Human Oppressiveness in Two Kinds and AP Essay - 2357 Words

It was Emerson who said it best, â€Å"For nonconformity, the world whips you with its displeasure† (Porter 1155). With a detailed look of Amy Tan’s â€Å"Two Kinds† and John Updike’s â€Å"AP,† you will find that this quote is entirely applicable in the context of oppressiveness and in the likeness of â€Å"coming of age.† These two stories document the different perspectives of two characters’ growing up and how the role of the invisible hand of oppression guides developing adolescents into mature adults; without prejudice or even forethought. The characters in question are: Sammy, an AP store clerk whose time spent at work reveals how oppressed by society he is, and Jing-Mei, whose life and every move is dictated by the iron fist of her high-expectations†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"oppressive force†) as a whole. In the biographical essay â€Å"Amy Tan† by Karen Stein, she mentions how Tan’s parents pressured her to be both medical physician and pianist. She grew up around California, moving frequently. At fifteen, Amy’s father passed away. This was when her mother, Daisy, took her children to Switzerland and enrolled them in school there, only to return again to California in the late 1960’s. Despite her parent’s wishes, and her mother’s pressure; Tan eventually switched her life course when she changed her majors in college to English and Linguistics (2). As a now successful American novelist, Tan has wrote such stores as the popular Joy Luck Club, a collection of stories involving many Asian-American characters involved in a Mahjong club and the trials and tribulations they face as Old-world American immigrants. Tan, today, is considered and important voice among the groups of â€Å"hyphenated Americans.† (Stein 3) â€Å"Two Kinds,† i n fact, was one of the stories in the short series. As a reflection of her own past, â€Å"Two Kinds† itself was largely a piece of Tan’s history written in fictional form. John Updike, on the other hand, is a prolific American writer whose career began by writing about such political issues like the Cold War and the Iron Curtain. As a child of the Great Depression and enduring WWII, in similarity to Tan, Updike was no stranger to uncertainty and hardship (Greiner 195). While Tan and Updike’s style differ greatly,Show MoreRelatedCompare and Contrast the Marxist and Weberian Theories of Social Class. Why Do You Think Marx Emphasises Relations of Production in the Formation of Classes Whilst Weber Suggests the Market and Consumption Are the Important Factors?1750 Words   |  7 Pagesemphasises relations of production in the formation of classes whilst Weber suggests the market and consumption are the important factors? All human societies have been class based in some way, shape or form and, interpreting this in the most basic way, it can be said that in every known human society there has been a fundamental division between two broad social groups, the buorgeoisie that own and control the means of production, and the proletariat who own nothing but their ability to sell theirRead More The Modern Grotesque Hero in John Kennedy Tooles, A Confederacy of Dunces3939 Words   |  16 PagesDunces: ...the grotesque cannot be absolute in order to produce humor. While it can be strange, it must also contrast with some attempted unity to which we compare its divergence (284). Toole understands this rule of effective conflict, and he presents two disparate levels of grotesque in his A Confederacy of Dunces. A reader detects the incongruity that exists within Ignatius himself, while also identifying the more observable conflict between Ignatius and modern society. Although it is readily apparentRead MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 PagesCataloging-in-Publication Data Edmonds, Ennis Barrington. Rastafari : from outcasts to culture bearers / Ennis Barrington Edmonds. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-513376-5 1. Rastafari movement. 2. Jamaica—Religious life and customs. I. Title. BL2532.R37 E36 2002 299†².676—dc21 2002074897 v To Donnaree, my wife, and Donnisa, my daughter, the two persons around whom my life revolves; and to the ancestors whose struggles have enabled us to survive and thrive This

