AW-5-Abstract.ppt

ChapterFive,Howtowriteanabstract,Introduction,Theabstractisanindispensablepartofanacademicpaper.Theimportanceofasuccessfulabstractshouldneverbeunderestimatedbecausetheacceptanceofapaperbyjournalsdependstoagreatextentonthequalityofitsabstract.Therefore,thischapterisintendedtoshowreadershowtowriteaneffectiveoragoodabstract.,5.1Definitionofanabstract,aclearandsimplesummarystatementofaresearcharticleadescriptionoftheobjectivesii)providingkeyinformationelements;iii)servingasaminiaturetableofcontents2)Informative(informational)abstractAninformativeabstracthighlightsthefindingsandresults,brieflybutquantitatively.Itisacondensedversionoftheresearchwork,withoutdiscussionorinterpretation.,Aninformativeabstractshouldbespecificandquantitative,givingonlyessentialorprincipaldataandarguments.Readabstract3andcompareitwithabstract1toseethedifferencesbetweenthetwodifferenttypesofabstract.Abstract3isanexamplethatshowshownetresultscanbecitedfromvariousportionsofapapertogiveaclearpictureofthesignificantcontents.,3)Informative-indicativeabstractsAninformative-indicativeabstractisacombinedformthatbearsspecificinformationabouttheprincipalfindingsandresultsandgeneralinformationabouttherestofthedocument.Thistypeofabstractoffersfewerdetails,instead,givingemphasistotheauthorschiefcontribution.Abstract4isanexamplethathighlightsthesametechnicalinformationthatisemphasized.,Inthisexample,thetheoreticalmodelandtheconfigurationofthearrayarementionedingeneralterms.Formanyreadersthemaininterestishowwellthenewsystemwillperform,andthisinformational-descriptiveabstractwouldbebettertosatisfytheneed.,5.4Structureofanabstract,AnAbstractofaresearchpaperisthefirstsourceofinformationforawould-bereader.ThetitleoftheresearchpaperwouldprovideinformationaboutthetopicofinvestigationbutitistheAbstractthatprovidesabirds-eyeviewofthesubjectmatter,thepurposeofthestudy,thewaytheresearchiscarriedout,someimportantfindings,theimplicationsandaconclusion.Becauseofitsimportance,theAbstracthasacquiredaveryrigidstructureusedbymostwriters.,5.4.1OrganizationofanAbstract,Thetypesofinformationandtheorderinwhichtheyarepresentedinanabstractareveryconventional.LookatyourhandoutsTheINTRODUCTIONappearsattheverybeginningofanabstract,whichisactuallyanintroductorystatementoftheproblemstudiedintheresearchortheobjectiveoftheresearch.Sometimes,thereasonforselectingthistopicisalsoprovidedinthispart.,TheMETHODSisthenextsectiontobepresented,whichexplainstheprocedureadoptedtocarryouttheinvestigation.TheRESULTSsectionfollowsimmediatelythedescriptionofmethods.Itbrieflyreportsimportantdatacollectedduringtheinvestigationandmajorresultsandfindingsoftheinvestigation.TheCONCLUSIONsectionbringstheabstracttoanaturalend.Itstatesimplicationsofthefindings,i.e.theconclusiondrawndirectlyfromfindings,andthusanswersthequestionwhatthefindingsmean.,5.4.2LimitedLength,Anabstractisaminiatureofthepaperwithastrictlylimitednumberofwords.Normally,150-200wordsshouldbeasensiblemaximumforrelativelylongpaperorreport,butnevermorethan500words;50to100wordsmaysufficeforashortarticle.Thelengthofanabstractgreatlyvariesdependingonthelengthofthepaperandwheretheabstractappears:eachjournaland/orabstractingindexhasadifferentrequirement.,5.4.3Language,Asamini-essaytoadvertisethefullarticle,anabstractmustalsobewritteninproperEnglishwhichisnotonlygrammaticallycorrectandpragmaticallyappropriate,butalsoinlinewiththeconventionsandfeaturesspecifictoabstractlanguage.1)Abstractwritingrequirestheuseoflanguageappropriateforformalacademicdescriptionandcolloquialwordsorexpressionsshouldbeavoided.Lookatyourhandouts.,2)Itispreferabletostatebackgroundinformationandconclusionsinpresenttensewhiledescribetheconductedresearchitself(includingthesubject,methodsandresults)inthepasttense.Useperfecttensessparingly(i.e.onlywhenitisnecessarytoemphasizetheinfluenceofsomepastevents).3)Anabstractshouldcontainavarietyofsentencestructures.Itsoundsmonotonousifanabstractisbuiltupsolelywithfirstperson,