学术英语如何写好摘要How-to-Write-an-Abstract.ppt

How to Write an AbstractI. Definition of abstractII. Function of abstractIII. Contents of abstractIV. Suggestions for abstract writingV. Keywords writingcontentsI. What is an abstract ? Abstract is a short description of the entire paper that appears right at the beginning of the body part and it is often regarded as the most important component in a research paper.II. What is the function of an abstract ? An abstract is used by potential readers（潜在读者） to determine its relevance to their interest and finally to decide whether or not he/she needs to read the entire paper.III. Contents of abstractl Topic specification 主题说明l Background information 背景信息l Purpose statement 目的陈述l Methodology and data 方法与数据l Results/findings 研究结果l Implication/Conclusion 结论The 3 Key Elements in an Abstract A. The statement of purpose about your research;B. The method of your research;C. The conclusion of your research.STRUCTURE of Abstract l Classification of abstractsl Structure of an informative abstractl Features of an abstractClassification of abstractslinformative abstract - the primary research objective or purpose- method employed in solving the problems- principal findings or results- major conclusions and serves as a substitute for the full paperldescriptive abstractoutlines the topics covered in the paper and is like a table of contents in paragraph form. Structure of an informative abstractlBackground why do you want to do the research?lResearch question what question are you trying to answer and what is the research topic of your paper?lMethod how (what material, what method, and what procedures) do you get answers to your research question?lResults what is your answer to the question?lConclusions what implications does the answer imply?Features of an abstractlConcise write everything relevant to the paper in as simple terms as possible.lObjective states objectively the main points of the paper.lConsistent be consistent with the other parts of the whole paper, and never include what has not been mentioned in the paper.lComplete cover all the main points of the paper and be a miniature of the paper.lBrief conveys in as few words as possible the essential information contained in the body of the paper.Useful EXPRESSIONSTo DEFINE the background and argument of the present studylAlthough (the research subject), (the related problem) is as yet undetermined.l(The research subject), however, (the related problem) remains unsolved.l(Previous studies) have examined, (the related problem) is that, despitel(Problems in certain research area) are, yet (the present solution) has frequently been questioned becauselThis paper describes/presents (the argument) within (a theoretical context)lWhile (the debate on certain research subject) seems to, (the present agreement) is still problematic.To STATE the purpose of the present studylThis paper advances the view thatlThe article advocates/discusses/develops/focuses on/gives detailed explanation for/investigates into/proposes/holds that/lThe purpose/intention of this paper islThe primary goal/aim of this research islThe overall objective of this study islIn this paper/study, we aim atlThe work/investigation presented in this paper focuses onlThis research is designed to determine/measure/evaluatelThe author intends/attempts o outline the framework of/obtain some knowledge ofTo DESCRIBE the angle of observing issuesl from the angle ofl in the light of the context thatlTo view something at a different angle/from various angleslFrom the point of view oflFrom the perspective ofTo INTRODUCE the main participants or materialslThe present study has investigated by using/analyzing (participants/materials)lIn this study, we inquired/examined/evaluated (participants/materials)lThe experiments/investigations of the present study involved (participants/materials)To DESCRIBE research method and procedureslDetailed information has been acquired by the authors using.lSeveral sets of experiments have been performed to test the validity oflThe technique the author adopted is referred to aslThe experiments consisted of four steps, which are described inlThe method/approach used in the present study islThe experiment/investigation in the paper is conducted by adoptinglThe procedure the present study followed can be briefly described aslThe experiment/study consisted of the following steps: lIncluded in the experiment werelBased on the idea that, we conducted the present study, categorized, and evaluatedTo PRESENT results, findings and conclusionlThe results of the experiment indicate/suggest that; it is also found thatlThe results are as follows: lThe analysis of the samples indicates that.lThe data obtained seem to be very similar o those reported earlier bylIt is concluded that.; the results also imply the further study intolThe investigation/experiment varied by and the results also revealed thatlThese findings of the research have led the author to the conclusion thatIV. Suggestions for abstract writingA. In writing your abstract, the headings of outline, table of contents, introduction part and conclusion part are useful sections for you to consult;B. Your abstract may contain only one or two paragraphs within 200 words.C. When you introduce the purpose of your research, simple present tense is commonly used; when you describe the methods of research or the results, past tense is the best choice.D. When writing abstract, try to use more passive verbs to downplay the author and emphasize the information.E. Using some special verbs and expressions when writing your abstract such as discuss, aim, attempt, intend, explore, examine, deal with, focus on when you introduce the purpose; indicate , offer, show, reveal, prove, demonstrate, contribute, bring about, when making conclusion.F. Avoid using the first person “I” or “we”, but more third person as the subject in an abstract such as “the author”, “the researcher”, “the paper”, “the study”, etc. Examplesl The author tells about l The writer describes l This paper explores l The present study evaluates l This thesis deals with G. Avoid using abbreviations and symbols. Follow conventional grammar and punctuation rules. The exclamation mark is never used and the question mark is seldom used in an abstract.Samples of tense, voice, subject and verbs used in abstractslThis paper analyzes various possible factors which affects the development of reading ability.1.The emphasis of