Abstract.

Overview

Last week, you brushed off some dust and put your note-taking skills to the test. This week, you're going to use your annotations to write an abstract. For this assignment, you will write an abstract of the chosen New Yorker article. An abstract summarizes the purpose and highlights the major points of a longer piece of writing. Abstracts are written for many formal reports, journal articles, most dissertations, as well as for many other longer works. Their primary purpose is to enable readers to decide whether to read the entire work. The objective of this assignment is to teach you to identify the most important information in a complicated piece of writing and describe it accurately and concisely. The most important feature of this assignment is clear, succinct writing that captures the main points of the original article or piece.

In this case, you should write your abstract for a fellow CMCC student reader.

Important A.I. Note: I am here to help you all succeed, and I know that the temptation to run an article on A.I. through A.I. is strong. However, this assignment is important because it allows me to evaluate your writing as well as your ability to summarize information. Please note that if I suspect ChatGPT is doing the heavy lifting in your abstract, I will take that into account while grading your submission. Please turn in your own original work.

Directions

To complete this assignment, you must do the following:

1. Re-read the New Yorker article from Solo Activity 2: Annotations.
2. Review your annotations.
3. Note any key terms and decide which you will use and which you will replace to accommodate CMCC student readers.
4. Note what you believe is the article's central (main) point (you should already have this in your annotations). For example, is it a contemporary event? Is it an advice article or column?
5. Draft the abstract.
6. Revise the abstract. Focus on writing short sentences, using punchy verbs, and introducing the context of the article in a way that a fellow CMCC student would understand.
7. Submit the abstract.

Evaluation (75 Total Points)

An excellent abstract:

• Runs 300-400 words long
• Captures essential information succinctly
• Includes enough specific details about the article to satisfy most of the administrative needs of a busy CMCC student who does not have time to read the whole article
• Uses fluent, readable prose that a CMCC student would understand (use active voice when possible)
• Remains consistent in (professional) tone and emphases with the report
• Demonstrates a consistent command of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, word usage, and sentence structure
• Does not need to follow the arrangement, wording, or proportion of the original article
• Does not include questions, quotations, abbreviations, tables, nor illustrations
• Does not feature any additional information NOT explicitly stated in the article

Models

Below are a few abstracts previous students submitted. I think they serve as a good model for you as you write your abstract. The writers carefully summarized each respective article by reading (and rereading) the article and skillfully summarizing it for us; there are no wasted words and they are very clear.

Rosen, Jody. “Messi in Miami Feels Bittersweet.” The New Yorker, 23 July 2023.

Lionel Messi, a highly renowned soccer player, is entering the farewell stages of his career. Messi's recent debut in the Inter Miami C.F. soccer team during the Leagues Cup in Fort Lauderdale has stirred up bittersweet feelings from fans. The Leagues Cup is a soccer competition between clubs from Major League Soccer (M.L.S.), and many American soccer fans regard M.L.S. as second-rate to tournaments overseas in Europe. Thus, despite Messi leading the team to victory with his famed soccer moves, his achievement felt lackluster.

Before Messi's move to Miami, many soccer fans speculated whether he would join the Saudi pro league like other professional soccer players, such as his famed rival Cristiano Ronaldo. However, in a surprising move, he turned down a $1.6 billion deal from Saudi club Al Hilal. Instead, he opted to join Inter Miami, a soccer team co-owned by Jorge Mas, Jose Mas, and David Beckham, a retired British soccer star. Through this team, they aspire to build a franchise that can rival Miami's top sports teams like the Heat and the Dolphins. By drawing Messi to their team, they can capitalize on his fame, attracting fans to buy jerseys and match tickets. Furthermore, the team is known for its poor performance in the league, winning only five out of its twenty-two games. Adding a talented player like Messi could help turn Inter Miami's losing streak around.

Messi also benefits from joining Inter Miami. His talents mean he will face less skilled players, allowing him to win matches easily and retain his brand identity. Additionally, Messi can participate in less intense and less stressful tournaments while retaining his fan base and source of income. While Messi's partnership with Inter Miami may seem bittersweet to his fans, it is actually a mutually beneficial situation. Messi can phase out of the limelight while retaining his brand, followers, and revenue, while Inter Miami gets publicity and a shot at victory.

Balcetis, Emily. Misdiagnosing Our Cyberhealth. Scientific American, 4 Apr. 2021.

Studies from the past decade show that many people exhibit a cognitive bias towards personal risk, which can result in them falling prey to cybercrime when accessing the Internet. In 2020, millions of new college graduates celebrated by sharing photos of their success on social media. Hackers can potentially compromise social media accounts by cross-referencing data associated with these photos with other public sources of personal information. In 2017, one analysis reported that out of thirteen countries, US firms lose the most annual revenue from data breaches. Researchers believe half of these breaches happened due to carelessness when handling confidential information.

Despite many people becoming victims of data breaches each year, individuals and organizations continue to be negligent when releasing sensitive information online. One proposal for encouraging online safety is instilling fear. Rooted in social learning, the proposal argues that if people hear about victims of cybercrime, they will be more inclined to take measures against becoming victims themselves.

However, research suggests that fear is not an effective motivator, as Internet users ignore warnings intended to scare them into safe habits. This suggests that in our bias, we actually tend to disregard others’ experiences when making decisions. In a series of studies, adults were asked what they thought the likelihood was that they would become victims of cyberattacks. Results showed that in each study, the participants reported significantly lower chances for themselves and significantly higher chances for others. When shown the actual statistics, the participants did not often reference them. When considering their own risk, the participants rarely even looked at the data, as revealed through infrared sensors that tracked their eye movements. The results from these studies sparked further inquiries into the bias’ influence in other behaviors. Preventing cyberattacks means overcoming our tendency to underestimate our vulnerability while overestimating others’, and being more careful about what information we share online.

Some Final Helpful Tips for Abstracts

• Consider how you write sentences for the sake of readability. For example, you might consider avoiding phrases like "this article," "this report," or "the author." "Researchers who are engaged in the prevention of adolescent depression are restructuring their methods" is a stronger first sentence of a summary than "This article examines the restructuring of research programs that are engaged in the prevention of adolescent depression." It puts people, not "this article," in the abstract and it is in the active voice.
• Write without using jargon. Ultimately, if you use complex words in your writing, more often than not, you will have to define them (which wastes words in assignments like abstracts). Remember that it is your job to make the article understandable to the audience. Throwing fancy words around without working hard to explain your ideas undermines good communication in all professions.
• Finally, do not sensationalize the article that you are making an abstract from. Just get to the essential facts and ideas in it. Again, you should engage in a careful study of the sample abstracts because they are good models for you. For example, avoid sentences like, "This article overwhelmingly proves that..."