Monster Conference Paper Abstract/Annotated Bibliography

Use the following outline to develop your abstract. The abstract itself should be roughly one page in length, normally formatted and double spaced, organized more or less as answers to the questions outlined below. Edit and revise for correctness and clarity.

  I. Topic. What is the specific topic your paper will address?

  II. Thesis. What specifically do you hope to find out and prove in your paper? In other words, what are the possible theses you will wind up supporting in the paper? For example, if you hope to find out whether or not a given serial killer is or is not a monster, your thesis would be one of two possible answers; your thesis is not the question, though. It is ok to tweak this thesis later in your research process, but the main purpose of all these papers is to investigate the validity of your initial claim.

  III. Relationship to Group Project.  How will your paper round out the presentation you will make with your group?

  IV. Preliminary Outline. Aside from the obvious Introduction and Conclusion, what subtopics will your paper cover and what order will the paper cover them? These outlines are generally a full page in length.

  V. Preliminary Description of Possible Sources. Describe the information and types of information necessary to support your thesis. I am not asking whether you will use online and journal sources, which is obvious, but rather for a description of the specific types of data and information you will need to find and a preliminary listing of the sources of that data. Yes, this means you have begun your research by now.
    Use MLA-style to list five sources. And under each listing SUMMARIZE THE SOURCE in two or three sentences, including how you will use it in your paper and presentation.