Writing an Abstract

V. Revision of the final draft

Here some general recommendations you are advised to follow while writing and revising your scientific article:

• Use normal English language including articles.
• Stay focused on the research topic of the paper.
• Use paragraphs to separate each important point (except for the abstract).
• Present your points in logical order.
• Use present tense to report well accepted facts - for example, 'the grass is green'.
• Use past tense to describe specific results - for example, 'When weed killer was applied, the grass was brown'.
• Avoid informal wording, don't use jargon or slang terms.

Use a spell checker as a final touch to your editing. They catch not only spelling errors but also typos. If a spell checker flags a word as wrong when you are sure it isn't (this happens with names and technical words), then add that word to your "personal dictionary" so the computer recognizes it next time. Keep in mind, though, that the computer won't tell you that you've mistyped form for from, principle for principal or perfect for prefect.

You can do your own style checking by making the most of the simple Search function. For instance, if you know you have overused or misused a certain word or phrase, let the Search call up each instance and then you can look at it in context. This can even work with types of words: try searching ion[space] or ment[space] to notice how many abstract words you have been using. Even looking at each use of and[space], but, or which can show up some habits of sentence structuring.

Having made your article perfect you may write an Abstract. Remember that the title and abstract of your article permit your potential readers to get a quick overview of your study and to decide if they wish to read the article itself. Titles and abstracts are also indexed and compiled in reference works and computerized databases. For this reason they should accurately reflect the content of the article and include key words that will ensure their retrieval from a database. You should compose the title and abstract after you have completed the article and have a firm view of its structure and content. So revise the title of the article and check the key words.

The abstract briefly (in 150-350 words) conveys the essential information of your article, including its purpose, the results and conclusion.

1. ABSTRACT. Play is essential to development as it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. Play also offers an ideal opportunity for parents to engage fully with their children. Despite the benefits derived from play for both children and parents, time for free play has been markedly reduced for some children. This report addresses a variety of factors that have reduced play, including a hurried lifestyle, changes in family structure, and increased attention to academics and enrichment activities at the expense of recess or free child-centered play. This report offers guidelines on how pediatricians can advocate for children by helping families, school systems, and communities consider how best to ensure play is protected as they seek the balance in children’s lives to create the optimal developmental milieu.

(Source: Kenneth R. Ginsburg. The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. American Academy of Pediatrics Report, October 9, 2006).

2. Characteristics of syngas from the pyrolysis and gasification of food waste has been investigated. Characteristic differences in syngas properties and overall yields from pyrolysis and gasification were determined at two distinct high temperatures of 800 and 900C. Pyrolysis and gasification behavior were evaluated in terms of syngas flow rate, hydrogen flow rate, output power, total syngas yield, total hydrogen yield, total energy yield, and apparent thermal efficiency. Gasification was more beneficial than pyrolysis based on investigated criteria, but longer time was needed to finish the gasification process. Longer time of gasification is attributed to slow reactions between the residual char and gasifying agent. Consequently, the char gasification kinetics was investigated. Inorganic constituents of food char were found to have a catalytic effect. Char reactivity increased with increased degree of conversion. In the conversion range from 0.1 to 0.9 the increase in reactivity was accompanied by an increase in pre-exponential factor, which suggested an increase in gasifying agent adsorption rate to char surface. However, in the conversion range from 0.93 to 0.98 the increase in reactivity was accompanied by a decrease in activation energy. A compensation effect was observed in this range of conversion of 0.93–0.98.

(Source: I.I. Ahmed, A.K. Gupta. Pyrolysis and gasification of food waste: Syngas characteristics and char gasification kinetics. Applied Energy 87 (2010) 101–108).

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