for josh only

Writing an Abstract of your PRE

150 words or less

Steps for writing the abstract

1. Start with a title that lets the reader know what the topic is about.

2.

3. Start with a statement of the issue. What is your motivation? Suggest why it matters. Put

your topic within a context.

4. Indicate the main point of argument.

5. Mention methods for studying this topic. Research studies? Interviews? Surveys?

Analysis of data?

6. Provide more “so what” to show why my work matters.

An Example of Abstract

Numbers coordinate with the steps above.

1. Title: A Tutor’s Audience is Never a Fiction: Leaving the Role of Audience and

Becoming a Reader”

Eric Stephens and Susan Andersen

• 2. Tutors often find themselves at an intersection between the writer and the audience

and, in the confusion, enter the role of audience. 3. This, we believe, is founded on the

erroneous assumption that being a reader means being the audience. 4. Our presentation

discusses the results of our small-scale study comparing tutors’ self-perceptions of

audience awareness to the observations of their sessions. 5. We argue that tutors should

not respond as the audience, but as critical readers. Understanding the crucial role of

audience results in better questioning methods for tutors and more productive sessions.

’

Another Example

You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby’: Modern-Day Feminism

as a Positive Force in American Society”

The women’s movement for political, social, and economic equality came to an especially large

resurgence in the 1960s-1970s in America—bra-burning and anti-shaving-legs women patrolled

the streets in defiance to fight for the rights they deserved. Now, modern-day feminism is

coming up in society again as a prevalent issue.

But why does America still need a feminist movement? Some would argue that it doesn’t,

because women already have equal rights, and there is a cultural shift in gender roles in the past

few decades. However, this is just the surface level of gender equality—the rape culture in

America is ever present and offensive gender stereotypes are still promoted.

Through a study of both scholarly articles and social media, I argue that the modern-day

feminism movement still matters. First, we must acknowledge the problems of rape culture and

offensive gender stereotypes. Second, we must recognize modern-day feminism as a tool of

empowerment in the fight for equal rights for everyone.