this study lies in specifying the problems and their causes in the procedure of l The author collected a considerable amount of data and did some research into the design of reading comprehension exercises.l It was recommended thatl Samples were analyzed and V. Keywords WritingA. The function of keywords is to facilitate the information retrieval（信息检索）and stress the theme of the paper;B. Keywords are usually in the form of nouns or noun phrases;C. The number of keywords for a paper should be limited to 4 as the average and in general, there should be at least 2 and at most 8 keywords;D. The keywords of a paper usually come from the topic and/or the abstract where they are commonly contained;E. Use comma or semicolon to separate the keywords, and larger separation or space can also be used instead of those two kinds of punctuation.Conclusionl 摘要是整个论文的缩影摘要是整个论文的缩影, , 读者可以通过读者可以通过它看到论文的梗概它看到论文的梗概; ;关键词则是这个缩影关键词则是这个缩影的的“主线条主线条”, ,读者从中可以找到论文的读者从中可以找到论文的主题主题. . l摘要虽然放在论文正文之前摘要虽然放在论文正文之前, 然而撰写然而撰写摘要必须在论文正文完成之后才能进摘要必须在论文正文完成之后才能进行行;l摘要必须忠实于论文的内容摘要必须忠实于论文的内容,反映论文反映论文的主题的主题,勾划出论文的主要观点勾划出论文的主要观点;l摘要必须文字精炼摘要必须文字精炼, 简明扼要简明扼要.The Sample 1 of ABSTRACTlThis paper reports a longitudinal study（纵向调查） on the changes in speaking vocabulary by English majors through four years learning, which was then compared with the native speakers performance./ The English learners involved in the study were56 students who were enrolled in a university in 2001./They were asked to complete an oral task by producing a three-minute monologue after three minutes preparation in a language lab./ The native speakers were 15 American college students who accomplished the same task as the English learners./The developmental changes were measured in terms of three indexs: fluency ,word variations and lexical frequency profile. /lThe performance on the three indexes on the three indexes of the across for years and the native speakers form a conyinuum. /However , Year Four students were significantly lower in fluency and word variations than native speakers ,but similar to the native speakers in lexical frequency profile. /The period between Year Two and Year Three saw the most noticeable progress. /The students with different starting levels of the three indexes varied in terms of their changes. /The low-level group mad greater progress than the middle-level group which produced slightly faster progress than the high-level group.The Translation of the SAMPLEl摘要:本研究采用英语专业学生四年的口语跟踪语料，用流利度、词汇多样性与词频广度三个指标分析词汇的使用，并与美国大学生的语料进行比较，旨在揭示其变化的趋势与特点。学习者语料来源于2001年入学的56名英语专业学生，他们每天在语言实验室里完成一篇议论文文体的口头作文。本民族语语料源于15名美国大学生，其口头作文的要求同于中国大学生，研究结果表明，学习者总体样本在流利度、词汇多样性和词频广度上的发展呈上升趋势，与本族语大学生的表现形成连续体。四年级学生在流利度和词汇多样性方面显著低于本族语大学生，但在词频广度上的差别与本族语大学生的差异不具有统计意义。2-3年纪是三个指标变化的最佳时段。三个指标起点不同的组别，进行轨迹不完全相同。低起点组明显进步显著大于中起点组，中起点组稍高于高起点组。Analysis the SAMPLElBackground, lResearch question, lMethod, Results, lConclusions. Lets Review The SAMPLE 1lThis paper reports a longitudinal study on the changes in speaking vocabulary by English majors through four years learning, which was then compared with the native speakers performance./ The English learners involved in the study were56 students who were enrolled in a university in 2001./They were asked to complete an oral task by producing a three-minute monologue after three minutes preparation in a language lab./ The native speakers were 15 American college students who accomplished the same task as the English learners.lThe developmental changes were measured in terms of three indexs: fluency ,word variations and lexical frequency profile. /The performance on the three indexes on the three indexes of the across for years and the native speakers form a continuum. However, Year Four students were significantly lower in fluency and word variations than native speakers, but similar to the native speakers in lexical frequency profile. The period between Year Two and Year Three saw the most noticeable progress. /lThe students with different starting levels of the three indexes varied in terms of their changes. /The low-level group mad greater progress than the middle-level group which produced slightly faster progress than the high-level group.Analysis the SAMPLEl This paper reports a longitudinal study on the changes in speaking vocabulary by English majors through four years learning, which was then compared with the native speakers performance./ The English learners involved in the study were56 students who were enrolled in a university in 2001./They were asked to complete an oral task by producing a three-minute monologue after three minutes preparation in a language lab./ The native speakers were 15 American college students who accomplished the same task as the English learners./The developmental changes were measured in terms of three indexs: fluency ,word variations and lexical frequency profile. /lThe performance on the three indexes on the three indexes of the across for years and the native speakers form a continuum. However, Year Four students were significantly lower in fluency and word variations than native speakers, but similar to the native speakers in lexical frequency profile. The period between Year Two and Year Three saw the most noticeable progress. /The students with different starting levels of the three indexes varied in terms of their changes. /The low-level group mad greater progress than the middle-level group which produced slightly faster progress than the high-level group.Sample 2 of abstract and keywordsTopic: The Ability to Interpret Chinese Culture in English: A Survey and its Reflection (对中国文化英语表达能力的对中国文化英语表达能力的 调查及其启示调查及其启示)Abstract: The author focuses on the importance to introduce the cultural knowledge of both target language and native language in foreign language teaching and learning. A test survey revealed that EFL learners have poor ability to present Chinese culture in English due to deficiency of the input of Chinese culture and the paper proposed that more Chinese culture knowledge should be presented in English in order to improve learners ability of two-side cross-culture communication.Keywords: Chinese culture; English teaching and learning; English expressionQuestions to be discussed :lWhat is an abstract and why is it useful for readers ?lWhat is the basic content in an abstract ?lWhy are keywords important and how do you select keywords ? Homework for Writingl Read Text 18 carefully，and write an abstract according to its content. Thank you for your Patience