Advanced Technical Writing Lecture 7 Abstract Writing

Abstracts Abstract summarized and highlight the major points of a longer piece of writing. Abstract are written for many formal reports, journal articles, and most dissertations.

Abstract primary purpose To enable readers to decide whether to read the work in full. They enable researchers to review a great deal of literature in a short time.

Abstract for reports and articles Abstract must accurately but concisely describe the original work so that researchers in the field will not miss valuable information. Abstract should contain no information not discussed in the original.

When are abstracts used? Ordinarily part of a research article in a journal For chapters in a book, especially if each chapter has a different author Library reference tools, such as Biological Abstracts For presentations at scientific meetings (often the "published abstract" is the only written record of such a presentation) Dissertations, some papers in the sciences and social sciences require abstracts

Abstracts An abstract is a short informative or descriptive summary of a longer report. It is written after the report is completed, although it is intended to be read first. In a technical report, the abstract appears on a separate page after the table of contents and list of illustrations

Abstract Classification Descriptive Informative

Descriptive Abstract Tell readers what information the report, article, or paper contains Include the purpose, methods, and scope of the report, article, or paper Do not provide results, conclusions, or recommendations. Are always very short, usually under 150 words. Introduce the subject to readers, who must then read the report, article, or paper to find out the author's results, conclusions, or recommendations

Example Of Descriptive Abstract Purpose This report describes the practices and selected foreign countries for scope providing engineering expertise on shift in nuclear power plants. The report discusses the extent to which engineering expertise is made available and the alternative models of providing such expertise. The implications of foreign practices for U.S. consideration are discussed, with particular reference to the shift

Continue Example technical advisor position and to a proposed shift engineer position. The Methods relevant information for this study came used from the open literature, interviews with utility staff and officials, and governmental and nuclear utility reports.

Informative Abstracts Communicate specific information from the report, article, or paper. Include the purpose, methods, and scope of the report, article, or paper. Provide the report, article, or paper's results, conclusions, and recommendations. Are short -- from a paragraph to a page or two, depending upon the length of the original work being abstracted. Usually informative abstracts are 10% or less of the length of the original piece. Allow readers to decide whether they want to read the report, article, or paper.

Example of Informative Abstract Purpose This report describes the practices and selected foreign countries for scope providing engineering expertise on shift in nuclear power plants. The report discusses the extent to which engineering expertise is made available and the alternative models of providing such expertise. The implications of foreign practices for U.S. consideration are discussed, with particular reference to the shift technical advisor position and to a

Continue Example proposed shift engineer position. The Methods relevant information for this study came used from the open literature, interviews with utility staff and officials, and governmental and nuclear utility reports. The countries used two approaches to Finding provide engineering expertise on shift:(1) employing a graduate engineer in a line management operations position and (2) creating a specific engineering position to provide expertise to the operations staff. The comparison of these two models did not

Continue Example General indicate that one system inherently functions Conclusion more effectively than does the other for safe operations. However, the alternative models are likely to affect crew relationships and performance; labor supply, recruitment, and retention and system implementation. Of Recomme- the two systems, the nonsupervisory dation engineering position seems more advantageous within the context of current recruitment and career-path practices.

Where to find examples of abstracts: The best source of example abstracts is journal articles. Go to the library and look at engineering journals, or look at electronic journals on the web. Read the abstract; read the article. Pick the best ones, the examples where the abstract makes the article easier to read, and figure out how they do it. Not everyone writes good abstracts, even in refereed journals, but the more abstracts you read, the easier it is to spot the good ones.

Which Type Should you Write? The answer depends on the organization or publication for which you are writing. Aim at the needs of the principal readers of your document.

Length of Abstracts A long abstract defeats the purpose of abstracting. For this reason abstracts usually no longer than 250 to 350 words. Descriptive abstracts may be considerably shorter, of course.

Abstract Should Includes The subject of the study The purpose of the study The scope of the study The methods used The results obtained (informative abstract only) The conclusion (informative abstract only) The Recommendations made, if any (informative abstract only)

Abstract Should not Include The background of study A detailed discussion or explanation of the methods used Administrative details about how the study was undertaken, who funded it, who worked on it. Figures, tables, charts, maps, and bibliographic references Any information that does not appear in the original.

COMMON PROBLEMS Too long. If your abstract is too long, it may be rejected. Abstracts are often too long because people forget to count their words Too much detail. Abstracts that are too long often have unnecessary details. The abstract is not the place for detailed explanations of methodology or for details about the context of your research problem Too short. Shorter is not necessarily better.  If your word limit is 200 but you only write 95 words, you probably have not written in sufficient detail. Failure to include important information. You need to be careful to cover the points listed above.

Are You Ready For Your 3rd Assignment ? Write Abstract for your Formal Report Due next Monday (march 7, 2016) at class time Good Luck