Graduate Student Requirements
Conference Abstract
The purpose of a conference abstract is to give reviewers deciding on who will present during their conference a clear sense of what you would like to discuss in your presentation and what your basic point will be. It is very important that this writing show a clear sense of focus on one point, and that the point be something arguable, something that diverges from the current view. It is also important that the abstract show a sense of the paper's limits. Most conference presentations are twenty minutes long; the successful abstract convinces the reader that this paper will make good use of that twenty minutes and will not ramble on beyond it. The trick is to be as specific as possible about your main point, what it adds to our understanding of the topic, and how you plan to present the evidence succinctly and persuasively.
For this class, your abstract should be a summary of the research paper you plan to write. You may submit a draft of the abstract whenever you are ready. I will make suggestions for revision until the abstract is satisfactory.
Write a 250-word summary of your research paper. Since your research paper will be a persuasive one, you should begin with a statement of what the current view of the matter is. Follow this up by stating the problems with this view. Then state your thesis. Then give a summary of the points you plan to cover in your paper and indicate what people and/or texts you will focus on. Your abstract may be several paragraphs long, but should not exceed one page.