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You have now decided on your topic and it is time for you to begin your research into the area of your choosing. For this assignment, you must submit an abstract for your final paper as well as a list of references for your paper.
You must submit an abstract that is no more than one half double-spaced page long. You should find out what an abstract is if you do not know. An easy way to find out about abstracts and how to effectively write them, do a Google search on the phrase how to write an abstract.
Quick note: The abstract should be a introduction to the content of your paper in your own words. As a general rule, you should not directly quote a reference in your abstract, nor should you plagiarize a reference in your abstract (or anywhere else in your paper for that matter). While you might find that many people recommend writing an abstract after you have finished the paper, it is often the case that for many conferences and journals that you would submit your abstract for evaluation before anyone sees your paper, so it is the editor's/reviewer's first glimpse at the content of your paper. You should expect to re-write your abstract when you have completed your paper so that it accurately reflects the actual content of your paper.
Your list of references must include at least four references. You may have more than four references if you wish. You must have at least one reference that is not strictly a webpage. This means that one of your references must be either be a book, conference paper, journal article, or some other type of published work. The Wikipedia is not appropriate as one of your four main references. Formatting your references should follow the ACM guidelines, which are reprinted here.
A recap of what you need to submit for this assignment:
You must type your abstract and references and hand this part of the assignment in at the beginning of lecture on Monday, February 13th. You must put your name on your submission in order to receive credit.
We will be commenting on this part of your essay and returning it back to you. It is very important that you keep your returned paper as you will need to turn it in along with the next phase of the essay assignment.