Socratic Seminar Prep — Half-Sheet

ASTR 201 — Scholarly Engagement

Name: ____________________________ Date: ____________________
Seminar topic / “text” (figure, excerpt, dataset): _______________________________________

1) My Claim (one sentence)

Write a specific claim that you think the “text” supports.

Claim:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2) Evidence (two concrete pieces)

Point to specific evidence: a quoted phrase, a trend, an axis label + value, a feature in a spectrum, etc.

Evidence #1 (what I’m pointing to):
______________________________________________________________________________
Why it supports my claim (one sentence):
______________________________________________________________________________

Evidence #2 (what I’m pointing to):
______________________________________________________________________________
Why it supports my claim (one sentence):
______________________________________________________________________________

3) Assumption (what must be true for my claim to hold)

Name at least one assumption your inference relies on. (Examples: equilibrium, calibration, geometry, negligible dust, “standard candle” validity, selection effects.)

Assumption:
______________________________________________________________________________
If this assumption fails, my claim would change like this:
______________________________________________________________________________

4) Uncertainty (optional but strongly encouraged)

Try a confidence estimate with a reason.

I am about _______% confident because
______________________________________________________________________________

5) Next Measurement (the discriminating test)

If you had one new observation/measurement you could make, what would best test your claim or distinguish between competing explanations?

Next measurement:
______________________________________________________________________________
What outcome would strengthen my claim?
______________________________________________________________________________
What outcome would weaken my claim?
______________________________________________________________________________

6) One Question I want to ask the group

Ask something that pushes thinking forward (not a yes/no question).

Question:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Academic integrity reminder

If this prep is collected for credit, it is part of your course work. Generative AI tools are not permitted for course-related assessments. Ask if you’re unsure.