Biblical Allusion in Cry, the Beloved Country Essays

The use of Biblical allusions and references is evident in Alan Patons Cry, the Beloved Country. Against the backdrop of South Africas racial and cultural problems, massive enforced segregation, similarly enforced economic inequality, Alan Paton uses these references as way to preserve his faith for the struggling country. By incorporating Biblical references into his novel, one can see that Alan Paton is a religious man and feels that faith will give hope to his beloved country. Throughout the entire novel, Alan Paton continuously uses references to the bible and while some are not very apparent, most of them are considerable evident. Four apparent references that he uses are seen in Stephen Kumalos character, Absaloms decisions to†¦show more content†¦Absalom left his family and his town of Ndotsheni in order to move out and live in Johannesburg. Unfortunately, this was not in his best interest. Absalom began to affiliate himself with the wrong crowd. He led a life of robb ery and petty crime, and ultimately murder Arthur Jarvis when caught breaking into his house. He was prosecuted and sentenced to be hanged. In his last conversation with his father, he makes a request to name his unborn child Peter if it was born a boy. In the Bible, Peter was an apostle of Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (I Peter 3). Absalom knows that his time on earth is ending, and he feels that his unborn child is his only chance and opportunity to be vindicated of his sins. He wants his son to grow up in his hometown and live the life that he took away from himself by leaving Ndotsheni. Absalom wants his child not to follow in his footsteps. For these reasons, Absalom wants to name his unborn child Peter with reference to the Peter in the Bible. When Stephen began his journey to Johannesburg, he was looking for his lost son. John Kumalo would ask him Have you found the prodigal (Paton, 128) with reference to the Parable of the Prodigal Son in the Bible. In the Bible it states that a man with two sons lost one after he left to live on his own. After a couple of years, theShow MoreRelatedEssay on Biblical Allusion in Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton1097 Words   |  5 Pages The use of Biblical allusions and references is evident in Alan Patons Cry, the Beloved Country. Against the backdrop of South Africas racial and cultural problems, massive enforced segregation, similarly enforced economic inequality, Alan Paton uses these references as way to preserve his faith for the struggling country. By incorporating Biblical references into his novel, one can see that Alan Paton is a religious man and feels that faith will give hope to his beloved country. Throughout theRead MoreAlan Paton s Cry, The Beloved The Country1358 Words   |  6 PagesPaton’s Cry, the Beloved the Country, the main character Stephen Kumalo goes through a journey to restore his tribe. During his journey, he discovers and learns of the injustices in South Africa. Through the parallels and contradictions of biblical allusions, Alan Paton is able to explain the impact of racial inequality in South Africa, but signifies how unconditional love and hope can be used to overcome fear and bring restoration to both the land and it’s inhabitants. Arthur’s allusion representsRead More Biblical Figures and Ideals in Shakespeares Richard II Essay4152 Words   |  17 PagesBiblical Figures and Ideals in William Shakespeares Richard II William Shakespeares Richard II tells the story of one monarchs fall from the throne and the ascension of another, Henry Bullingbrook, later to become Henry IV. There is no battle fought between the factions, nor does the process take long. The play is not action-packed, nor does it keep readers in any form of suspense, but rather is comprised of a series of quietly dignified ruminations on the nature of majesty. Thus, the dramaRead More The Emotions of Captivity in Psalm 137 Essay4605 Words   |  19 Pages The book of Psalms contains some of the most beloved pieces of scripture across centuries and cultures of this world. Psalms have been frequently cited is sermons, devotionals, movies, poetry, and songs. Most often, Psalms are attributed to King David of the 10th century BCE. But regardless of the authorship of the different psalms, each seem to carry a special place in describing human relationships to God, to country, to friends, to enemies and more. As time has progress ed, certain psalmsRead MoreWho Goes with Fergus11452 Words   |  46 Pagesown heart. He challenges himself to take Fergus direction and leave love behind him. Moreover, the fact that Yeats draws upon the imagery of Fergus to make his point suggests his inclination to reference the mythic and legendary heritage of his country rather than the present political struggles that engaged Ireland. In this light, the question, Who goes with Fergus? seems to ask Ireland to join him in contemplating the mythic past rather than the sticky present. A return to Fergus entails a move

