academic mamas--conference abstract, please refresh me

[readytobedone]

it's been embarrassingly long since i've submitted a proposal for a conference. like, years.

i'm working on one for the MLA...1-page abstract due in a week. i'm in the field of english. any mamas in similar fields care to let me see an abstract you've written that you think is decent?? you could PM me :

[kate3]

I'm nursing, so I doubt I'll be much help.

Every time I have submitted an abstract there have been submission guidelines on the conference website that detailed what they were looking for. For nursing conferences it's usually a research abstract so Significance, Problem, Methods, Analysis, Results, Implications (or something close to that). Were there any submission instructions from the conference organizers?

[She2dancer]

same here...did you check the conference website for details? They are usually pretty specific, and can vary tremendously from one to the other....mine are in the science field, so pretty much purpose, participants, procedure, results, conclusion.

Generally you want the abstract to explain your presentation and what you expect the audience to learn.

hth a bit...

[readytobedone]

yeah, no, i think in the humanities it's pretty different. there are really no guidelines that i can tell. anyone been to MLA? are there guidelines for the abstracts?

[simcon]

I regularly go to MLA, and would doubt that they have specific guidelines for you to follow. I'd suggest making sure you cover the "what" (as in, "what are you arguing?"), "how" (i.e. what's the basis of your analysis/what kind of evidence/texts are you using?) and "so what?" (why should anyone care about your paper?) questions. Some context might be good--you may want to gesture somewhere towards other relevant work, particularly if you're taking the field in a different direction. You'll want to make sure, though--particularly in an abstract--that the context doesn't overshadow your original contribution.

[Realrellim]

I read these tips a few months ago, and I copied them into a document so I can refer to them every time I put an abstract together:]

• What’s the research problem being addressed?
• How do I locate the significance of my work?
• What conversation am I in? Where am I standing in relation to research on this problem?
• What do I offer as an alternative to existing research?
• What is my argument?

[Carita]

is there a place where last year's abstracts were published/printed? even a conference website?

[LynnS6]

if you can get ahold of last year's conference program and it has abstracts, do that.

For my one page abstracts I usually follow a structure very similar to what Lisa (Realrellim) posted:

• What's the issue that I'm investigating (including the all important why your audience should care)?
• What's the previous research in this area and why is it problematic or insufficient? (Are there contradictory data/analyses? Are there major debates that have yet to be resolved?)
• What new data/information/insights do I have to share?
• How will these new data address the issue?
• What major implications does this research have?

Your best bet is to try to read abstracts of people who've been accepted in the past and do a bit of analysis of the text to find out what features they include that seem to get them accepted.

[readytobedone]

Originally Posted by LynnS6

Your best bet is to try to read abstracts of people who've been accepted in the past and do a bit of analysis of the text to find out what features they include that seem to get them accepted.

yes, i agree. i didn't realize they are often in the old conference programs. maybe i'll see if anyone has an old conference program from the MLA...

thanks for all your help, mamas!

[XanaduMama]

just fyi, the MLA convention program does not include abstracts (thank god, bc it's way long as it is)

I'm working on one too, actually (for the MLA). PM me if you want to talk/exchange drafts or anything!