Example Abstracts

From 7th Grade "Issue" Independent Study Papers

#1: "Pesticides: Worry or Wonder?"

Pesticides, including DDT, are used around the world to fight insect-borne diseases and improve crop growth. Due to the chemicals used to make pesticides, they are harmful to animals and humans alike. Pesticides have been cited as the major reason for the decline of birds such as the bald eagle and have been supposedly linked to cancer.

Pesticides are classified into four main types: herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, and insecticides. Each type does a specific job and kills a specific pest. Insecticides are most common and most widely used. Out of insecticides, DDT is arguably the best-known pesticide. DDT stands for Dichloro-Dipherny-trichloroethane. DDT is best known for its help in the fight against insect-borne diseases. No one knows who first created DDT, but we do know a Swiss scientist first discovered its powerful insect killing powers.

After researching this controversial topic from both sides, I concluded that DDT and pesticides are not dangerous to humans and animals. There is no replicable proof that pesticides are harmful and deadly. We can never escape pesticides. They are found in soil, air, water, rain, snow and fog. They are carried around the world and into our bodies. Nearly every one of us breathes air, drinks water, and eats food contaminated by pesticides. All we can really do is wait, and hope, that pesticides will subside from intruding into our water and food supply.

#2 "Brothers Grimm v. Hans Christian Andersen: A Comparison of Their Writing"

Fairy tales tend to be the longest, most complex, and most descriptive versions of folk tales. Folk tales are stories handed down from person to person for generations. There are many kinds of fairy tale authors. They all have their own motives and morals. Some authors collect and edit stories to make their own. Other authors create stories that have never been told before. The folk authors presented in this report are the Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Andersen.

The Grimm Brothers tended to base their fairy tales on other stories that were handed down from previous generations. Their stories were written for mature readers. They liked to teach values and morals gruesomely. Characters get severely injured, die, and have other terrible things happen. Hans Christian Andersen, on the other hand, originated his own stories and they were fun and lighthearted, written especially for children. His morals were mainly to help children deal with hard times about appearances and circumstances in life.

The Grimm Brothers' writing was very different from Hans Christian Andersen's. They also had a different type of plot line. Since the Grimm Brothers lived during time of military and political disasters, their stories included hardships and troubling decisions. Andersen grew up in a peaceful community. He also knew what it felt like to be teased and humiliated. He wanted to help kids get through life enjoyably, so he tried to give them an "extra boost". As you will see, they lived very different lives and had very different writing approaches.

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