Abstract Proposal

HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACT

An abstract is a short summary (approximately 250-350 words) of your beginning or completed

research. If done well, it gives readers a preview of what is to come and makes the reader want to

learn more about your project. In your college career, you will be asked to do abstracts for

conference papers, presentations, grants, and research papers. Often, you will be asked to write

an abstract before you have completed writing your paper. Thus, in the first set of prompts, if

you have not fully come to a conclusion which answers your research question, let us know in

Step 3 what you anticipate will happen or want to happen. Then for Step four, if you are correct

or successful in Step 3, what will it mean?

These are the basic components of an abstract in any discipline:

1) Intro/ Motivation/problem: Why do we care about the problem? What practical, scientific,

theoretical or artistic gap is your research filling? With whose work do you disagree? What

unique perspective are you adding to the conversation? Ie. What is your unique claim? How does

what you’re saying differ from what others have said?

2) Methods/procedure/approach: What did you actually do to get your results or come up with

your claim? (e.g. read a series of studies and scholarly works, analyzed 3 novels, completed a

series of 5 oil paintings, interviewed 17 students, watched every episode of Glee?) Be specific.

Outline the research you plan to conduct or have already done, identifying important sources you

will use to make these particular claims.

3) Results/findings/product: As a result of completing the above procedures, what did you

learn/invent/create?

4) Conclusion/implications: What are the larger implications of your findings, especially for the

problem/gap/ unique contribution identified in step 1?

SAMPLE ABSTRACT

While most citizens in the United States agree that a college education is key to economic

success and personal satisfaction, educators disagree over what kind of education young adults

should receive. In essence, many educators seek to answer the question: What kind of education

will best prepare young people to productive, civically engaged adult lives? In this paper I will

argue that while curricula that focus on “Great Books” and “education for the professions” are

both valuable parts of the college experience, “multicultural education” is a necessary

component of contemporary education that prepares student for the demands of American life.

When initiated well, multicultural education not only gives students exposure to important books

and professional preparation, it prepares them to work productively and live happily in a diverse,

democratic society. In order to explore this issue and help readers understand the range of

opinions that erupt in this debate, I will briefly define each of the three educational philosophies

listed above. Then, I will support my thesis using two central claims: 1) ___________ &

2______________. To support claim #1, I turn to both Jane Smith’s essay “_____ _________”

and Frieda Doe’s chapter “_________.” To support claim #2, I will explore ideas presented by

Martha Naussbaum in her essay “The Idea of World Citizenship in Greek and Roman

Antiquity.” While I will ultimately refute his argument, I will also explore a common argument

against multicultural education, namely one that states_______________: John Q. Academic

makes this argument in his essay “_______________.” Finally, I will reveal the success of

institutions like Arizona State University that have implemented “multicultural education.”