How to Structure an Abstract

READING

COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS

VOCABULARY

Ex. 1. Infer or imply? Read the information [10] in the box and underline the correct word in the sentences below.

Infer means "to deduce, reason," and imply means "to hint at, suggest." A speaker or writer implies, a hearer or reader infers; implications are incorporated in statements, while inferences are deduced from statements. Imply means "suggest indirectly that something is true," while infer means "conclude or deduce something is true". Remember that imply and infer can be used to describe the same event but from different points of view. Compare: 1. He implied that the General had been a traitor. [presented from the writer’s/speaker’s perspective who doesn’t actually claim that the General had betrayed his country]. 2. I inferred from his words that the General had been a traitor. [presented from the listener’s perspective who deduced from the General’s words that he was in fact a traitor] To infer is used in the construction 'to infer something from something': To imply is normally followed by a clause.

1. I inferred/ implied from what my advisor said that I had failed the test.
2. Are you implying/ inferring that I was responsible for handing out the conference invitations?
3. The reader can easily infer/imply from the first ten pages that the protagonist will have been killed by the end of the novel.
4. Am I right to infer/ imply you think my husband owns the gun that killed the policeman? Is that what you're implying/ inferring?
5. The report implies/ infers that the number of children with autism might double in five years.
6. I did not mean to imply/infer thatthere is any reason to justify his behavior.
7. From the speech of the President, the audience can infer/ imply that Russia will improve its position globally in the nearest future.
8. “Reading between the lines” is what we usually mean by inferring/ implying.

Abstracts and Annotations [11]

What is an Abstract?

An abstract is a short statement about your research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or project designed to give the reader a complete, yet concise, understanding of your paper’s research and findings. It gives a thorough overview of your paper or project. In journal articles, research papers, and patents, an abstract is a short summary placed prior to the introduction, often set apart from the body of the text, sometimes with different line justification (as a block or pull quote) from the rest of the article.

Scientific literature takes widespread advantage of the abstract as the abbreviated style of choice in order to aptly communicate complex research. In science, an abstract may act as a stand-alone entity in lieu of the paper as well. As such, an abstract is used by many organizations as the basis for selecting research that is proposed for presentation in the form of a poster, podium/lecture, or workshop presentation at an academic conference. Most literature database search engines index abstracts only as opposed to providing the entire text of the paper. Full-texts of scientific papers must often be purchased because of copyright and/or publisher fees, and therefore the abstract is a significant selling point for the reprint or electronic version of the full-text.
Abstracts are not public domain or open-source unless stated by the publisher. Therefore, abstracts are afforded protections under copyright law in many states just as any other form of written speech is protected. However, publishers of scientific articles invariably make abstracts publicly available, even when the article itself is protected by a toll barrier.

What Should Be in an Abstract?

A well-prepared abstract allows a reader to quickly and accurately identify the basic content of your research or project. Readers should be able to read your abstract to see if the related research is of interest to them.

A model abstract should contain the following elements:

• a statement of the purpose of your study
• the research methods/methodology used to arrive at your results and/or conclusions
• the results observed
• the conclusions drawn from your study and their significance

Abstracts are not evaluative and must not include your personal opinions.

Abstract length varies by discipline and publisher requirements. Typical length ranges from 100 to 500 words, but very rarely more than a page. An abstract may or may not have the section title of "abstract" explicitly listed as an antecedent to the content, however, it is typically sectioned logically as an overview of what appears in the paper. Usually an abstract is no more than 250 words.

1. PURPOSE: Explain the purpose of your study/paper. Ideally in 1-3 sentences, state the primary objectives and scope of the study or the reasons why the document was written. Also state the rationale for your research. Why did you do the research? Is the topic you are researching an ignored or newly discovered one? Why is it significant? Here you should include your hypothesis if appropriate.

2. METHODS: In terms of methodology (research methods), clearly state the techniques or approaches used in your study. For papers concerned with non-experimental work (such as those in the humanities, some social sciences, and the fine arts) describe your sources and your use/interpretation of the sources.

3. RESULTS: Describe your results (the findings of your experimentation), the data collected, and effects observed as informatively and concisely as possible. These results may be experimental or theoretical, just remember to make note of that in your abstract. Give special priority in your abstract to new and verified findings that contradict previous theories. Mention any limits to the accuracy or reliability of your findings if appropriate.

4. CONCLUSION: Your conclusions should in essence describe the implications of the results: Why are the results of your study important to your field and how do they relate to the purpose of your investigation?

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