indicative,activesentences.,4)Complexlongsentencesareunwelcomeinabstractwritingbecauselong-windedsentencesaremuchmoreenergy-claimingforreadersthansimple,shortsentences.Ifasentenceisunavoidablylongduetotheuseofrelevantterminologyandtherequirementofdescriptivepreciseness,atleastmakesurethatthesyntaxisconcise.5)Languageusedinabstractwritingshouldalsobeconciseandbrief.6)Onlycompletesentencesareacceptableforabstracts.,7)Uncommonabbreviationsandacronymsshouldbeavoidedasmuchaspossible.8)Inanabstractthetermscarryingimportantinformation(i.e.keywords)shouldre-occurinaconsistentform.9)Verbsarepreferabletotheircorrespondingnominalforminanabstract.,5.5.Howtowriteanabstract,Thoughwehaveelaboratedonthemajorfeaturesofasuccessfulinformativescientificabstract,theknowledgeofwhataneffectiveorgoodabstractisdoesnotguaranteetheproductionofadesirableone.Therefore,inthissectionspecificstepstoensureefficientabstractwritingwillbeintroduced.Generallyspeaking,therearethreeprimarysteps,whichmaycomprisesomesub-steps:,5.5.1Preparationstobemade,Beforeyoustartthefirstdraft,therearesomepreparationstobemade:1)Lookthroughthefullarticle.2)Searchwhetherthereissomebackgroundinformationworthmentioningintheabstract.3)Identifythemajorproblemsolvedinthearticle.4)Collectkeyphrasesessentialtothedescriptionofthemethodorprocedureinvolvedinconductingtheresearch.,5)Notethemostimportantfacts,statisticsandotherfindingstobereportedintheabstract.6)Markimplicationsoftheresearchthatarevaluableandimpressiveenoughtobeusedtoconcludetheabstract.,5.5.2Processofwriting,Theproportionsofthefourobligatorycomponentsinanabstractmayvarybydiscipline.Butnoneofthemshouldbemissing.Thewritingofthesedifferentpartsisexpectedtofollowthisorder:1)Startoutbywritingtheintroductorypart.Thefirstoneortwosentencesshouldbedevotedtothedescriptionofthebackgroundandgeneralideasofthestudy.,2)Thenextfewlinesshouldbeassignedtothedescriptionofstudymethodsandfindings.Nolengthyexamples,tables,andothersupportingdetailsareallowedinthispart.Onlyinformationhighlyrelevanttoconclusionsdrawnintheresearchcanbeincluded.Theweightofmethodsandfindingsmayvaryindifferentcontexts.3)Thelaststepindraftinganabstractistowritetheconclusion.Stateinthelasttwosentencesorsotheimplicationsofyourresearchtothestudysubject.,5.5.3Revisingandproofreading,Whenthedraftisfinished,therearestillanothertwostepstogobeforeyoucanfinallypresenttheabstract.Revisingishelpfultoimprovetheeffectivenessofyourabstract.Duringtheprocess,allthefollowingaspectsshouldbeexaminedcarefully:1)LengthTheabstractmustbekeptwithinthespecificwordlimit.Sometimesanoversizednon-standardabstractmayleaddirectlytotherejectionofanarticle.,2)ContentTobeginwith,checkwhetherallthefouraspectsofthestudy(i.e.theresearchsubject,methods,results,andimplications)aredescribed.Secondly,makesurenodetailsordiscussionsareincludedintheabstract.Abstractsrarelyallowtheattachmentoftables,graphs,etc.Norcanexamplesbegiveninabstracts.,Thirdly,deletetheopeningsentencenotofferingrealinformation,ifthereisone.(Lookatyourhandouts)Anothertabooonopeningsentencesofanabstractistowriteonethatsimplyrepeatsthetitleofanarticle.3)LanguageFeaturesofabstractlanguagehavebeensystematicallyintroducedbefore.Justusethemascriteriatorevisethelanguageofyourfirstdraft.Thereisonethingworthreiterating-Conciseness.,4)GuidelinesforsubmissionThelastrevisingstepistoconsulttheguidelinesforsubmissionspecifictothetargetedjournalandensureallstipulationsconcerningtheabstractarefollowed.Withthecompletionofalltheabovetasks,proofreadingisthelaststeptotakebeforepresentingthefinalversionofanabstract.Itisimportantformostinternationalauthors.,Beinganon-nativespeakerofEnglish,theseauthorsarepronetomakelanguagemistakesduringthedraftwriting.ItishightimethattheabstractwascheckedagaintoeliminateanyimproperuseofEnglishwritingconventionsorgrammar.FormalizedstructureFromthedimensionoflinguisticstructure,acomparativelycompleteabstractusuallyconsistsofthefollowingthreemajorparts:topicsentence,supportingsentences,andconcludingsentences.,Topicsentence,Thefirstsentenceinanabstractisusuallycalledthe“topicsentence.”Byansweringthequestionof“what”,thetopicsentencealwaysgoesstraightforwardlytothesubjectortheproblemandindicatestheprimaryobjectivesofthepaper.Forexample:Thepaperpresentsasimpleprescriptionforestimatingtheenergyatwhichnuclearforcesbegintoplayaroleinheavy-ionCoulombexcitationandCoulombfissionexperiments.,Somesentencepatternsfrequentlyusedastopicsentencesarelistedasfollows:ThepurposeofthispaperisTheprimarygoalofthisresearchisTheintentionofthispaperistosurveyTheoverallobjectiveofthisstudyisInthispaper,weaimatOurgoalhasbeentoprovideThechiefaimofthepresentworkistoinvestigatethefeaturesofTheauthorsarenowinitiatingsomeexperimentalinvestigationtoestablish,TheworkpresentedinthispaperfocusesonseveralaspectsofthefollowingTheproblemwehaveoutlineddealslargelywiththestudyofWithhismanyyearsresearch,theauthorsendeavoristoexplainwhyTheprimaryobjectofthisfundamentalresearchwillbetorevealthecauseof,TheobjectiveofourinvestigationhasbeentoobtainsomeknowledgeofWithrecentresearch,theauthorintendstooutlinetheframeworkofTheauthorattemptedthesetofexperimentswithaviewtodemonstratingcertainphenomena.TheexperimentbeingmadebyourresearchgroupisaimedatobtainingtheresultofExperimentsonweremadeinordertomeasuretheamountofTheemphasisofthisstudyliesin,SupportingSentences,Thetopicsentenceisusuallyfollowedbymorethanonesupportingsentenceswhichfurtherspecifythesubjecttobepresented.Researchmethods,experiments,procedures,investigations,calculations,analyses,results,andothersignificantinformationitemwillbeprovidedinthispart.Thesesupportingsentences,therefore,canbetakenasthe“mainbody”ofanabstract.,Usefulsentencepatternsusedinthispartincludethefollowing:ThemethodusedinourstudyisknownasThetechniqueweappliedisreferredtoasTheproceduretheyfollowedcanbebrieflydescribedasTheapproachadoptedextensivelyiscalledDetailedinformationhasbeenacquiredbytheauthorsusingTheresearchhasrecordedvaluabledatausingthenewly-developedmethod.,ThisisaworkingtheorywhichisbasedontheideathatThefundamentalfeatureofthistheoryisasfollows.ThetheoryischaracterizedbyTheexperimentconsistedofthreesteps,whicharedescribedinThetestequipmentwhichwasusedconsistedofIncludedintheexperimentwereThewinchiscomposedofthefollowingmainparts:Wehavecarriedoutseveralsetsofexperimentstotestthevalidityof,TheyundertookmanyexperimentstosupportthehypothesiswhichRecentexperimentsinthisareasuggestedthatAnumberofexperimentswereperformedtocheckExampleswithactualexperimentdemonstrateSpecialmentionisgivenheretoThisformulaisverifiedbyWealsosupply,ConcludingSentence(s),Astheendingpartofanabstract,concludingsentencesusuallyanalyzetheresultsexplaintheapplication,andpointoutthesignificanceoftheresearch.Forexample:Theresultofthemeasurementindicatedthatthedirectmethodisingoodagreementwiththeimpedancemethod.Someusefulsentencepatternsarelistedbelow:Inconclusion,westatethatInsummingupitmaybestatedthatItisconcludedthat,TheresultsoftheexperimentindicatethatThestudieswehaveperformedshowedthatThepioneerstudiesthattheauthorsattemptedhaveindicatedinWecarriedoutseveralstudieswhichhavedemonstratedthatTheresearchwehavedonesuggeststhatTheinvestigationcarriedoutbyhasrevealedthat,LaboratorystudiesofdidnotfurnishanyinformationaboutAllourpreliminaryresultsthrowlightonthenatureofAsaresultofourexperiments,weconcludedthatFromourexperiment,theauthorscametorealizethatThisfruitfulworkgivesexplanationofTheauthorspioneerworkhascontributedtoourpresentunderstandingofTheresearchworkhasbroughtaboutadiscoveryofFinally,asummaryisgivenof,ThesefindingsoftheresearchhaveledtheauthortotheconclusionthatThedataobtainedappeartobeverysimilartothosereportedearlierbyOurworkinvolvingstudiesofprovetobeencouraging.Theauthorhassatisfactorilycometotheconclusionthat,Wehavediscussedthegeneralstructureofanabstractandlistedanumberofsentencepatternsusedindifferentpartsofabstracts.However,eachabstracthasitsowncharacteristicsdueto