STEP 4 Structure the abstract

1. Explain the background of your study: write 1-3 introduction sentences that explain the research topic, purpose of the study, and research question(s).

Remember that the first sentence should be interesting, eye-catching, and draw the reader into your piece. As the shortest part of the abstract, your background should convey what already is known about the subject and how it relates to your paper. The background also explains what we do not know yet about the subject and thus what the study examined and/or what your paper presents.

This section of the abstract should answer the questions:

What did I study? Why is my research question important? What did my field of study know about my research question before I did this study? How will this study advance knowledge in our field?

2. Share the research methods. This section of the abstract should explain in 2-3 sentences how you conducted your study and what exactly you did.

This section of the abstract should answer the questions: What was the research design? Did you use qualitative and/or quantitative methods? Did you include experiments, fieldwork, interviews, surveys, and/or data analysis. If any, how long did the study last? What was the research setting? How did you recruit the interviewed?

3. Demonstrate its results. Write 1-2 sentences describing the results/findings of your study. It is the most important part of your abstract because it explains what you discovered and the relevance of your work to other people's research.

4. The main point and impact of your research. In 1-2 sentences, iterate the summary of the study and its theoretical and/or practical impact on the field(s) of study. The conclusion should be data-based and very factual.

End your conclusion with a strong final sentence.

5. Choose a title for the abstract. Your title should summarize the abstract and convince reviewers or potential readers that the topic is important, relevant, and innovative. Include your name, institutional affiliation (if applicable), and contact information under the title. Some organizations, journals, or conferences require a special format for the title, which could be all uppercase letters, bolded, or italics.

STEP 5 Checking and proofreading.

1. Read your abstract aloud and check content accuracy and flow. Reread the abstract as if you were another researcher.

This section of the abstract should answer the questions:

Is it short and concise? Does it have adequate transition words e.g. "additionally" or "thus." Does it give the right information to help you decide whether to read it?

2. Proofread for correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Print out your abstract and edit it with a pencil or a pen. The printed version can help you catch additional mistakes and envision the abstract in printed media. Complete a word count. Aim to have as close to the word count limit as possible.

3.
Share with a colleague. Having another person review your abstract will ensure that your abstract makes sense to potential readers.

 

Answer the questions:

What is the main aim of an abstract?

Which step do you find the most important?

Have you ever written an abstract? What was the difficulty?

Some hints on how to start the Abstract:

Introductory sentences

	The paper/article discusses/deals with/develops/presents/provides/studies/features/contains/concentrates on …..	В работе/статье обсуждается/ведется речь о/развивается / представлен / предоставлен / исследуется / описывается / содержится / внимание cконцентрировано на...
	analyses/considers/explains/describes/establishes/introduces …..	анализирует / считает / объясняет / описывает / устанавливает / вводит...
	covers/suggests/shows …..	охватывает / предлагает / демонстрирует...
	demonstrates the feasibility of …..	демонстрирует возможность...
	opens up a new field/issue	открывает новое направление/ вопрос
	gives/aims to give a comprehensive account of …..	дает / стремится дать всестороннее описание...
	offers a solution to …..	предлагает решение...
	serves as an introduction to …..	служит введением к...
	the main objective/purpose of the paper/article is …..	основная цель / задача работы/статьи...

Упражнение 7

Замените разговорный стиль на научный в следующих примерах:

1. This paper tell us about…

2. This article tries to describe…

3. It is a start for…

4. The idea of the paper is…

5. We use this idea to…

6. We show the readers that…

7. The article deals with…

8. The study shows the possibility of…

Упражнение 8

Прочитайте пример аннотации ниже и ответьте на вопросы: [http://www.thewritesource.com/apa/apa.pdf]

1) Does the abstract summarize the problem?

2) Does it name the participants?

3) What is/was the hypothesis?

4) Are the methods, results mentioned?

5) What are the conclusions?

6) Does it make you interested?

7) Which expressions has the author used in the abstract? Write them out and learn.

This study examined the effects of short-term food deprivation on two cognitive abilities—concentration and perseverance. Undergraduate students were tested on both a concentration task and a perseverance task after one of three levels of food deprivation: none, 12 hours, or 24 hours. We predicted that food deprivation would impair both significant effect on concentration scores, which is consistent with recent research on the effects of food deprivation. However, participants in the 12-hour deprivation group spent significantly less time on the perseverance task than those in both the control and 24-hour deprivation groups, suggesting that short-term deprivation may affect some aspects of cognition and not others.

Упражнение 9