Worst Day of My Life free essay sample

As I write this, it is raining. As grey as the clouds are now, so were my apprehension about this assignment when it was first handed to me. I am trying my best to pen down my thoughts about this reflective journal. It seems as though time has taken a pause as I try to fit my whole life experience into the given word limit For this reflective journal I have decided to talk on the topic the worst day of my life. This topic caught my interest because I find it hard to forget and it always pop up into my mind. It happens during one of our tutorial class I feel so embarrassed with myself. To begin with, it was after recess and we went to the post grad room and were told to go into our different groups. We were given some question to research on and when we came back, this best friend of mine was studying quietly at the corner and we were full discussing what and who to present the given topic, without paying attention to the people who were trying very hard to find time to study in school due to circumstances facing at home. We will write a custom essay sample on Worst Day of My Life or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When I went back to my seat my other friend was sitting there and she was telling funny story and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing and we were told by our leader to keep quiet and have some respect for others who are studying but we couldn’t stop laughing because as for me once I started laughing I can’t stop it unless one elderly whom I fear will scold me than only it can stop. However I didn’t expect that our best friend would scold us in front of our group and he told us to get out of that class immediately. We thought he was joking but then he told us go on I’m not joking we don’t want u in this class. Everybody thought he was just joking because they wouldn’t believe that he would do that to us because we were so close like best friend. That moment I can’t even stand up at my feet my body was shaking, especially in front of my Indian friends whom we don’t know very well and my friends. Tears started accumulate on my right eyes but I just rushed outside so that nobody sees that I cried. After knowing that I can face my friends, I came back in class to pack my books

Akira Kurosawas Dreams Essay Example For Students

Akira Kurosawas Dreams Essay Akira Kurosawa’s â€Å"Dreams† Without death, how will we appreciate life? Among many other arcane things that exist on earth, one of life’s greatest mysteries is its nature to end. After watching â€Å"Dreams†, I cannot help but appreciate the exquisite cinematography styles that Akira Kurosawa incorporated in the film and also the hidden messages he might have possibly intended to deliver to his audience. In contrast to Western films that tend to be full of effects and relatively have complicated plot lines, the series of short films in â€Å"Dreams† was much simpler and more focused on the genuineness of the messages of the film. Personally, my favorites are â€Å"The peach orchard† and â€Å"The tunnel† for these aforementioned films were able to deliver the message about how things that have withered or have lost its life will be appreciated more fully after it’s long gone. This connects to â€Å"Mono no Aware†, a concept discussed in our book which is mainly about things that seem to have no meaning, unless the person observing it knows how to â€Å"read between the lines. † In the dream â€Å"The peach orchard†, Japan’s culture was showcased in a sense that it showed how much the little boy (representative of the Japanese people) loves and appreciates nature, respects the Hina dolls and how he anticipates the change of seasons as spring usually meant the blossoming of the peach orchard. What i noticed is that the short films may have been centered on the loss of things whether it is the lives of the members of a platoon for â€Å"the tunnel† or the absence of the flowers in the peach orchard. But despite all this, the short films also delivered a sense of hope. Towards the end of the peach orchardâ€Å" film, the boy sees a small isolated branch of the peach plant which symbolizes rebirth and second chances. The films were very very brief, relatively simple and could even be slow and dragging at times, but as i paid more attention to the hidden messages, I was really convinced that these films are beautiful and well done in composition. I admit that at times even I tend to take nature for granted because of so many technological distractions. Some of us even take the short span of life for granted until it is too late for changes. I believe that this movie is a great eyeopener and reminder to all of us to cherish all the things we have in the present, for as the old adage goes, â€Å"Nothing lasts forever. †

Why Do I Need a Good AP Psychology Essay Sample?

