Elaborate on why your investigation is essential to filling a gap in our current understanding of the topic. Don’t include too much jargon or too many acronyms. Avoid citing references or including a bibliography. Don’t make drastic changes to your habits–consult your physician before any changes to your lifestyle, and that includes all substances you put into your body. ( Log Out / "This article is extremely helpful guidance for how to write a scholarly paper. If you are hesitant to accept because of the cost and time to prepare, we’ll get to that. Many of us are tempted to cite long quotations from our primary texts or from major theorists, whereas a short quotation and a citation is sufficient. Why we should care. As well, you want to engage with scholars in your field and outside of your institution so you may improve your research, find new information, and motivate yourself to write that idea you had into a proto-draft for a future publication. Visit the conference web site and email its representatives to ask about travel grants for independent scholars, new faculty, and graduate students. Do not copy any phrases or content directly from the journal article. Read aloud once just to get a sense of the words on the page, to identify spots where the sentences are too long to catch a breath, and where you made typos. For the most recent draft of this tutorial, please refer to the Google Document. Some institutions, especially for faculty, provide grants before you are even accepted to present–so apply for that funding now before your colleagues do. Teaching allows us to time our presentations: we have a set number of minutes when presenting a lecture or engaging students in discussion, and we must present the information as clearly as possible when we speak. As well, you want to present a strong argument but not give away your entire idea: academia is a risky place to over-share your ideas, and you don’t want to have a thoughtful insight taken by another scholar who presents and publishes before you do. As you likely are presenting not because you have already published this argument but because you are seeking feedback towards revising this draft for publication, approach the abstract with a degree of discursiveness. HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACT FOR A CONFERENCE Writing Abstracts 3 4. If you want to use your time away from your own session to see the city or stay in your hotel room, do so–this conference is your time, and you will have time at your own panel to make your contacts, to represent your institution well, and to participate in the intellectual discussion with your peers. Then, condense those points to make your abstract. Many papers just will not fit the panel–and that’s okay, because, again this is a numbers game. Master Life with wikiHow Pro Expert Videos. You will need to focus on one specific angle, answering four straightforward questions: Read aloud in front of a mirror to force yourself to practice eye contact (and as you read aloud repeatedly, you’ll start memorizing portions of your presentation). Leave a comment at my WordPress, or feel free to email or tweet at me. As a nineteenth-century United States scholar, many of my concurrent research and teaching interests in gender and popular culture were motivated by conferences presentations which developed from classes outside of my time period and outside of English literature courses–including courses on modernist English literature, translation studies, and mid- to late twentieth-century film. An abstract is a 150- to 250-word paragraph that provides readers with a quick overview of your essay or report and its organization. I have found some of the most exciting presentations developed when the panel had a clear, specific focus but were flexible in addressing the many approaches and topics available. If you need to save space, there are options you can practice (Arial is a larger font than Times New Roman; you can’t change spacing or margins without the document looking odd, but you can trim from those lines that have only a few words each). That idea should be the sentence you include in your outline. Type a finished final draft of your scholarly abstract. If the rules do not prohibit you from submitting your CV, then do so–if you have an impressive record, brag away! Focus on only those accomplishments that speak to both the topic and the format of this conference panel: significant conference experiences, publications, awards, minimal contact information, and teaching only as related to the topic and format of the conference. Read the CFP critically for key words. Should I submit my CV with my abstract? Think of this as stating the “problem” your paper will solve. By identifying my interests to the conference organizers, I have had exciting discussions with those conference organizers because they remember me specifically for my research on Nathaniel Hawthorne but alsofor my writing about Lady Gaga (as associated with my teaching of the works of Edgar Allan Poe), Captain America (as a character indicative of changes in American culture’s understanding of third-wave feminist and postfeminist approaches to masculinity), and Soul Eater (because it’s awesome). This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. But I also make sure to mention I present and publish on popular culture’s engagement with that time period and with gender studies–in animation, comics, film, and new media–because I am passionate about those topics as well, they relate to my research on gender in the nineteenth century, and I enjoy teaching these texts as can clarify important ideas in the literature and research practices my students practice in class. This article has been viewed 23,048 times. Be aware that your organizers may be in a different time zone–for sessions in North America, you’re likely safe assuming that the conference proposal meant Eastern Standard Time, so for Pacific Time Zone submitters, pay attention to the deadline. I was at one conference where I was lucky enough one year to present at two panels at the MLA–and to turn down two other ones at the MLA that same year due to conference rules. A strong thesis is key to a successful abstract, and that which makes it worthy of acceptance for publishing. