Writing An Abstract
1.What makes a good abstract?
2.How is an abstract different from an introduction?
Discuss in pairs
Read the following 3 abstracts and discuss any problems you may think they have
1.
Abstract
This paper presents and assesses a framework for an engineering capstone design program. We explain how student preparation, project selection, and instructor mentorship are the three key elements that must be addressed before the capstone experience is ready for the students. Next, we describe a way to administer and execute the capstone design experience including design workshops and lead engineers. We describe the importance in assessing the capstone design experience and report recent assessment results of our framework. We comment specifically on what students thought were the most important aspects of their experience in engineering capstone design and provide quantitative insight into what parts of the framework are most important.
2.
Abstract
With the continuous growth of the Internet, security intrusions become an ever bigger problem for the information society. Intrusion detection systems are intended to alert system administrators to suspicious events in log files, to help in rapid discovery and remediation of security incidents. In this work, we have used a novel type of neural network combined with a fuzzy logic classifier. We believe that this approach can substantially improve the state of the art.
3.
Abstract
This experiment will determine what will make enzymes effective and what will make them ineffective. We tested different samples of enzymes in a spectrophotometer and recorded their absorption rates. Six samples were placed in the spectrophotometer but two contained no enzyme; these acted as blanks for the other samples. The four remaining samples contained Catecholase ranging from 0.5 ml to 1.75 m. The second half of the experiment contained four test tubes with a constant amount of Catecholase, but the pH levels ranged from four to eight. It was found that if the enzyme was present in large amounts, then the absorption rate was high, and if the pH level ranged from 6 to eight then the absorption rate was high. Therefore it can be said that enzymes work well in neutral pH levels and in large amounts.
3.What sections should an abstract have in it?
4.How do you go about writing a good abstract? List a series of at least four steps
5. Look at examples 1 and 3 above and highlight the different sections according to the following colours:
Highlight the introduction
The review of literature
The method
The results
The conclusion
6. Now do the same with this abstract
Abstract
Metalinguistic awareness contributes to effective writing at university. Writing is a meaning-making process where linguistic, cognitive, social and creative factors are at play. University students need to master the skills of academic writing not only for getting their degree but also for their future career. It is also significant for lecturers to know who our students are, how they think and how we can best assist them. This study examines first-year undergraduate Australian and international engineering students as writers of academic texts in a multicultural setting at the University of Adelaide. A questionnaire and interviews were used to collect data about students’ level of metalinguistic awareness, their attitudes toward, expectations for, assumptions about and motivation for writing. The preliminary results of the research show that students from different cultures initially have different concepts about the academic genres and handle writing with different learning and writing styles, but those with a more developed metalanguage are more confident and motivated. The conclusion can also be drawn that students’ level of motivation for academic writing positively correlates with their opinion about themselves as writers. Following an in-depth multi-dimensional analysis of preliminary research results, some recommendations for writing instruction will also be presented.
7. What phrases are used in this abstract to let the reader know which section of the paper they are reading about?
8. What other phrases could you use?