Why Do I Need a Good AP Psychology Essay Sample?If you're planning to take an AP Psychology essay test, it's important that you get yourself prepared before you start writing your essay. I know this will probably come as a surprise to you, but an AP Psychology test is much different than an AP English test or an AP Chemistry test. Just because you're studying something doesn't mean you should use what you've learned the whole time.What do I mean by that? Well, think about how long it would take you to read through this list of tips before you would have written down a good essay sample. I'm sure if you tried to do it yourself, you'd probably get a bit discouraged and give up.Daniel Moore recently did a lot of research on AP psychology essays and found that most students fail in part because they put too much emphasis on the content of their essay and not enough emphasis on structure. In fact, he found that most students who didn't give the structure a lot of thought also knew very li ttle about the structure themselves. However, most of them still found it necessary to list an entire paragraph on 'structure' without giving it a second thought.It's hard to know what works for an actual AP test and what works best for an essay. And although I don't have an actual AP test to play with, I've seen what works for students who know what they're doing. It just helps to remember that you should think about your topic, structure it well, and make sure that you're able to organize it properly.Another reason why structure is so important is because it keeps you from having to worry about what you're going to write. For example, when you're a business owner, you don't have to worry about whether or not you should use the word 'industry' because you know that there are hundreds of different businesses in your industry. However, if you're a student, you could be bogged down by all of the things that you need to think about before you actually start writing.There's no such thin g as an essay that isn't riddled with thoughts. So make sure that you don't spend all of your time worrying about which points you should stress. By making sure that you're not going to be too stressed out and also by ensuring that you're not going to get bogged down by the content of your essay, you can ensure that it flows properly and you can figure out how to organize it later.That's what this article is all about. When it comes to AP essays, I want you to get organized first, so that you have a solid and effective essay sample that you can use for future tests. Just remember that it doesn't matter how good you think your essay is if you don't put in the work to make it flow and be effective.

A Yellow Wallpape Essays

A Yellow Wallpape Essays A Yellow Wallpape Essay A Yellow Wallpape Essay Essay Topic: The Yellow Wallpaper I find â€Å"A Yellow Wallpaper† disturbing because of the author’s grim exploration of the dark underside of women’s subjugation in society. Gilman’s macabre attack on the story’s theme shocks readers to the kind of reality most women are faced with. On the outside, it may appear as John is genuinely concerned about his wife’s well-being but his affection turns out to be problematic and laden with hidden political underpinnings. John, along with the protagonist’s brother and Jennie all look down on her because of her unstable condition. I noticed that it is so easy for the other characters to assume that the protagonist is not mentally sound just because she is experiencing excessive emotional stress. According to the story, she has just given birth at that time. It may be that she is undergoing post partum depression which is why she is always weepy and lonely. Add that to the fact that she is kept in complete isolation and inactivit y. The curative prescription of her husband is definitely bizarre and insane to say the least. Why would you prescribe a mother, who is already suffering from sudden fits of melancholy, with prolonged confinement and passivity? That will only exacerbate her gloom a thousand times over.   Happiness is supposed to be the best medicine yet John prevented her from doing the thing she desires the most- writing. (pg 286) Despite her husband’s strict prohibitions she kept writing in her journal all the same. If anything, it is the only reason that kept her from losing her sanity. Just like a friend, the journal kept her company during all those silent and dark moments of alienation. Moreover, her journal entries give solid proof to the lucidity of her mind. Her accurate descriptions and informed narration give testament to her healthy and sound judgment. Just because the protagonist is emotionally vulnerable it is convenient for the society and the people around her to question he r sanity. Gilman demonstrates that women are misconstrued as immediate victims of madness and hysteria because of their biological make up. I also like the way Gilman also used symbolism to expose the anonymous and almost nonexistent life that women are made to undergo. The nameless protagonist shows that many women are stifled from achieving their own persons. Thus, they are oftentimes disregarded as unknown faces in society. Just like the woman lurking behind the wallpaper pattern, females are taken as shadows which blend seamlessly against the background.   The protagonist’s lack of name or identification suggests her missing identity. She never had a life of her own except from the secondary existence of a wife and mother. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Why is the wallpaper colored yellow? What symbolisms does the yellow color represent? 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Why are there severed heads of women within the pattern of the wallpaper? What do they stand for? 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How did the use of journal writing as a form of story telling advanced the theme of the story?

