Sweat the Small Stuff, Robbins

In reading research articles from other scholars, I found the importance of never over looking fine details. In order to effectively employ this, one must take on the understanding that your reader is reading your paper for the first time, with fresh eyes, knowing almost nothing about what to expect in the paragraphs to come. This fresh approach leaves the reader, subconsciously, susceptible to easily picking up, and being distracted by, any mistakes you may make in your paper.

When assigned the reading Soapbox for the Automobile: Bumper Sticker History, Identification, and Preservation, my interest was peaked, I knew I had some background knowledge on the topic and was excited to know what knowledge I could glean from the authors research. However, I became distracted by very simple errors made in the construction and execution of the paper.

Her abstract lead the reader to believe that she would be exploring the handling and care of bumper stickers, in hopes to create institutional standards. "This paper documents the survey findings and provides guidance for dating and preserving bumper stickers."[1] Though it was disappointing to find that the article went on to talk about bumper sticker permanence and identification, with the conclusion saying, "More research into the chemical and physical qualities of the component ma- terials of bumper stickers is needed in order to better understand their vulnerabilities and to develop more refined preventive and remedial preservation solutions."[2] I think that is a very good example of what happens in writing. Sometimes, where an author initially wants to go in their research is not always where they end up. It is very important as writers, to insure that where you stops correlates with where you began. Had the author revisited her abstract and structured it towards permanence and identification, her paper overall may have been more succinct. 

I better example would be the Eavesdropping at the Well: Interpretive Media in the Slavery in New York Exhibition. [3] Throughout the article we are reminded and brought back to the initial abstract. "The interpretive strategy in this gallery aimed to move visitors from an outside view of the enslaved in New York, as articles of commerce, toward a more concrete and intimate encounter with them as human beings."[4]

[1]Whitney Baker, Soapbox for the Automobile: Bumper Sticker History, Identification, and Preservation
[2]"             "        "             "
[3]Richard Rabinwitz, Eavesdropping a the Well: Interpreting Media and Slavery In New York Exhibition, The Public Historian August (2013)
[4]"      "           "             "