Instructions for Submitting a Paper

Whether part of a preorganized panel or submitting individually, paper presenters must complete a paper presenter details form and submit an abstract of the proposed paper.

A complete submission includes:

1. paper presenter details form and paper abstract
2. current membership and pre-registration (membership | registration)

When your submission is complete, staff at the Secretariat will assemble it, make the necessary photocopies, and forward it to the program committee for review.

The paper presenter form and abstract must be electronically submitted to MESA and the participant must meet the requirements of membership and pre-registration by 5:00 p.m. MST on Friday, February 15, 2008. Late submissions will not be considered.

Questons? Contact Mark Lowder at mlowder@u.arizona.edu or 520-626-6290.

Preparing the Paper Abstract: The Most Critical Step

The paper abstract should be a maximum of 400 words, typewritten and single-spaced. It should fit on a single 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper; no attachments or additional pages will be considered. You may submit your abstract in one of two ways: 1) cut and paste it from a word processing program on to the "paper presenter details form" or 2) submit it as a Word document attached to an email message (instructions).

REVIEW CRITERIA: The program committee will be looking for abstracts that are scholarly, with a strong, focused statement of thesis or significance, clear goals and methodology, well-organized research data, specified sources, and convincing, coherent conclusions.

Because MESA's review process is a blind one (i.e. the program committee does not know the identity of the panelists), the paper abstract cannot include the name of the author or any other participant on the panel. If it does, the entire panel automatically will be disqualified.