pitfalls of abstract writing
DESCRIPTION
PITFALLS OF ABSTRACT WRITING. IN ENGLISH. Terms frequently confused. ABSTRACT – A SHORT SUMMARY OF WHAT IS SAID IN A LEARNED ARTICLE , A SHORT FORM OF A REPORT OR A DOCUMENT. VS. SCIENCE. HUMANITIES ARTS. TYPES OF ABSTRACTS. UNAMBITIOUS. COMPETITIVE. Common mistakes. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
(c) Elena Goldenberg
PITFALLS OF ABSTRACT WRITINGIN ENGLISH
(c) Elena Goldenberg
Terms frequently confused
(c) Elena Goldenberg
ABSTRACT – A SHORT SUMMARY OF WHAT IS SAID IN A LEARNED ARTICLE, A SHORT FORM OF A REPORT OR A DOCUMENT.
(c) Elena Goldenberg
TYPES OF ABSTRACTS
CONFERENCEJOURNAL PROJECT
RESEARCH
DISSERTATIONTHESIS
DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATIVE
UNSTRUCTURED
STRUCTURED
SCIENCE
HUMANITIESARTS
UNAMBITIOUS COMPETITIVE
VS
(c) Elena Goldenberg
Common mistakes
UNAMBITIOUS ABSTRACTS(COMMON MISTAKES)
COMPETITIVE ABSTRACTS(GUIDELINES)
• Have an obscure title;• Do not state the topic clearly;• Contain too much or too little
information, details instead of essentials;
• Are written in the Ist person, use different tenses, jargons, colloquialisms, abbreviations, formulas etc.;
• Do not mention methods or procedures;• Have no conclusions/results;• Contain far too long and obscure
sentences, quotes from the paper;• Have too many key words;• Show spelling, grammar or formatting
mistakes;• Miss indicated deadlines.
• Capture interest (NB the Title!);• Are correctly written;• Are created in the IIId person, past tense
(preferable) and mainly passive voice and/or impersonal constructions;
• Use noun phrases;• Have logically connected parts (with
linking words) and average-length sentences;
• Clearly explain the subject;• State aims, findings, conclusions;• Describe research methods/ procedures;• Are concise;• Conform to word/character limits;• Contain key words/expressions (3-7);• Follow conference guidelines.
a suggested abstract template for ‘beginners’
TOPIC/ISSUE/HYPOTHESIS
METHODS/PROCEDURES RESULTS CONCLUSIONS
• The focus of the research lies in
• The study focuses on/ highlights/ features/ outlines…
• The study is important in order to
• The purpose of this study is/ was to investigate
• The aim is/ was to identify• Finally, ... is/ was
examined in the study…• Specifically, the research
explored…• Through this project, … is/
was investigated…• In the project/ research/
thesis, the goal is/ was to • In order to achieve…, the
team investigated…• The project examines/ed
the role of…• etc.
• The approach/ procedure adopted in the research includes/ed…
• The study/ survey/ thesis/ opinion poll...examined, inspected, focused on, was conducted, carried out, sent out, administered, studied…
• This was achieved by…• The data was sectioned/
divided/ classified/ organised into … categories
• This research draws upon (primary) sources including…
• The 1st /… stage of the project involves/ed…
• …(issues, points, data)… are called into question…
• etc.
• The findings from this research provide evidence that …
• It was found/discovered that…
• The results revealed/indicated…
• The case study demonstrates/ed how…
• Upon completion of… it was discovered…
• The work (paper, talk, research, thesis, dissertation, project, poster, presentation) provides a detailed image of…
• etc.
• The main conclusions drawn from this study are
• This research recommends that
• The principal conclusion was that…
• The results highlight the importance of…
• Visual supplements are provided in order to…
• etc.
(c) Elena Goldenberg
(c) Elena Goldenberg
[email protected] state linguistic university
• PITFALLS OF ABSTRACT WRITING IN ENGLISH • (FOR RUSSIAN AUTHORS)
• Key words: abstract writing, conference paper, journal paper, guidelines, cliché, template, common mistakes.
• Abstract:
• The talk covers major points of abstract writing for international conference and journal papers relevant for Russian presenters. It is focused on the most common mistakes in conference abstract writing based on Russian – English abstract translation experience in the Humanities. The paper highlights frequent Russian language induced assumptions and interferences often leading to the necessity of rewriting, rather than translating the submitted abstracts. Finally, a list of suggestions and guidelines is provided in order to help either self-improve one’s abstract writing with a set of clichés and templates, or raise the possibility of a faithful rendition of one’s abstract initially composed in Russian.
(c) Elena Goldenberg
References and Webliography
• Dictionary of Library and Information Management, Peter Collin Publishing.• Dictionary of Printing and Publishing, Peter Collin Publishing.• http://thesaurus.com/• http://www.wordle.net/create
• Editorial: Structured abstracts: A key to enhanced information transfer (September 29, 2011) http://prc.aps.org/edannounce/PhysRevC.84.030001
• How to improve your academic writing https://www.essex.ac.uk/myskills/How_to_improve_your_academic_writing.pdf• Journal article guidelines – Abstracts http://web.mit.edu/2.tha/www/JournalArticleGuidelines.htm#Abstract• Dissertation abstracts http://www.ukdissertation.co.uk/Dissertation_Abstract.htm• Abstracts http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/bizwrite/abstracts.html• Kristin Helland, Conference Abstracts: The secret to writing a good abstract SLAT Colloquium Series October 19, 2012
http://slat.arizona.edu/sites/slat/files/page/hellandconferenceabstracts10-19-12.pdf• Abstract Guidelines for Papers - How to write an Abstract for a Conference Paper
http://academic-conferences.org/abstract-guidelines.htm• Academic Resource Center Tufts University - HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACT
http://uss.tufts.edu/arc/HOW%20TO%20WRITE%20AN%20ABSTRACT%20for%20Tufts%20Symp.pdf• Ten steps to developing an abstract for conferences - Jane Coad, Patric Devitt, Jayne Hardicre - British Journal of
Nursing, 2007, Vol 16, No 7, http://www.nhssalfordrd.org.uk/docs/researchday/abstract.pdf• Manual On Efficiently Writing - Competitive Research Abstracts For Surgical Journals, June 2005,
http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/neurosurgery/documents/manualefficientlywritingabstracts1.pdf• 10 tips for writing an effective abstract https
://www.thinkscience.co.jp/pdf/Ten%20tips%20for%20writing%20an%20effective%20abstract.pdf
(c) Elena Goldenberg
THANK YOU!