Alt. Ways to Summarize
The Annotated Bibliography
One way to evaluate your sources is to write an annotated bibliography. It can be an effective way to identify and coordinate relevant sources for your research paper. It can also give you practice in summarizing information from original research material.
An annotation is a short explanatory note that highlights the main ideas of a book or an article. If you are asked to write an annotated bibliography, you must first read and evaluate each of your sources. Then, in the annotation, summarize the book or article and briefly explain how it relates to the research topic you have chosen. Each annotation should be no more than five sentences.
An annotated bibliography will also give you practice in composing the Works Cited page of your research paper since the form is the same for both documents. The books and articles are listed as they would be in a Works Cited page and the summary follows underneath, indented 1/2 inch from the first line of the entry. Each entry is double-spaced, just like in a Works Cited page. Review the sample annotated bibliography on the next page for proper form and content.
Abelman, Robert. "Television Literacy for Gifted Children." Roeper Review 9 (1987): 166-169.
Television is "a potentially useful and powerful tool" for classroom teachers. The introduction of "television literacy" into the curriculum will encourage critical thinking and imaginative responses, especially for gifted children.
Blythe, Hal and Charlie Sweet. "Using Media to Teach English." Instructional Innovator 28 (l983): 22-24.
Children will watch television, so teachers should respond to the electronic revolution. Television is another tool, but it will be an "effective tool" only if teachers develop a "television consciousness" and use the media as a supplement to other classroom methods.
Fransecky, Roger B. "Perspectives: Children, Television, and Language Education." Language Arts 58 (1981): 713-20.
Rita Brause interviewed Fransecky, who argues the "television is important, universal and subtle." However, he insists that it becomes "junk food" for children unless teachers actively lead their students into paths of inquiry and critical thinking about what they view on the tube.
The Abstract Bibliography
This section will provide the student with a general guideline for writing an abstract. Many publications have a required style for an abstract which will be different from what will be discussed here. However, this section will provide information which can be used in any abstract style.
What is an Abstract?
An abstract is a brief statement which :
1. Can stand alone.
2. Has a brief, non-repetitive style.
3. Conveys the essential information of the paper.
Tips for writing Abstracts
1. It may sound strange but, even though the abstract will appear first in your paper, it should be written last.
2. Many people will decide whether or not to read the paper based on the abstract. Take the time to make it work for you.
3. When your paper is finally complete, take a copy of it and do the following :
a. Read your paper with a highlighter and use it to highlight the objective and conclusion in your report.
b. Highlight the results of your report.
c. Highlight the key step(s) in your procedure that identify your methods.
d. Compile steps a, b, and c into one paragraph.
e. Delete any extra words or phrases.
f. Delete any background information you may have highlighted.
g. Use the phrase "this paper" or "this study" at the beginning of the first sentence.
h. Read and revise your abstract until it conveys only the essential information of your report.
4. When you have completed the final abstract, take time to think about all the hard work and time that went into your report and all the great information you have gathered. Then ask yourself a simple question, "Does this paragraph represent all the hard work, time and great stuff that went into this project?" If you answer "yes," you have finished your paper.
This abstract would be used for the science lab report sample given in your manual on page 83.
This study's objective was to determine the reliability of chemical stoichiometry as a method to predict the mass of solid zinc chloride in a reaction of zinc metal with hydrochloric acid. A 10.000g sample of zinc was placed in a test tube with an excess of hydrochloric acid. This method yielded a 20.113g sample of zinc chloride, which was only 96.46% of the amount predicted by stoichiometry. The study concludes that the discrepancy is due to many factors including side reactions involving the limiting reagent in the reaction.