GUIDE TO THE PREPARATION OF ABSTRACTS

Dr. Powers

Description, Purposes, Goals

An abstract, for purposes of this class, is a summary of the argument of a scholarly article.

The purpose of an abstract is to present in clear and coherent fashion the point and/or perspective which an author is trying to convey.

The goals of an abstract assignment are

1) to give you an opportunity to exercise your skills at critical reading, identifying major points in an argument, and writing clearly and concisely;

2) to test whether you have understood the argument of an article you have read;

3) to help you learn material in an article more effectively; and

4) to provide you with a tool to make your study for tests and exams easier.

There is no set form for an abstract, but a good abstract MUST include the following elements:

1) A citation, showing the name and title of the article.

2) A clear statement of the author's thesis. (What is the author trying to prove?) This usually can be condensed into one or two sentences.

3) An EXPLANATION of the thesis. (What does the author mean by that?) If there are sub-points to the thesis, here is the place to show them.

4) A description, with plenty of examples, of the kind of SUPPORT the author offers for his/her thesis.

A good abstract not only includes these elements, but ties them together, so that every specific example cited is clearly tied to a point or sub-point, and every sub-point clearly relates to and supports the thesis.

The abstract should be in your own words, but should not contain your assessment of the article. An abstract is not a review or an evaluation. Use your words, but present the author's argument, as though someone asked you to explain verbally what an article is about. You may use quotes from the article, but use them sparingly and appropriately, and be sure that, when you quote, you use quotation marks.

There is no set length to an abstract, especially given the difficulty of counting individual words and the differences in spacing, writing size, ability to write concisely, etc.; but as a rough guide, your paper should run about 3-5 handwritten pages, or the typed or computer-generated equivalent. Please don't go much over five pages. The abstract may be done by hand, typed, computer printed, or submitted on appropriate computer disk or electronic mail medium.

Criteria

Here's what I'll be looking for as I grade your abstracts:

1) Is it clear from the beginning which article is the subject of this abstract? (Insuring that the citation is in place can help this a GREAT deal!)

2) Does the paper make the author's thesis clear?

3) Is the thesis clearly explained, with any relevant sub-points clearly mapped and explained?

4) Does the paper show enough examples of the support the author uses to give a good sense of how convincingly the author makes his/her case?

5) Do the items offered in support actually support the argument? Are they clearly related to the point they are supposed to be supporting?

6) Is the paper well-organized, clearly written, and free of egregious errors in spelling, grammar, and structure?

7) Is the paper written in the student's own words, free of excessive reliance on quotations or close paraphrases? (Please note that "excessive reliance" can vary from article to article, depending upon how clearly, concisely, and appropriately the author writes and organizes her/his own work.)

8) Does the paper convey a sense that the student has read and understood the article?

9) Could someone read this abstract and get a good understanding of what the article is about, without having to read the article itself?

10) Is the paper of an appropriate length? Does the student give herself or himself enough room to present the argument effectively without running on so long as to lose focus and/or belabor the point?

Keep these criteria in mind as you read, as your write, and as you check your work. Keep this sheet handy: in grading, I'll sometimes refer to the numbers of these criteria rather than writing the standard on the paper. (For example, I might mark a "5" next to some of the examples you cite, indicating that I don't see how you show the connection between the examples and the point; I might mark a "10" at the end of a 15-page paper.) Keeping this list with you as you read your graded paper will let you know what the grade notations mean.

If you have any questions, please let me know.