a faculty
adviser or teaching assistant as they develop the paper. Often students
go away from a meeting with their adviser with a mistaken idea of
a point the adviser was trying to make. I suggest in these cases that
the student send an e-mail to the instructor after each meeting, summarizing
what was discussed and agreed to. This reality check is helpful both
to the student and the instructor.
Many departments hold a one-semester or even a year-long seminar for
writing the senior paper. Urge your son to get in if he still can.
Also, help is available in the Writing
Center in 17 Appleby Hall (phone 624-0342), or students can
talk to a learning assistance specialist in the Learning
and Academic Skills Center in our office in Eddy Hall or on
the St. Paul campus in Coffey Hall (phone 624-3323). |
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