Writing the Paper Abstract

Researching your topic serves several goals to prepare for writing your abstract and paper:

1. Acquire resources on your topic- allows you to begin the research on your topic and make sure there is enough information on your topic. Make sure to go ahead and order any papers you need through interlibrary loan!

2. Find recent resources- your topic should be of current research interest. Thus, at least some of the resources you find should be written in the last 3 years.

3. Give you the background to understand the relevance of your topic- after your beginning forays into the literature, you should have a basic understanding of why this topic is of current relevance and importance.

4. Narrow and define your topic that has a microbiological focus- once you have found some articles, you need to narrow the focus of what you will cover in your paper. The intent of this paper is for you to cover a specific aspect regarding your topic, not an overall general review. The paper is also intended to cover the microbiology-how the microorganism functions in its environment. Thus, make sure to have references that cover this subject area.

The abstract should be written to demonstrate that you have achieved these goals. In approximately 250 words (~1 page, double spaced), it should:

• begin with a brief, general background necessary to understand your specific focus and state the significance of your topic.

• continue by delineating the specific, focused area you will research. It should emphasize the microbiology and demonstrate that you have already attained a certain depth of knowledge regarding your topic.

• complete, at the end, a list of at least five (5) references you used in writing your abstract.

Abstract evaluation form- Hand in the abstract evaluation form with your written abstract and the copied abstracts of at least three primary articles. Completion of this form allows you to check that you have completed the goals above and see how I will provide input on your abstract.