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. wikiHow's. The ideal abstract, from the point of view of panel planning, has three parts. Explain how and where you conducted your study. 2 3. Keep track of how many sessions to which you have applied to any one conference in one year. Review each section of your paper and highlight one or two sentences that capture the main idea of that part. What do you mean “significant” conference experiences? Unless the session is pedagogical, or unless you have taught specialized single-topic courses related to the session’s topic, delete the entire list of your teaching experience (including teaching assistance). Most conference presentations are 15 to 20 minutes, which is roughly five to ten double-spaced single-sided pages in 12-point font. What is the overarching concept that ties all those subsections together? Even if these teachers are hesitant to direct you to develop the paper into a presentation, unless they are adamantly against the plan, you may benefit from this presentation. Seek experience at public presentations, opportunities to expand your CV, or conversations with scholars in your field towards revising this presentation for publication. If you are familiar with these keywords, consider their applicability to your own research; if you are not familiar, then you may find yourself so lost upon presenting at this panel that your paper will not be a sufficient fit. Remember: the goal is to present at a conference once per year–once per semester if possible–and this is a numbers game, so you can’t be so choosy when you have just begun your academic career. Remind yourself as you scan through your introduction that the goal is to reproduce in the abstract the main points you want to convey to readers. “How to write a good abstract for a scientific paper or conference presentation.” For additional information about how to write a strong research paper, make sure to check out our full research writing series! University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Writing Center: UC Berkeley Office of Undergraduate Research (sample abstracts included). Keep the focus short and simple while maintaining appropriate, correct tone, and avoiding ambiguity. Use strong, clear, wording in the scholarly abstract. Notice any major authors, theories, and methodologies–this information can indicate how flexible the session will be towards the work that you produce. Read again aloud and mark up the paper–change punctuation for pauses (add commas for shorter pauses, add periods for long pauses, and add dashes to rush certain passages). The vocabulary and terminology used in the Abstract should prepare readers for the topic and language of your full-length paper. Treat your abstract like an outline of your main paper. “How to write a good abstract for a scientific paper or conference presentation.”, Research Writing and Journal Publication E-Book, How to Show Maturity and Growth in Common App Essay Prompt #5. (2) Identify the author or authors you will discuss, (3) Relate your presentation to the larger critical debate (name major scholars whose theories you definitely understand). Rather, set out your main argument, and the one or two most important findings from your research. In addition to standing behind the podium, I also have worked behind the scenes: I have led my own conference sessions, writing and re-writing calls for papers, choosing panelists, and working alongside co-organizers and co-chairs. Focus on the opening portions that provide background information in addition to purpose and scope. It’s not that you want to name every keyword in your abstract–you just want to make sure that you respond generally to one of the major ideas that this abstract addresses. You can write a successful abstract by clearly presenting the thesis of your work and focusing on condensed, clear description. Last Updated: March 29, 2019 In order to show that your paper is helpful and relevant, point out a problem that the existing body of literature in your field does not address. Adhere to the following template; the conference abstract has four major parts. This is generally done in no more than three sentences. If you are not able to develop an abstract that adequately summarizes your topic and its significance to the current debate in your field, then you will not be able to develop this presentation at any conference, let alone ones that may reject you immediately. Follow-up: Many conferences list in online calendars when panel organizers are required to email all panelists with acceptance or rejection. Writing Your Abstract for Conferences in the Literatures, Languages, and Humanities by Derek McGrath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Try to keep this to one or two sentences. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published, This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. “How to Write an Abstract.”, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Share the abstract with your professor and anyone else who you know presents frequently at conferences. Use the proper style for the discipline you’re writing in: APA, MLA, and Chicago are the most common. As I write this, our conference and strand convenors are pouring over the huge number of abstracts we received for papers, panels and posters at our London 2017 conference. If you don’t get accepted to present, you may still be reimbursed after you attend the conference (but before you pay for the conference, confirm with your institution that, indeed, the funding is not contingent on your presentation, only on your attendance). Is it grounded within an established discipline or area of study? Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. TL; DR: Conference abstracts are a challenge, and one that almost any scholar can meet. If you are presenting a particular paper, however, your attention may be less on saving money by presenting locally or at presenting at the big-name conferences. Concisely rephrase the information. Email conference organizers about opportunities to work at the conference (to pay down conference fees and related costs). The way you write on paper is different from how you write to present–and it helps to improve your writing. A short example from what I am working on now: Title: Morgenthau and … Yet you should not pass up an opportunity to present. What the problem was. Nevertheless, creating a well-written abstract is a skill that can be learned and mastering the skill will increase the probability that your research will be selected for presentation. As well, you want to save some money for certain unavoidable expenses: you will be getting meals and drinks with colleagues at local restaurants that will eat into your budget, you will be tipping hotel employees, food preparers, and waiters well so not to be a rude tourist, and you will need to have cash on hand when the restaurant lacks an ATM or the cab driver does not accept credit cards. Adhere to the following template–the conference abstract has four major parts. Accept the panelists’ goals with grace: many will want to confirm their participation because they were excited about your panel and want to be in that city for that conference; those who want a stronger commitment will be blunt, and you will act respectful to them in order to foster a collegiality for future opportunities in shared research and potential collaboration at the same institution. Your abstract will vary slightly based on your academic discipline. Make the abstract stand on its own; you will have ample opportunities to revise it around different conferences. While such presentations may not be as helpful at major conferences in your discipline (presenting outside of your field at the Modern Language Association may be a distraction from your other studies in language and literature), and while you may not want to include such presentations on your CV, the practice is sufficient. Based on your experiences at academic conferences, which qualities have made for successful abstracts? Congratulations–you have finished your abstract, now you can submit! Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/17PoUcy5TcUNUSfNTz4SxCiDfaGyO38LTZpAAotc43OM/edit. As numerous research positions still depend on scholars acting as teachers, your CV should demonstrate not only your effectiveness in the classroom with students but your engagement in current debates held at numerous conferences regarding successful and new teaching practices. Practice discretion. If you can read something aloud, it is likely sufficient writing: it is clear, you can pronounce the words, and you make sense. Unless the conference provides meals, you will be hunting for cheaper fare–so search online now for inexpensive but nutritious and tasty meals. Writing a scholarly abstract is a relatively common task among college students and scholars when working on research and essays. When you write, address the organizer with respect: when in doubt, “Professor” before their last name is the way to go, including to independent scholars and graduate students. All of that being said, you may not have the time or the money. It can be especially helpful to have your abstract read by a colleague in a different field. Many of these associations maintain consistent archives of previous conferences at their web sites, so use such archives to predict the dates of the year when CFPs are posted, when abstracts are due, and when the conferences take place. If the organizers have a deadline when you must accept or reject their offer, do answer before the deadline, and do specify that you have other opportunities to present. The answer to the problem. Or, in the worst case, the institution budgeted for that money, so you just will never apply for the reimbursement because you never went. ( Log Out / Pick your topic and write the abstract first before you examine the CFP. “Abstracts.”, Cloud University, LEO, “Writing Abstracts.”, http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/abstracts/, http://hsp.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACT.pdf, Andrade, Chittaranjan. Nothing stops you from revising this template (move the sections around, elaborate on some sections more than others), but in general, every conference abstract address these four criteria. Submit your abstract before the deadline: As a presenter on and an organizer of conference panels, I can confirm that many abstracts are submitted at the last minute. However, each subdivision builds on a central theme. If you are obstinate about presenting at this panel, however, educate yourself on these keywords: a search for any one of them in the major database for your discipline (the MLA International Bibliography for language and literary studies, for example) will give you enough content from the past five years to skim (don’t overwhelm yourself reading it all). When we are only writing an essay, the concerns we have are different—sometimes in kind, sometimes in degree—from when we write essays that will be read aloud. Scan your abstract for proper grammar and style as well as typos, correct spacing, and punctuation. This should be one sentence. Writing a Good Conference Paper Because they are both written and read aloud, conference papers present unusual problems for the writer. As you move further into your career and are preparing for post-degree job interviews, you will target those national and international associations that interview in your discipline. If you need to cite other sources, do so sparingly. There are big names organizing panels; there are assistant professors trying to get tenure organizing panels; there are adjuncts and independent scholars organizing panels; there are scared graduate students just hoping their panel will be accepted and attract panelists (and I in no way say that last one from any experience–at all–at all). Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Peer reviewers and/or an editor will ask, is the thesis statement clear and unique/original? Now finish your abstract, present your paper, and be awesome! Ask your professors, classmates, and coworkers about which opportunities your department and institution provide for reimbursement. Which presentations came out the best? Briefly describe the methods you used (qualitative vs. quantitative, empirical vs. theoretical, models, study type, types of evidence used, etc.). After all, every conference paper must address them, too. Target and highlight only the most relevant data and leave out superfluous information. Develop your paper based on your teaching. Explain how the results of your research benefit us and how we can apply your findings to other research projects or applications (i.e., describe your study’s implications). Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Write your abstract as you would write a lesson plan: you must summarize an argument that is significant but within 15 minutes. Based on a work at https://dereksmcgrath.wordpress.com/2014/09/25/writing-your-abstract-for-conferences-in-the-literatures-languages-and-humanities/. If you do know that you have to be on one of those sessions, however, confirm your acceptance as soon as possible. For graduate students, depending on your program, your semester’s course load may be full of classes that have little to do with your research interests, let alone your specialization or even your field. Balance a strong thesis statement against an open discussion. This should be no more than two sentences. Do not bother listing your references, and delete any contact information except your institution (undergraduate and graduate students: your current institution; adjunct and other professors: your current institution; independent scholars: where you received your most recent degree), your email address, and maybe your phone number. Not everyone will be polite; keep being the smart but friendly scholar you are. Before you present, handle all bodily functions first and re-hydrate as much as necessary: you want to be comfortable standing or sitting before your audience. Which of your presentations and chaired sessions are related by topic or field to the CFP? Avoid long-winded sentences like, “This article sets out to prove that the previous research on the behavior of nocturnal owls is inadequate to explain their predation behavior.” Instead, try, “Previous research on nocturnal owls inadequately explains their predation behavior.”. Unless you have confirmed that this year’s conference presentation is in your specialization, you should develop your seminar paper into a conference paper. There is a lot more to discuss–how to handle a conference presentation, how to survive the experience–so here are some quick pointers, long from now since you likely have at least a month before you give your presentation: Read aloud multiple times. Attending local conferences is the easiest answer. Don’t take the time to summarize your entire article or conference paper. If you really don’t want to put in the time or the money, however, you can turn down the offer, especially if you have other commitments. Next steps. But don’t over-do it. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. As well, developing a pedagogical paper is effective on job applications and within your department. How the problem was solved. And who knows?–you may make a surprising contact outside of your field, especially important as the people interviewing you for jobs are likely outside of your research interests, as they expect you to fill some need at their department. That being said, new graduate students should keep an eye on where the major conferences are in their field to plan schedules for when the conference hold its next meeting in the local area. Include enough information for a reader to make an independent determination of whether they want to read your paper in further detail. Move on to the sections of your article that discuss the research methods, recommendations and the conclusion. While your seminar essays for class and the articles you are drafting for publication are strong pieces of scholarship, it is difficult to condense such information to a 10- to 20-minute presentation. Condense the number of pages to your CV in all other ways possible while maintaining a legible document: do not use a font size less than 12, and use a readable font (a Serif such as Times New Roman, a Sans Serif such as Arial). Speaking of which, remember that many conferences have specific rules about how many sessions on which you may present: you likely can participate on only one or two sessions (some conferences don’t count chairing as participating, other conferences do; some conferences distinguish presentations to creative sessions or roundtables as not counting to the one- to two-session rule, other conferences don’t). Have a calendar that shows when you submitted to which panels; have a calendar showing when you have received acceptance or rejection from each panel; once you have information from all sessions, make your final decision on which ones you will accept and which ones you will reject. Presentations that have all the answers must be