Abstract example:

PalczewskiAb1 (please title all your abstracts as separate files, yournameAb1, yournameAb2, to yournameAb10). This will ease incorporation of the quotations when it comes time to write the intro to the paper). Please email all abstacts as files attached to an email on the day the abstracts are due.

Name: Palczewski, Catherine H., Abstract 1:

Bibliographic information (APA style): Moseley, M. (1999, April 4). Young Americans volunteer but don't vote. Campaigns & Elections, 20(3), 35. Retrieved July 22, 2002, from Infotrac.

Qualifications: Matt Moseley is the national field director for Rock the Vote in Los Angeles and is a former Denver resident.

Abstract: The 1998 elections saw youth voting drop to 12.2%, an almost 40% decrease from 19% in 1994. At the same time, volunteerism by 18- to 24-year olds is increasing. This difference is attributed to the results-oriented involvement that young people get from volunteering, a feeling which they don't experience or see in elections. Thus, electoral campaigns in 2000 should focus on tapping the youth voting segment by making young people realize their political value and contribution to society.

Key quotations (PLEASE NUMBER each quotation. The number will vary depending on quality of essay. Also, please remember to provide the page number, and check the accuracy of your typing.):

1. "Youth turnout in the '98 elections was e lowest ever. According to exit polls, only 12.2 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted in recent midterm elections compared with 19 percent in 1994, a decline of nearly 40 percent" (p. 35).

2. "The declining participation of the past elections proves youth don't get that feeling when they go into a voting booth. Young Americans do not think their vote affects politics or that politics affects them. It is very hard for a young person to justify registering to vote and taking time off from work or school to vote when there is little to no interest in the candidates and seemingly no connection between their vote and their daily lives" (p. 35).

Analysis of essay: The essay is simply a short column, with no literature cited to support the author's claims. However, it does point to some possible hypothesis for lack of youth voting. Apathy seems not to be an explanation, since volunteerism is increasing.