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2 Writing Abstracts In today’s presentation, I am going to describe the two most common types of abstracts and give you some tips on writing them. We will also look at a few examples of abstracts to make sure you understand the basic approaches to writing them.
3 What Is an Abstract? Summary of a longer documentDescribes content and scope of the document Highlights major points The abstract is typically words long and is a short version of an article, book, thesis, or dissertation. It is usually used in academic writing. Abstracts serve as a surrogate for a longer paper. They are designed to quickly inform the reader about what the main document entails. *They are not an evaluation (or critique) of the work
4 Who Is the Audience? Researchers Scholars Conference organizersAuthor Meier, K. V. Institution Western Ontario University, London, Ontario, Canada. Title A meditation on critical mass in the philosophy of sport. Source Journal of the Philosophy of Sport : ref. Abstract The paper explores the contemporary state, in North America, of philosophic interchange among scholars interested in the better understanding of sport. The emergence of scholarly writing in this area, and its development into an academic discipline, is followed by an analysis of the productivity of North American based philosophers of sport and a determination of the publication record in selected journals. Investigations revealed a lack of 'critical mass' - only 46 authors with two or more published works in the philosophy of sport during the years The paper concludes with an assessment of problems of direction, structure and content currently evident in a field which has not become a widely practiced specialty within the discipline of philosophy. Researchers Scholars Conference organizers Conference attendees Readers The picture on this slide is from a database called CAB Abstracts used by researchers in many fields including business, the humanities, and science. The first step of any writing project is to know your audience. Like any written work, abstracts can vary greatly depending on their audience and purpose. Abstracts are often used by researchers and scholars who are looking for information that applies to their work. Databases always include abstracts. Oftentimes, researchers will read only the abstract of a document to decide if it is relevant to their work—so it’s crucial that an abstract be a clear, concise, and accurate reflection of a work. They are also used in conferences. Conference organizers request abstracts (as part of a proposal) to determine which presentations they will host, and conference attendees read them to decide which presentation to attend. Readers use abstracts to decide if they want to read the whole document. (Think of the back of a book as a sort of abstract.) Oftentimes, government reports, academic papers, and business reports have an abstract of the whole document at the beginning. In some cases, like in business, the abstract is often called an “executive summary.”
5 Not All Abstracts Are AlikeCheck the style guide or the instructions to authors for the conference or publication you are targeting. They may have specific guidelines. There are two main types of abstracts, descriptive, which are more general, and informative, which are more detailed. I will discuss both today. To decide which to use, consider your assignment or ask your instructor. If you are writing for a conference, a database, or a journal, check their guidelines or look at a sample.
6 Descriptive AbstractsIntroduce the subject in under 250 words Include the purpose, methods, and scope of the work Omit results, conclusions, recommendations I will begin with descriptive abstracts.
7 This study investigated the effectiveness of Calibrated Peer Review (CPR)™ in a senior-level biochemistry class for improving students’ ability to write scientific abstracts. The CPR process for feedback was compared with Teaching Assistant-generated feedback. Statistical analyses of three assignments by 50 students and a separate analysis of the abstract written by 256 students were used to measure differences in writing quality for each type of feedback. You should read this and point out the parts— purpose (to investigate the effectiveness of CPR in a specific class for helping students learn to write scientific abstracts) methods (comparison of writing quality for abstracts written in with CPR with feedback and abstracts given feedback generated by Teaching Assistants) scope (a specific course, two classes, 50 students in one class and 256 in another). Scope includes what sort of setting CPR was examined in, as well as the number of abstracts compared. Notice this abstract does not give results. Its length is about 66 words. From: “Development of Student Writing in Biochemistry Using Calibrated Peer Review,” by Yasha Hartberg, Adelet Baris Gunersel, Nancy Simpson and Valerie Balester, Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
8 Informative AbstractsInclude the purpose, methods, and scope of work Also include results, conclusions, recommendations Range from a paragraph to a page or two, depending upon the length of the original work being abstracted Informative abstracts are more common than descriptive abstracts. They are similar to descriptive abstracts, but—as the name would suggest—they provide more information. In addition to the purpose, methods, and scope of work (which are all given in descriptive abstracts), informative abstracts also include results, conclusions, and recommendations. Because they have more information, informative abstracts tend to be longer. But be sure to check with the guidelines about length! (For example, TAMU dissertation abstracts are informative abstracts, but they can only be 350 words long.)
