Description

· An abstract is 3 pages in length.

· The abstract must detail each reading assigned for the class period.

· The abstract will include:

· 1) Thesis Statement for the book or chapter- this is a statement by the author summarizing the key/main idea of the whole assigned reading. Try to locate a quote from the author. One may need to find/write more than one thesis statement if her/his assignment covers 2 or more chapters/sections;

· 2) Argument: This is a detailed, paragraph-format summary of main points from the book or chapter assigned. Include reference page numbers and supporting quotes when helpful to illustrate the author's points. Use correct citation for all quoted material. MLA or Chicago are preferred.

· 3) Methodology: The questions answered in the section on Methodology concern: What tools/methods/sources/format of argument does the author use in his/her writing? (e.g. The Bible, Church History, founding theologians, personal experience, philosophy, etc) Are they stated?

Does the author state her/his own biases or perspective (who they are)? Does she/he state the intended audience (who they write for) in their work? For the thesis and methodology sections, one should attempt, whenever possible, to use quotations from the readings assigned.

· 4) Discussion Questions: Please also include 4-5 discussion questions from the daily reading so that we may use your questions as discussion starters in class.

· For reference, see sample abstracts on Sakai under Resources.