Abstract and References Assignment

Due: December 7, 2004 (bring 4 copies to class)

A scholarly article of the kind you’re developing in this course should always include both an Abstract and a References page. This assignment will help you prepare both of these elements.

Abstract
Write the Abstract for your research essay – follow guidelines below and models from your research

An abstract is a 6-10 sentence overview of your research essay that is separate from the actual essay and appears before the introduction. You have likely seen abstracts in your research since most online databases (like EBSCO) include an abstract. Also, almost all scholarly (peer-reviewed) articles contain abstracts designed to help a reader quickly see the issues the article addresses. Your abstract should be modeled on the kinds of abstracts you see at the front of peer-reviewed articles.

Generally, an abstract contain 3 elements.
1) It identifies the general topic area in which the essay fits. Sometimes this element is presented in the form of a “much of the research on x is concerned with y” statement. Other times, it is more general in the way it explains why the topic is important. This part of the abstract helps show why the topic itself is important.
2) It explains how the approach the author takes is related to research others have done. Often, this element of an abstract also explicitly states how the author’s approach is both different from and better than approaches taken by other scholars. This part of the abstract is a good place to mention key concepts used to help interpret or analyze the topic. (For example, “This essay uses O/W’s concept of a ‘racial project’ to examine how…”)
3) It identifies the author’s main argument or findings. When the essay reports research findings, it often includes statements like, “the data show that…” Mostly, we’ll be developing positions, interpretations, or “arguments” in our essays. In this case, we’ll have a section of the abstract that explains in 1-2 sentences just what the argument or interpretation looks like. Generally, this material is extracted from a combination of the thesis statement and the conclusion.

References
Get your References page as correct as you can possibly get it. Bring this version to class with you.

You know about the references page because it is an important part of APA citation style. You’ve been writing References pages since the Objective Synthesis assignment. Before handing in your final research draft, however, you want to make sure you get that References page 100% correct – commas, periods, parentheses, capitalization, underline, etc.