tempered with a certain amount of flexibility–this is a conference panel in which to share ideas in a post-presentation Q&A (or even a roundtable), not just your spot to pontificate for 20 minutes. Based on my extensive experience presenting at and organizing panels at a number of regional and national conferences on numerous topics, I wanted to share some of the lessons I’ve learned in how to put together a conference abstract. Confirm your participation quickly, don’t agree to more panels than you should, accept rejection well, and make yourself available in case of panel openings: If you know that this panel is where you want to be, and if you know you want to present at this conference, and if you are pretty sure you can afford the trip, confirm that you accept to present within 48 hours–you want to show that you are interested in this presentation. Not every seminar paper will turn into a published article, be part of your dissertation, or develop into a book. State your key findings. facilitates electronic database indexing; highlights the key points of an academic paper; for proposals, indicates the intended direction of a study; provides the scope of a study so that peers can decide whether to review a manuscript; along with a cover letter, is screened by editors in the first round of the editorial review process; and. % of people told us that this article helped them. Treat the conference as a chance to get out of town or away from your department–and a chance for you and anyone in your family to get a vacation. Add your CV only as instructed–or, only when advantageous. 1. statement of the area of concern or disputation 2. statement of the thesis or argument 3. implications for further research. This information should be reserved for the main document, if at all. Define your plan: Are you seeking a particular conference, to present a particular paper, or to visit a particular place? We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. If these mentors don’t openly encourage you when they give you back your grade, ask them directly and get their feedback. Leave yourself open for opportunities to be a back-up panelist. Change ), Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, https://dereksmcgrath.wordpress.com/2014/09/25/writing-your-abstract-for-conferences-in-the-literatures-languages-and-humanities/, https://docs.google.com/document/d/17PoUcy5TcUNUSfNTz4SxCiDfaGyO38LTZpAAotc43OM/edit, “Writing Your Abstract for Conferences,” continued, “Writing Your Abstract for Conferences,” continued | Derek McGrath, #NeMLA18: “Edgar Allan Poe and Race,” Fri Apr 13 8:30 AM, Saturday morning: I’m moderating the MLA 2018 forum “From CFP to Publication”, Fandom Report: “Lucifer” has its best episode yet–and “Legends of Tomorrow” doesn’t, Announcing lineup for “Teaching Anime and Manga” (NeMLA April 2018 Pittsburgh). Be a kind colleague, not because rejection doesn’t suck, but because you were interested in this panel, you will gain something from the presenters’ topics and discussion, and you want to foster these contacts. If you have no other commitments to present at other panels, I say go for it–you need to present once per year. For example, my dissertation is on nineteenth-century United States literature, which helps ground my overall research interests in a particular time period. For example, if you’re writing about a study tracking owls at night, keywords could include “nocturnal,” “predatory,” and “flight pattern.”. Revise, revise, revise. My first conference presentation as a graduate student was at the Modern Language Association, the national conference for studies of literature and language; by January 2015, I will have given my fifth presentation at the MLA. All of this work led to my administrative work for the MLA’s regional division, the Northeast Modern Language Association, where as marketing coordinator I see the qualities that session panels have to gain approval by the organization, to attract well-written abstracts, and to develop into panels that speak to the concerns of both researchers and teachers in many topics and methodologies. The conclusion should concisely recap your results (or thesis, if you’re writing in the humanities). Avoid going into too much detail about statistical methods, routine tests done in most investigations (e.g., safety tests performed in clinical studies), and statistical criteria used for tests. Go to the panels and events that you want to; don’t let peer pressure dictate where you go. If necessary after a meal or snack, brush your teeth and floss well ahead of time to have clean teeth but to get the taste of mint toothpaste out of your mouth. Stumped? Some of us read faster than others; slow down your pace when speaking. And there is nothing wrong with having an eye towards a conference just because it is in a location to which you want to travel: your scholastic engagement in the conference is not in competition with opportunities to get out of town, see new places, or have an excuse to visit friends and family while also giving a presentation along the way. The title should summarize the abstract and convince the reviewers that the topic is important, relevant, and innovative. Some of us obsess whether to include a works cited or footnote whenever we quote, but as this is only an abstract, proper citation rules are less consequential (especially as more conferences include strict word counts and are moving to online form submissions rather than emailed submissions).
18 If You Were To Write A Book About Yourself What Would You Name It And Why Article,
How To Write An Anthropology Observation Paper Essay,
Ghostwriter For Hire Rap Thesis,
How To Write A Level Biology Essay,
Life Writing Journal Article,
How To Write Math Paper Thesis,
4th Grade Writing Prompts With Passages Dissertation,
How To Write A Research Proposal For Masters Degree Pdf,