Descriptive and Informative Abstracts

Descriptive and Informative Abstracts Free Online Research Papers This handout provides definitions and examples of the two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. It also provides guidelines for constructing an abstract and general tips for you to keep in mind when drafting. Finally, it includes a few examples of abstracts broken down to isolate their component parts. What is an abstract? An abstract is a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work. Components vary according to discipline; an abstract of a social science or scientific work may contain the scope, purpose, results, and contents of the work. An abstract of a humanities work may contain the thesis, background, and conclusion of the larger work. An abstract is not a review, nor does it evaluate the work being abstracted. While it contains key words found in the larger work, the abstract is an original document rather than an excerpted passage. top Why write an abstract? You may write an abstract various reasons. The two most important are selection and indexing. Abstracts allow readers who may be interested in the longer work to quickly decide whether it is worth their time to read it. Also, many online databases use abstracts to index larger works. Therefore, abstracts should contain keywords and phrases that allow for easy searching. Selection Say you are beginning a research project on how Brazilian newspapers helped Brazils ultra-liberal president Luiz Igncio da Silva wrest power from the traditional, conservative power base. A good first place to start your research is to search Dissertation Abstracts International for all dissertations that deal with the interaction between newspapers and politics. Newspapers and politics returned 569 hits. A more selective search of newspapers and Brazil returned 22 hits. That is still a fair number of dissertations. Titles can sometimes help winnow the field, but many titles are not very descriptive. For example, one dissertation is titled Rhetoric and Riot in Rio de Janeiro. It is unclear from the title what this dissertation has to do newspapers in Brazil. One option would be to download or order the entire dissertation on the chance that it might speak specifically to the topic. A better option is to read the abstract. In this case, the abstract reveals the main focus of the disse rtation: This dissertation examines the role of newspaper editors in the political turmoil and strife that characterized late First Empire Rio de Janeiro (1827-1831). Newspaper editors and their journals helped change the political culture of late First Empire Rio de Janeiro by involving the people in the discussion of state. This change in political culture is apparent in Emperor Pedro Is gradual loss of control over the mechanisms of power. As the newspapers became more numerous and powerful, the Emperor lost his legitimacy in the eyes of the people. To explore the role of the newspapers in the political events of the late First Empire, this dissertation analyzes all available newspapers published in Rio de Janeiro from 1827 to 1831. Newspapers and their editors were leading forces in the effort to remove power from the hands of the ruling elite and place it under the control of the people. In the process, newspapers helped change how politics operated in the constitutional monarchy of Braz il. From this abstract you now know that although the dissertation has nothing to do with modern Brazilian politics, it does cover the role of newspapers in changing traditional mechanisms of power. After reading the abstract, you can make an informed judgment about whether the dissertation would be worthwhile to read. Indexing Besides selection, the other main purpose of the abstract is for indexing. Most article databases in the online catalog of the library enable you to search by abstracts. This allows for quick retrieval by users and limits the extraneous items recalled by a full-text search. However, for an abstract to be useful in an online retrieval system it must incorporate the key terms that a potential researcher would use to search. For example, if you search Dissertation Abstracts International, using the keywords France revolution and politics, the search engine searched through all the abstracts in the database that included those three words. Without an abstract, the search engine would be forced to only search titles, which, as we have seen, may not be fruitful, or else search the full text. I would bet that a lot more than 60 dissertations have been written with those three words somewhere in the body of the entire work. By incorporating keywords into the abstract, the author emphasizes t he central topics of the work and gives prospective readers enough information to make an informed judgment about the applicability of the work. When do people write abstracts? * when submitting articles to journals, especially online journals * when applying for research grants * when writing a book proposal * when completing the Ph.D. dissertation or MA thesis * when writing a proposal for a conference paper * when writing a proposal for a book chapter Most of the time the author of the entire work (or prospective work) writes the abstract. However, there are professional abstracting services that hire writers to draft abstracts of other peoples work. In a work with multiple authors, the first author usually writes the abstract. Undergraduates, most often in seminar-style classes, are sometimes asked to draft abstracts of books/articles for classmates who have not read the larger work. Types of abstracts There are two types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. They have different aims, so as a consequence they have different components and styles. There is also a third type called critical, but it is rarely used. If you want to find out more about writing a critique or a review of a work, see the UNC Writing Center handout on writing a review. If you are unsure of which type of abstract you should write, ask your instructor if it is for a class, or read other abstracts in your field or in the journal where you are submitting your article. Descriptive abstracts A descriptive abstract indicates the type of information found in the work. It makes no judgments about the work, nor does it provide results or conclusions of the research. It does incorporate key words found in the text and may include the purpose, methods, and