1 of 2 ASAM 308: Asian American Women, Spring 2018 Final Project Development – Assignment 1: Topic & Methods Due in Class on Tuesday, February 6 To introduce and situate your topic, we will use the form of an Abstract. Abstracts are usually requested by scholarly journals and written after the original manuscript was composed. In this course assignment, we will adapt elements of the abstract to function as a proposal being written before the paper is completed, while retaining the abstract’s ability to present the significance of the proposed topic and enable readers to quickly decide whether or not they want to look at your completed article. While a proposal can be quite long depending on the assignment and purpose, an abstract is generally kept brief. (This assignment asks for approximately 300 words).

Elements of an Abstract to include for this Assignment:

• A statement of the problem or question, and objectives. / Aims • A summary of methods you will utilize or your research approach. Keep in mind you

are required to incorporate both primary and secondary materials for your research. / Method; the next assignment will ask for more developed thinking on this.

• The significance of the proposed topic should become clear as well – persuade us why this study is needed and vital for expanding or illuminating our understanding of Asian American Women. / Background and Potential for Discoveries

! The abstract should read as a self-contained piece of writing that can be understood independently from the essay or project. Some samples of research abstracts will be hosted on the Titanium Week 2 module. STRIVE TO

✓ Include a valid thesis in understandable language and follow lucid, persuasive prose. ✓ Provide clear explanations of key terms and keep digressions to a minimum,

preferably limited to the footnotes in the manuscript.

This assignment is also designed to practice writing abstracts, a format typically required for science journals, and often asked for by social sciences and humanities journals.

Pre-writing Questions to Ask Yourself [these are typically posed to nonfiction book proposal authors]

1. Do you have sufficient enthusiasm for a project that will span the whole term? 2. Is your idea different from other books/publications/coverage on the

subject? Does the idea spark enthusiasm not just in yourself but others in your field, friends, or prospective readers?

3. Are you willing to acquire any lacking skills, such as, writing style, specific terminology and knowledge on that field for this project? Will it fit into your career and life at the time or will you not have the time to engage in such extensive research?

2 of 2 Thinking of producing an oral history as the key element for your Final Project? As some of you with experience in this research noted on the class survey, ask yourself if you have sufficient time and access to meet your participant? If you wish to utilize oral history as a main component of your Final Project, Contact Natalie Navar soon to set up a resource appointment: Natalie Navar Archivist Lawrence de Graaf Center for Oral and Public History (COPH) California State Univeristy, Fullerton (657) 278-3693 //

Source notes: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/752/ Copyright ©1995-2017 by The Writ i n g Lab & The OWL a t Purd ue and Purd ue Univer sity.