The Arabic Linguistics Society adopts a modified version of the Linguistic Society of America’s abstract guidelines. Please read thoroughly and carefully.

Abstract Format Guidelines

  1. Abstracts must be submitted in PDF format. Abstracts in any other format will not be evaluated.
  2. Abstracts submitted can only be written in English. Abstracts in any other language will be rejected.
  3. An abstract, including examples, tables, or figures, where needed, must not exceed one page in length, in a font no smaller than 10 point and preferably 12 point. Margins should be at least 1.0 inch on all sides. Data should be within the text of the abstract and not on a separate page. References can be included on a second page. Abstracts exceeding the one-page length limit or in type smaller than 10 point will be rejected without being evaluated.
  4. Please make sure to embed any special fonts in the .pdf file. Loss of phonetic or any other special symbols could negatively affect the readability, and consequently the evaluation, of your abstract.
  5. Your name cannot appear on the abstract. If you identify yourself in any way on the abstract (e.g., “In Smith (1992), I argue …”), the abstract will be rejected without being evaluated.
  6. Also, make sure to anonymize your .pdf abstract. To do that, click on ‘File,’ then ‘Properties,’ remove any name or affiliation information from the document properties, and click ‘Save’.
  7. You may submit at most ONE single-author abstract and ONE joint-author abstract, or at most two joint-author abstracts.
  8. Abstracts that do not conform to the format guidelines will not be considered.

Abstract Content Guidelines

A suggested outline for the content of the abstract is as follows:

  1. Choose a title that clearly indicates the topic of the research.
  2. State the problem or research question raised by prior work, with specific reference to relevant prior research.
  3. State the main point or argument of the proposed presentation.
  4. Regardless of the subfield, cite sufficient data, and explain why and how they support the main point or argument. When examples are in languages other than English, provide word-by-word glosses and underline the portions of the examples that are critical to the argument.
  5. Make sure to explain abbreviations at their first occurrence.
  6. If your research presents the results of experiments, but collection of results is not yet complete, then report what results you have already obtained in sufficient detail so that your abstract can be evaluated by reviewers. Also, indicate explicitly the nature of the experimental design and the specific hypothesis tested.
  7. State the relevance of your ideas to past work or to the future development of the field. Describe analyses in as much detail as possible. Avoid saying “a solution to this problem will be presented.” If you are taking a stand on a controversial issue, summarize the arguments that led you to your position.
  8. State the contribution to linguistic research made by the analysis.
  9. While citation in the text of the relevant literature is essential, a separate list of references at the end of the abstract is generally unnecessary. Should you decide to provide a list of references, please list only those references cited in the abstract. Under no circumstances should the list of references exceed one page, however.
  10. Finally, please note that a conference abstract is not the same as a short-paragraph abstract written at the beginning of an article. Short-paragraph abstracts cannot meet the content requirements listed above and therefore have no chance of being accepted to the conference. Accepted abstracts are typically one full page in content.