BIS 461

Studies in U.S. Intellectual and Cultural History:

The 1960s

Summer 2004

David S. Goldstein, Ph.D.

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Article Abstracts Assignment

Abstract #1 due in Midquarter Portfolio (online) at 5:50 p.m. sharp on Monday, July 26;
Abstract #2 due in Midquarter Portfolio (online) at 5:50 p.m. sharp on Wednesday, Aug. 11

The purpose of these abstracts is to allow you to learn more about an aspect of the 1960s that interests you, to share what you have learned with others, and to hone your critical reading, thinking, and writing skills.

You will follow the same procedure for both abstracts:

The first step is to identify an aspect of the 1960s about which you would like to learn more.  Reading your in-class pre-write from the first night of class and glancing through Edward P. Morgan's chapter notes at the end of The Sixties Experience: Hard Lessons about Modern America could be a starting strategy.

Once you have identified a potential topic, make a list of potential search terms (keywords) so you can conduct a search of an academic database.  Again, your in-class pre-write from June 21 can help.  Underline terms in your pre-write that might work as keywords for your database search, and add any more that you can think of.

To find articles, I recommend using the Expanded Academic Index database at <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/wash_eai?db=EAIM>, the America: History and Life database at <http://serials.abc-clio.com/active/start?_appname=serials&initialdb=AHL>, or the JSTOR database at <http://www.jstor.org/cgi-bin/jstor/gensearch>, (all of which will require a proxy set-up if you are not using a campus computer to access them, about which you can find information at <http://www.lib.washington.edu/help/connect.html>).  You probably should find at least four articles so that you will have some choices about which articles to abstract.  Your two abstracts may be on articles on the same topic or on different topics, wherever your curiosity takes you.


On Wednesday, June 30, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. (the last hour of class) in LB1-222, Sarah Leadley, a research librarian at the Campus Library, will conduct an optional computer lab session to help you use the academic databases to find articles.  If you already are confident about your use of the academic databases, you do not need to attend the optional session, in which case you may leave class that day at 7:30.  (We will meet in our regular classroom, UW1-030, for the first part of class that day, from 6:00 to 7:30.)


Choose the article that you want to read and abstract.  Although Expanded Academic Index, America: History and Life, and JSTOR contain mostly scholarly materials, they also contain some non-scholarly materials, so make sure that the articles that you identify as ones that you might want to abstract are scholarly.  For guidance, read the Campus Library's excellent document at
<http://www.uwb.edu/library/guides/sources.html>.

Then, read "Writing Abstracts" at <http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/bizwrite/abstracts.html>.  You will write an informational abstract, so pay particular attention to that section.

Then, using Microsoft Word (not Wordperfect, Microsoft Works, or any other word processing application), write an abstract of about 250 words (no fewer than 200 and no more than 300, according to the "Word Count" tool in the "Tools" section of Microsoft Word).  Be sure to include a standard academic heading for your document (see Tip #20 in "Tips for Better Prose" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Prose.html>), and please double-space everything, even though the sample abstract shown on the "Writing Abstracts" web page is single-spaced.  Also, be sure to provide all of the following information about your article:

You will submit Abstract #1 in your online mid-quarter learning portfolio no later than 5:50 p.m. on Monday, July 26.
You will submit Abstract #2 in your online course-end learning portfolio no later than 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11.

Criteria for grading the abstracts. Please carefully read "Criteria for Assessing Writing" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/WritingAssess.html> for an explanation of these items:

Content (including accuracy and completeness)

70 percent

Organization

15 percent

Conventions

15 percent

TOTAL

15 percent of course grade (each abstract)

Let me emphasize that I expect your best effort in this and every exercise. Your most serious work now will enable me to provide the most helpful comments, which in turn will improve your grade on later assignments. In other words, this assignment helps determine your grade in this course both directly (with the score it earns) and indirectly (with its capacity to teach you how to improve your writing), so it is worth the investment of your time and effort to do the best you can.

Some additional advice:

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This page last updated June 27, 2004.

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