History 715-2: Readings and Research in U.S. History, 1870-1920
Professor Margaret Susan Thompson
Fall 1997

About the Weekly Book Abstracts:

I. Format

1. Ideally, abstracts should be one single-spaced page in length; under no circumstances should they be longer than two pages.
2. The heading should contain full bibliographic information, as in a formal bibliography.
3. The body of the abstract must be written in grammatical prose (not in outline form).
4. Since these abstracts will help to shape the content of in-class discussions, copies must be made available to all seminar participants prior to the appropriate session. They may be photocopied and left in the "Thompson-715" box in the history department office by no later than noon on the Friday before the appropriate session—OR they may be distributed electronically via the seminar’s "listserv"—715MST@listserv.syr.edu—by no later than 9 p.m. the night before the seminar meets.
5. If necessary, seminar participants may use the history department printer to print out listserv messages, or the department’s photocopier to duplicate "hard-copy" abstracts.

II. Objectives and Content

1. The purpose of these abstracts is to inform persons who have not necessarily read the book under consideration. Therefore, they must contain two basic components: (1) a brief summary of the book’s substance, and (2) an analysis/critical assessment.
   
2. The substantive summary should include information on the book’s subject matter (topical and chronological focus, scope, etc.), its thesis, types of sources and methods used by the author, conclusions, original contributions the author purports to be making, etc.
   
3. The assessment section should critique the validity of both the premises and conclusions of the author, the appropriateness and/or limitations of sources and methodologies, clarity and persuasiveness of the analysis, place of this work within the scope of extant historiography, etc. In other words—what are the book’s principal strengths and weaknesses? To what extent does the author accomplish her/his stated objectives? Finally, how useful is this book—and in what ways? When appropriate—and it usually is—be sure to refer to the "common reading" for a particular week in placing individual books in historiographic context.
   
4. Generally speaking, the assessment section of an abstract should be longer than the summary/descriptive part.

III. Reassurances

Do not panic, even if you have never written such abstracts before! You will find, understandably, that these become easier to write over the course of the semester—both because you’ll acquire experience in writing them, and because you’ll have a richer analytic context in which to place individual works. You will also benefit from the feedback you receive from others in the seminar (both professor and students). Ideally, the abstracts (both your own and others’) will provide you with more extensive coverage of the literature in this field than you would be able to acquire on your own—and the process of writing your abstracts should refine your proficiency in assessing the literature of history. [Also—and not incidentally—these are great resources when it comes time to study for comprehensive examinations!]

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