Your abstract is a condensation of your entire argument into a coherent paragraph (or two) -- at least 200 words, but no more than 400 words. Now that you've got your paper completed, the challenge is going to be to create an abstract that faithfully conveys your argument and succeeds in hooking the reader's interest.

With that in mind, you should prepare your abstract for an audience not in this class. The ELC department's annual Kemp Symposium is coming up, and submissions are due Friday, April 9th. I am not requiring you to submit your abstract for consideration, but I am encouraging you to. Whether or not you actually do submit it, prepare your abstract with that audience in mind: a committee of ELC faculty members (excluding me) who have not necessarily read the texts or genres you're writing about. Write your abstract carefully, and make sure that it is entirely free of grammatical errors and stylistic infelicities.

For the purposes of this class, the abstract is also due on April 9. Submit it in the manner you used to submit your outline, bibliography, and draft, by attaching a child page to your proposal.

For the purposes of the symposium, submit your abstract by sending it to Steve Watkins, Colin Rafferty, or Latha Reddy.