The Effective Abstract or Summary An abstract summarizes the essential aspects, and attracts the readers to your presentation (talk, report, manuscript, proposal), in a lucid, concise manner. The reader learns the essence and importance of the presentation quickly and easily . Often the abstract is the *only part* ever read.

The Effective Abstract or Summary—The Organization Summarizes the essential aspects... Introduction, motivation, purpose, objective, question, hypotheses Strategy, method, observations Findings or results Essential implications or interpretations Conclusions

The Effective Abstract or Summary—The Impact …and attracts the readers to your presentation (talk, report, manuscript, proposal) Introduction, motivation, purpose, objective, question, hypotheses Strategy, method, observations Findings or results Essential implications or interpretations Conclusions Why the project is important What the reader should learn or gain of value How the project should change views, knowledge or future actions

The Effective Abstract or Summary—The Writing in a lucid, concise manner. Logically organized (topic sentence at or near the top, concluding sentence near the bottom) Consistently forward progression of concepts Clear and easy to understand Packed with content, every word has a role (no wasted space), and essentials only Accurate writing and accurate information Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you told them

in a lucid, concise manner. Logically organized (topic sentence at or near the top, concluding sentence near the bottom) The abstract is of utmost importance, for it is read by 10 to 500 times more people than hear or read the entire article. It should not be a mere recital of the subjects covered. Expressions such as “is discussed” and “is described” should never be included! The abstract should be a condensation and concentration of the essential information in the paper. From K.K. Landes-Scrutiny of an Abstract II What’s the topic? What’s the conclusion? What purposes are served by each part?

in a lucid, concise manner. Logically organized (topic sentence at or near the top, concluding sentence near the bottom) The abstract is of utmost importance, for it is read by 10 to 500 times more people than hear or read the entire article. It should not be a mere recital of the subjects covered. Expressions such as “is discussed” and “is described” should never be included! The abstract should be a condensation and concentration of the essential information in the paper. From K.K. Landes-Scrutiny of an Abstract II What’s the topic? What’s the conclusion? What purposes are served by each part?

in a lucid, concise manner. Logically organized (topic sentence at or near the top, concluding sentence near the bottom) The abstract is of utmost importance, for it is read by 10 to 500 times more people than hear or read the entire article. It should not be a mere recital of the subjects covered. Expressions such as “is discussed” and “is described” should never be included! The abstract should be a condensation and concentration of the essential information in the paper. From K.K. Landes-Scrutiny of an Abstract II What’s the topic? What’s the conclusion? What purposes are served by each part?

in a lucid, concise manner. Logically organized (topic sentence at or near the top, concluding sentence near the bottom) Consistently forward progression of concepts Each paragraph or sentence is like a link in the chain of ideas. It starts with the idea left by previous chain and connects to the next link of the story Paragraphs and sentences are like a relay team of trail guides. Each one guides the hiker from point to point, in a steady forward progress of discovery along the trail. A B C

in a lucid, concise manner. Logically organized (topic sentence at or near the top, concluding sentence near the bottom) Consistently forward progression of concepts A B C The abstract is of utmost importance. It should not be a mere recital of the subjects covered. It is too important for this as it is read by 10 to 500 times more people than hear or read the entire article. The abstract should describe only essential information; expressions such as “is discussed” and “is described” should never be included! As such, it should be a condensation and concentration of the most salient aspects of the paper.

in a lucid, concise manner. Logically organized (topic sentence at or near the top, concluding sentence near the bottom) Consistently forward progression of concepts The abstract is of utmost importance. It should not be a mere recital of the subjects covered. It is too important for this as it is read by 10 to 500 times more people than hear or read the entire article. The abstract should describe only essential information; expressions such as “is discussed” and “is described” should never be included! As such, it should be a condensation and concentration of the most salient aspects of the paper. The abstract is of utmost importance, for it is read by 10 to 500 times more people than hear or read the entire article. It should not be a mere recital of the subjects covered. Expressions such as “is discussed” and “is described” should never be included! The abstract should be a condensation and concentration of the essential information in the paper. From K.K. Landes-Scrutiny of an Abstract II

in a lucid, concise manner. Clear and easy to understand Packed with content, every word has a role (no wasted space), and essentials only Avoid unnecessary redundancy: you only need one link at each point along your story chain and you want each step to be forward A B C

in a lucid, concise manner. Clear and easy to understand Packed with content, every word has a role (no wasted space), and essentials only Make important actions verbs and important objects/subjects nouns The importance of abstracts cannot be overstated. Readership by people is 10 to 500 greater than that of the entire article. Mere recital of only the subjects covered is not desirable. “Is discussed” and “is described” are phrases that require avoidance. Condensed and concentrated writing of only the essential information in the paper should be practiced. The abstract is of utmost importance, for it is read by 10 to 500 times more people than hear or read the entire article. It should not be a mere recital of the subjects covered. Expressions such as “is discussed” and “is described” should never be included! The abstract should be a condensation and concentration of the essential information in the paper. From K.K. Landes-Scrutiny of an Abstract II Don’t nounify important actions!

in a lucid, concise manner. Accurate writing and accurate information The abstract is of utmost importance, for they are read by people 10 to 500 times more often that is the entire article. It should not be a recital merely of the subjects covered. Word usage such as “is discussed” and “is described” should never be included! The abstract should be a compaction and concentration of the essential information in the paper. The abstract is of utmost importance, for it is read by 10 to 500 times more people than hear or read the entire article. It should not be a mere recital of the subjects covered. Expressions such as “is discussed” and “is described” should never be included! The abstract should be a condensation and concentration of the essential information in the paper. From K.K. Landes-Scrutiny of an Abstract II

in a lucid, concise manner. Introduction, motivation, purpose, objective, question, hypotheses Strategy, method, observations Findings or results Essential implications or interpretations Conclusions Tell them what you’re going to tell them Tell them Tell them what you’ve told them

The Effective Abstract or Summary—The Writing in a lucid, concise manner. Logically organized (topic sentence at or near the top, concluding sentence near the bottom) Consistently forward progression of concepts Clear and easy to understand Packed with content, every word has a role (no wasted space), and essentials only Accurate writing and accurate information Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you told them

The Effective Abstract or Summary An abstract summarizes the essential aspects, and attracts the readers to your presentation (talk, report, manuscript, proposal), in a lucid, concise manner. The reader quickly and easily learns the importance and essence of the presentation Often the abstract is the *only part* ever read!