scope of the research. Essentially, the descriptive abstract describes the work being abstracted. Some people consider it an outline of the work, rather than a summary. Descriptive abstracts are usually very short- 100 words or less. Informative abstracts The majority of abstracts are informative. While they still do not critique or evaluate a work, they do more than describe it. A good informative abstract acts as a surrogate for the work itself. That is, the writer presents and explains all the main arguments and the important results and evidence in the complete article/paper/book. An informative abstract includes the information that can be found in a descriptive abstract (purpose, methods, scope) but also includes the results and conclusions of the research and the recommendations of the author. The length varies according to discipline, but an informative abstract is rarely more than 10% of the length of the entire work. In the case of a longer work, it may be much less. Here are examples of a descriptive and an informative abstract of this handout: Abstracts, UNC-CH Writing Center, Descriptive abstract: The two most common abstract types- descriptive and informative- are described and examples of each are provided. Informative abstract: Abstracts present the essential elements of a longer work in a short and powerful statement. The purpose of an abstract is to provide prospective readers the opportunity to judge the relevance of the longer work to their project. Abstracts also include the key terms found in the longer work and the purpose and methods of the research. Authors abstract various longer works, including book proposals, dissertations, online journal articles, and internal office communication. There are two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. A descriptive abstract briefly describes the longer work while an informative abstract presents all the main arguments and important results. This handout provides examples of various types of abstracts and instructions on how to construct one. Which type should I use? Your best bet in this case is to ask your instructor or refer to the instructions provided by the publisher. You can also make a guess based on the length allowed; i.e., 100-120 words = descriptive; 250+ words = informative. top How do I write an abstract? The format of your abstract will depend on the work being abstracted. An abstract of a scientific research paper will contain elements not found in an abstract of a literature article, and vice versa. However, all abstracts share several mandatory components, and there are also some optional parts that you can decide to include or not. When preparing to draft your abstract, keep the following key process elements in mind: Key process elements: 1. Reason for writing: What is the importance of the research? Why would a reader be interested in the larger work? 2. Problem: What problem does this work attempt to solve? What is the scope of the project? What is the main argument/thesis/claim? 3. Methodology: An abstract of a scientific work may include specific models or approaches used in the larger study. Other abstracts may describe the types of evidence used in the research. 4. Results: Again, an abstract of a scientific work may include specific data that indicates the results of the project. Other abstracts may discuss the findings in a more general way. 5. Implications: What changes should be implemented as a result of the findings of the work? How does this work add to the body of knowledge on the topic? (This list of element is adapted with permission from Phil Koopman, How to Write an Abstract, ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html.) All abstracts include: 1. The full citation of the source preceding the abstract. 2. The most important information first. 3. The same level of language found in the original, including technical language. 4. Key words and phrases that quickly identify the content and focus of the work. 5. Clear, concise, and powerful language. Abstracts may include: 1. The thesis of the work in the first sentence. 2. The background that places the work in the larger body of literature. 3. The same chronological structure of the original work. How not to write a abstract: 1. Do not refer extensively to other works. 2. Do not add information not contained in the original work. 3. Do not define terms. If you are abstracting your own writing When abstracting your own work it may be difficult to condense a piece of writing that you agonized over for weeks (or months, or even years) into a 250-word statement. There are some tricks that you could use to make it easier, however. Reverse outlining: This technique is commonly used when you are having trouble organizing your own writing. The process involves writing down the one main idea that is in each paragraph on a separate piece of paper. For the purposes of writing an abstract, try grouping the main ideas of each section of the paper into a single sentence. For a scientific paper, you may have sections titled Purpose, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Each one of these sections will be longer than one paragraph, but they are grouped around a central idea. Use reverse outlining to discover the several ideas in each section and then distill them into one statement. Cut and paste: To create a first draft of an abstract of your own work you can read through the entire paper and cut and paste sentences that particularly capture key passages. This technique is useful for social science research with findings that cannot be encapsulated by neat numbers or concrete results. A well-written humanities draft will have a clear and direct thesis statement and informative topic sentences for paragraphs or sections. Isolate these sentences in a separate document and work on revising these disparate sentences into a unified paragraph. If you are abstracting someone elses writing When abstracting something you have not written you do not have the luxury of cutting and pasting. Instead, it is up to you to divine what a prospective reader would want to know about the work. There are a few techniques that will help you in this process: Identify key terms: Search through the entire document for key terms that identify the purpose, scope, and methods of the work. Pay close attention to the Introduction (or Purpose) and the Conclusion (or Discussion). These sections should contain all the main ideas