WRITING ABSTRACTS

WRITING ABSTRACTS Nada Vukadinović

Introduction In this unit you will learn what abstracts are and how to write an abstract. After the input which is given in this file you will test your knowledge and write an abstract which you will send to your teacher. Should you have any questions, write to me. nada.vukadinovic@ntf.uni-lj.si

Why do I need to wite abstracts? When you write reports, theses or dissertations, conference papers, research papers, you will always be asked to write an abstract. Abstract is a short information about the report. Of course, every author wants to sell his/her work and would like other people to read it . For this reason abstracts should be written in such a way as to give a short and concise information about the content and be understandable to a larger audience. Since your abstract is used as a research tool by other people, you need to know how to write it properly.

Contents • What is an abstract? • Function of abstracts • Types of abstracts • Descriptive abstracts • Informative abstracts • Research article abstracts • Tenses used in abstracts

Definition of abstract An abstract is a table of contents written in a paragraph form. It serves as a general map for the readers. It means that abstracts are condensed versions of a longer piece of writing. They are written in a single paragraph, and tell the reader what information the report (or article) contains. They stand in front of the article and serve as a general map for the reader

Function Why are abstracts needed? You know that titles and abstracts of the reports are filed electronically in databases and when we are looking for some specific reports we will get the title and the abstract first. When searching for information, we enter key words related to the subject, and the computer prints out the titles of articles containing those key words. For this reason, an abstract must contain the key words ( what is essential in an article) so that someone else can retrieve information from the database. Thus, the function of the abstracts is to extend the title and give more information about it,following the chronology of the article. Abstract will convince the reader to read the rest. There are basically three types of abstracts. Learn more about them and go back by this button. Back

Descriptive abstract Look at the example of a descriptive abstract: The purpose of this report is to develop recommendations for a new training manual for tutors in a post-secondary writing center. Initially the report gives a brief description of the writing center environment, pedagogy, and theory. The report compares information from these practitioner inquiries with the content and form of the sample manuals obtained from three other university writing centers and with the existing manual. The report concludes with recommendations for the Writing Center’s Training Manual. Read comments

Descriptive abstract -comments • This abstract simply describes what the report is about. • The focus is on the document and the point of view is external. • The abstract does not provide any results, conclusions or recommendations. • It simply lists the topics covered. This bastract simply • introduces the subject to readers, who must then read the report, • article, or paper to find out the author's results, conclusions, • or recommendations. • Generally, descriptive abstracts are rather short (75-125 words) Back to abstracts

Informative abstract - example Research reported by Daly, Miller, and their colleagues suggests that writing apprehension is related to a number of factors we do not yet fully understand. This study suggests that included among those factors should be the belief that writing ability is a gift. Giftedness, as it is referred to in the study, is roughly equivalent to the Romantic notion of original genius. Results from a survey of 247 postsecondary students enrolled in introductory writing courses at two institutions indicate that higher levels of belief in giftedness are correlated with higher levels of writing apprehension, lower self-assessments of writing ability, lower levels of confidence in achieving proficiency in certain writing activities and genres, and lower self-assessments of prior experience with writing instructors. Significant differences in levels of belief in giftedness were also found among students who differed in their perceptions of the most important purpose for writing, with students who identified "to express your own feelings about something" as the most important purpose for writing having the highest mean level of belief in giftedness. Although the validity of the notion that writing ability is a special gift is not directly addressed, the results suggest that belief in giftedness may have deleterious effects on student writers. Read comments

Informative abstract - comments The informative abstract is usually longer than the descriptive abstract (approx. 200-300 words or longer). It looks like a summary. The focus is on the subject which gives the reader all main factual information, such as methods and materials, results and recommendations. It explains how the information in the article is useful. Back to abstracts

Research article abstract Research article abstract is a mini version of a research article. It is approx. 150-200 words long and strictly follows the so called IMRAD structure. What is IMRAD?

Research article structure Every article follows a fixed IMRAD structure in which the authors give answers focussing on questions: I M R A D introduction (why) methodology (how) results (what) analysis (what) discussion (what it means) Look at this example

I = INTRODUCTION Statement of the problem (why) In this section the reason(s) for the project are given (long range goals and significance) and objective(s) of the work are presented

M = Materials & methods (how the research was done) This section presents the methods used (e.g. how large the sample was), what materials and equipment were used, etc)

R = Results (what) This section presents the results in brief.

A = analysis (what?) • say something of value (e.g. there was a significant difference..) • include numbers (statistics) when available • may include negative results (e.g. too little protein was produced..)

D = Discussion or Conclusions • What do your results suggest or mean? • How do the results contribute to the subject field? • What can be done now/what other research • could be done in the future? Have a look at this example

Research abstract - sample Previous research has suggested a strong correlation between migraine attacks and the acquisition of functional visual cortical hyperexcitiability in migraine sufferers, particularly those with an aural phase. In order to test this hypothesis, our research group developed both a clinical experiment (a questionnaire-based survey) and a neurophysical study (computerized visual trigram recognition). In the questionnaire study, subjects submitted responses to simple queries on headache and eyestrain/ light sensitivity. Control subjects (non-migraineurs) exhibited significantly (p < 0.01) lower incidence of light sensitivity than medically diagnosed populations of both migraineurs with and without aura. In the neurophysical study, observers viewed random sets of low contrast letter trigrams at three different contrast levels in an attempt to both determine a 5-10% threshold level for correct responses within a control group as well as to examine the response of migraineurs in the completion of the same task. Migraineurs were shown to have significantly higher error rates on this task, contradicting prior studies. Further experiments are being conducted to confirm the results of this initial study.In addition, an orientation bandwidth study using varied-intensity sinewave gratings is in progress to gather convergent psychophysical evidence on cortical hyperexcitability phenomena.

Do not include in abstracts • These are the things which you should not include • in abstracts: • bibliographical references • lengthy equations or structures • abbreviations, acronyms (unless explained) • trade names, symbols

I M R A D present tense/past tense Tenses The study combines a critical… The investigation provides …. In this study … was studied. past tense The investigation included.. The samples were cooled... past tense A change in colour was observed. There was an increase in... past tense Direct examination showed .. Results indicated that children... present tense These findings indicate .. The results suggest.… We recommend that….

Take a Quiz: Which type of abstract is in question – descriptive or informative? ? D I D I D I D I D I D I D I • Provides synopsis of the actual results • Contains general statements • Appropriate for longer papers (e.g. review articles) • Gives summary of the main actual information (methods, materials, results, conclusion) • Provides an overview of the content • Suited to papers or reports about original research • Follows the IMRAD* structure Correct answers are here

Correct answers • Provides synopsis of the actual results I • Contains general statements D • Appropriate for longer papers (e.g. review articles) D • Gives summary of the main actual information (methods, materials, results, conclusion) I • Provides an overview of the content D • Suited to papers or reports about original research I • Follows the IMRAD* structure I Go back Go on

Steps for writing an abstract • Read the article or paper first • Look for main parts • Think of key words (these should appear in the abstract) • Write a draft • Use condensed style (noun-adjectives) • Sentences must be concise, clear, and straightforward • Do not copy sentences – rather summarise • Revise the draft (correct weaknesses, leave out unnecessary language) • Include transitions from one part to another (use sentence connectors) • Fix errors in spelling and grammar Go on

Write your own abstract now • Among the texts which are given online, select one to your liking • Write an informative abstract • Send it to your teacher. • Deadline: end of December 2006

WRITING ABSTRACTS