9 This study investigated the effectiveness of Calibrated Peer Review (CPR)™ in a senior-level biochemistry class to improve students’ ability to write scientific abstracts. The writing quality of scientific abstracts composed with feedback from CPR was compared with the writing quality of abstracts composed with Teaching Assistant-generated feedback. Statistical analyses of three assignments by 50 students indicated significant differences between CPR and Teaching Assistant feedback on student writing quality. While scores of students who received Teaching Assistant feedback decreased, scores of students who used CPR improved. Students also progressed over the course of a semester in CPR-generated measures of their reviewing abilities. Note how this adds findings but not significance. This is because of the emphasis of the study—answering the basic research questions was more important than any larger significance. The quality of abstracts improved with CPR feedback more than with TA-generated feedback. Students also improved in their ability to review over the course of a semester, as measured by CPR. The total number of words is about 103. From: “Development of Student Writing in Biochemistry Using Calibrated Peer Review,” by Yasha Hartberg, Adelet Baris Gunersel, Nancy Simpson and Valerie Balester, Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
10 IMRaD Introduction Method Results, and DiscussionA good way to remember what to include in an abstract (and the general organization) is to use IMRAD, which stands for Introduction (the problem the document addresses and any necessary background), Method (how the problem was approached), Results (what the writer concludes or discovers), and Discussion (the significance, application, recommendations, or implications of the results).
11 Key Words Abstracts must contain key words about what is essential in the main document. Key words are used to classify abstracts in databases. Effective key words allow researchers to search for your publication easily. Key words are used to search databases. Key words are the terms the database uses to file and retrieve the abstract. Review your abstract for potential key words that someone researching the topic can use. After showing this slide, ask what the key words of the abstract that you just looked at would be. *Click back to previous slide* Some Answers: Calibrated Peer Review Abstracts Biochemistry education Writing quality Peer Review
12 Checklist Have you included the following? Subject Scope PurposeMethods Results Recommendations, implications, or significance Key words Most abstracts include some version of the following elements: Subject Scope Purpose Methods Results Recommendations, implications, or significance Key words Again, think IMRaD.
13 This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a multi‐layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social structures and the constraints movements face when they try to do so. The time period studied includes the expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white‐flight academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti‐poverty programs. I use two major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county‐level data and (2) three case studies. Data have been collected from archives, interviews, newspapers, and published reports. This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as the agents driving institutional change, but typically these groups acted in response to the leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi. Purple Text is Purpose – The purpose is clearly outlined and defined. The author does include extra details such as the dates and what he hopes to achieve (to clarify) but is concise enough Blue Text is Scope and Green text is Method – The author describes what is included, what data is analyzed. Additionally he mentions how he does this (part of the method). Orange Text is Conclusions. Additionally, this abstract includes some conclusions. Often, results are not included in a descriptive abstract but he does not mention specific results and just offers a general conclusion to his research. Kenneth Tait Andrews, "'Freedom is a constant struggle': The dynamics and consequences of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, 1960‐1984" Ph.D. State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1997 DAI‐A 59/02, p. 620, Aug 1998.
14 Write the Draft Check style guidelines. Re-read the original document.In each major section, highlight key information. Create a single paragraph using your own words. Smooth it out with transitions. Check for guidelines provided by the organization or journal you are writing for. Be thoroughly familiar with the document you are abstracting. Reread the work. In each major section of the document you are abstracting, highlight key information. In many disciplines, this means introduction, methods, results, and discussion. Compile the highlighted information into a single paragraph without looking back at the original. Be sure to paraphrase and use your own words. Re-read for word count and make sure the sentences flow. Add transitions as needed to make it sound coherent. Check the abstract against the original to be sure you did not leave out anything important or add anything not included in the document. Stress the importance of having a coherent style.
15 Revise the Draft Be sure you’ve included all necessary parts. Check the abstract against the original for accuracy. Edit for wordiness. Check organization and transitions. Double check guidelines and instructions. 7. You are not quite done. Go over it again, preferably after you have has a short break from it. Highlight to make sure you’ve included all the necessary parts—scope, methods, etc. Be sure that your abstract reflects the original document accurately. 8. Now go back and make sure it reads well on its own, as a coherent paragraph (or, if it is longer, as a few paragraphs). Delete extraneous words or phrases. Correct weaknesses in organization and improve transitions. 9. Count the number of words and be sure it conforms to the requirements in your style guide and the instruction from the journal or call for proposals.
16 A Good Abstract Is . . . Coherent Comprehensible to a wide audienceDirect, concise, and clear Think of the abstract like the “elevator speech.” You should be able to clearly and concisely explain to an outsider what your study was about, how it was done and what results came of it.
17 References Phillip Koopman.“How to Write an Abstract.” University of Toronto.“The Abstract.” UWC TAMU. “Abstracts.” Here are some sources for might want to check for further information.
18 For More Help… Visit our website or call us to schedule an appointment. We can help you write an abstract for any context or discipline. For more help writing an abstract, make an appointment with us at writingcenter.tamu.edu.
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