and key terms in the paper. When writing the abstract be sure to incorporate the key terms. Highlight key phrases and sentences: Instead of cutting and pasting the actual words, try highlighting sentences or phrases that appear to be central to the work. Then, in a separate document, re-write the sentences and phrases in your own words. Dont look back: After reading the entire work, put it aside and write a paragraph about the work without referring to it. In the first draft you may not remember all the key terms or the results, but you will remember what the main point of the work was. Remember not to include any information you did not get from the work being abstracted. Revise, revise, revise No matter what type of abstract you are writing, or whether you are abstracting your own work or someone elses, the most important step in writing an abstract is to revise early and often. When revising, delete all extraneous words and incorporate meaningful and powerful words. The idea is to be as clear and complete as possible in the shortest amount of space. The Word Count feature of MS Word can help you keep track of how long your abstract is and help you hit your target length. top Example 1: Humanities abstract Kenneth Tait Andrews, Freedom is a constant struggle: The dynamics and consequences of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, 1960-1984 Ph.D. State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1997 DAI-A 59/02, p. 620, Aug 1998 This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social structures and the constraints movements face when they try to do so. The time period studied in this dissertation includes the expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white-flight academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data and (2) three case studies. Data have been collected from archives, interviews, newspapers and published reports. This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Indeed, some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as the agents dri ving institutional change. Typically these groups acted in response to movement demands and the leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi. Now lets break down this abstract into its component parts to see how the author has distilled his entire dissertation into a ~200 word abstract. What the dissertation does This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social structures and the constraints movements face when they try to do so. How the dissertation does it The time period studied in this dissertation includes the expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white-flight academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data and (2) three case studies. What materials are used Data have been collected from archives, interviews, newspapers, and published reports. Conclusion This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Indeed, some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as the agents driving institutional change. Typically these groups acted in response to movement demands and the leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi. Keywords Civil Rights Movement Mississippi voting rights desegregation top Example 2: Science abstract Luis Lehner, Gravitational radiation from black hole spacetimes Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 1998 DAI-B 59/06, p. 2797, Dec 1998 The problem of detecting gravitational radiation is receiving considerable attention with the construction of new detectors in the United States, Europe and Japan. The theoretical modeling of the wave forms that would be produced in particular systems will expedite the search and analysis of the detected signals. The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented to obtain an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D asymptotically flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future null infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some compact source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included in the evolution algorithm. This code is shown to be second-order convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we have shown that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is equivalent to a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational radiation in one s econd. We further use the characteristic formulation to treat the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes. The code carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity and accurately evolves generic black hole spacetimes with apparently unlimited stability. This science abstract covers much of the same ground as the humanities one, but it asks slightly different questions. Why do this study The problem of detecting gravitational radiation is receiving considerable attention with the construction of new detectors in the United States, Europe and Japan. The theoretical modeling of the wave forms that would be produced in particular systems will expedite the search and analysis of the detected signals. What the study does The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented to obtain an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D asymptotically flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future null infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some compact source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included in the evolution algorithm. Results This code is shown to be second-order convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we have shown that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is equivalent to a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational radiation in one second. We further use the characteristic formulation to treat the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes. The code carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity and accurately evolves generic black hole spacetimes with apparently unlimited stability. Keywords gravitational radiation (GR) spacetimes black holes Research Papers on Descriptive and Informative AbstractsAmerican Central Banking and OilMy Writing ExperienceDistance Learning Survival GuideIs the Use of Psychotropic Drugs in the Treatment ofContrasting Berthe Morisot and Jan van EyckHenderson the Rain KingQuebec and CanadaMr. Obama and IranExempt vs Non-Exempt EmployeesGlobal Distributive Justice is Utopian