ii!
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Managing the Q&A Session Through Your Writing:
Effectively managing the question and answer portion begins during the writing process. Several
writing strategies can help prompt your audience towards certain questions and away from others. If
you can anticipate questions that are likely to be asked, you can be prepared for them.
Use lots of examples. Audiences tend to latch onto examples better than abstract points. As a
result, the audience tends to use the examples as reference points during the Q&A.
Sand-Bag Claims. “Sand-bagging” is removing details from your paper in order to prompt specific
questions. The audience is likely to note the gap and ask about it. The best claims to sand-bag are
those that 1) not everyone in your audience will agree with, and 2) you have a well worked out
defense or explanation for. You should not sand bag the most central claims of your paper. Below
are some situations in which sand-bagging can be effective:
• Leave out various non-essential parts of arguments in order to guide discussion: Leave the
premises and conclusion in the paper but remove your defense of one of the premises. Or,
include only the most important steps in your argument and remove some of the details of
how you get from one premise to the next. Or, state an interpretation without fully
defending it, and be prepared to give your defense when asked.
• Acknowledge alternative interpretations and state yours: If there are multiple interpretations
of a piece of evidence that you use, list the interpretations and state which you think is
correct. You can save your reasons for choosing your interpretation for the Q&A. Once
again, you should only do this if your interpretation is not a part of your main point.
• Flag a point as an assumption: Calling something an assumption will prompt your reader to
evaluate whether or not the assumption is warranted. Flag points that you will not defend or
elaborate in the paper (but can defend or elaborate) as assumptions.
• Leave out objections to your view and your responses: You have likely considered several
objections to your argument or interpretation and have come up with responses to the
objections. Let your audience raise those objections and you will already have a response.
• Mention the significance of a point without explaining in detail: Raise an objection and then
mention the situations to which you think the objection applies without going into the
details. Suggest practical or methodological implications of your conclusion. Gesture to the
historical importance of a claim.
An aside about the Q&A: If you can’t answer a question, it’s okay to say that you don’t know.
Thank the person who asked for giving you something to think about and move on!
• It is also a good idea to visibly take notes on key points or questions raised by your audience
as a way to show you value their feedback.
Works Consulted and Additional Resources
Carlin, Nancy J., “Creating and Effective Conference Presentations,” Kappa Omicron Nu Honors Society, Accessed April 10, 2013,
http://www.kon.org/karlin.html.
“Conference Papers and Presentations,” The University Center for Writing-based Learning at DePaul, Accessed April 10, 2013,
http://condor.depaul.edu/writing/writers/Types_of_Writing/conference.html
“Presenting Conference Papers in the Humanities,” CGU Writing Center, Accessed April 10, 2013,
http://www.cgu.edu/pages/864.asp.!