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The Abstract

The Abstract. More than a summary. Introduction. Now that the use of on-line publication databases is prevalent, writing a really good abstract has become even more important. Abstracts serve the function of "selling" your work.

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The Abstract

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  1. The Abstract More than a summary

  2. Introduction • Now that the use of on-line publication databases is prevalent, writing a really good abstract has become even more important. • Abstracts serve the function of "selling" your work. • In a business context, the abstract is often the only piece of a report read by the people who matter. Include your key words! • The abstract should be about 150 words in one or two paragraphs.

  3. Parts of an abstract: • Despite the fact that an abstract is quite brief, it must do almost as much work as the multi-page paper that follows it. • Each section is typically a single sentence, although there is room for creativity. • In particular, the parts may be merged or spread among a set of sentences. Use the following as a checklist for your next abstract:

  4. Motivation: • Why do we care about the problem and the results? If the problem isn't obviously "interesting" it might be better to put motivation first • If your work shows progress on a problem that is widely recognized as important, then it is probably better to put the problem statement first • This section should include the importance of your work, the difficulty of the area, and the impact it might have if successful. • This should be one or two sentences of the abstract.

  5. Problem statement: • What problem are you trying to solve? • What is the scope of your work (a generalized approach, or for a specific situation)? • Be careful not to use too much jargon. • In some cases it is appropriate to put the problem statement before the motivation, but usually this only works if most readers already understand why the problem is important. • This should be about one or two sentences.

  6. Approach: • How did you go about solving or making progress on the problem? • What was the extent of your work (did you look at one application program or a hundred programs in twenty different programming languages?) • Remember, this is one sentence of your abstract.

  7. Results: • What's the answer? • Avoid vague, weak diction such as "very", "small", or "significant." • If your research provided results that can be measured in numbers, include the numbers; otherwise, simply provide the devastating consequences to humanity that you discovered • Limit this to one sentence.

  8. Conclusions: • This is the hard part! • Did you have an epiphany? • Why does this new knowledge matter? • What difference can this knowledge make? • Is there a real solution to the problem? Why or why not? • This is your opportunity to impress your friends and teachers with your brilliant insight

  9. For this research paper: • Paragraph One: Summary of entire paper. • Paragraph Two: End with the following… • In this paper, which will discuss (loss of humanity topic) and its effects on (sub-topics), the following research questions have been posed. • 1. What is the loss of humanity? • 2. Explain why the issue is a danger to society. • 3. How has the study of this humanitarian issue influenced you as an individual and a researcher? • 4. Any other questions you answer in your research…

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