Research paper

What is an abstract?

• An abstract is a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes your paper.

• It is not an introduction. • An abstract is not a review, nor does it

evaluate the work being abstracted. • It contains key words found in the larger work• Two types (informative and descriptive)

Why do we write an abstract?

• You may write an abstract for various reasons. The two most important are selection and indexing. – Abstracts allow readers who may be interested in

a larger work to quickly decide whether it is worth their time to read it.

– Also, many online databases use abstracts to find larger works. Therefore, abstracts should contain keywords and phrases that allow for easy searching.

Descriptive Abstracts

• tell what the report contains • include purpose, methods, scope, but NOT

results, conclusions, and recommendations • are always very short— usually under 100

words • introduce subject to readers, who must then

read the report to learn study results (from Purdue OWL)

An effective abstract

• uses one or more well-developed paragraphs, which are unified, coherent, concise, and able to stand alone

• uses an introduction-body-conclusion structure in which the parts of the report are discussed in order: purpose, findings, conclusions, recommendations

• follows strictly the chronology of the report • provides logical connections between material included • adds no new information but simply summarizes the

report • is intelligible to a wide audience

To write an effective report abstract, follow these four steps:

• Reread your report with the purpose of abstracting in mind. Look specifically for these main parts: purpose, methods, scope, results, conclusions, and recommendations.

• After you have finished rereading your report, write a rough draft WITHOUT LOOKING BACK AT YOUR REPORT.

• Consider the main parts of the abstract listed in step #1. Do not merely copy key sentences from your report. You will put in too much or too little information. Do not summarize information in a new way.

• Revise your rough draft to – correct weaknesses in organization and coherence, – drop superfluous information, – add important information originally left out, – eliminate wordiness, and – correct errors in grammar and mechanics.

• Carefully proofread your final copy.

3 Sample abstracts

• http://helpwithpaper.weebly.com/student-samples.html

• Student samples and teacher sample• P. 48 APA manual

Now your turn

• Write this before you leave today. I will check your work.

• before you start to write your abstract…

Quick & dirty review

• Second/indirect citation• In-text citation• Quotation• Type of sources

In-text citation (Review: source work: p. 117-129)

1. Citing your source within the source: In “Taking the Bungee Plunge,” Ginia

Bellafonte (1992) argues tat extreme sports provide only a short-term superficial sense of satisfaction.

Bellafonte (1992) argues that genetic factors have played a role in people’s need to take risks. (subsequent citations)

Bellafonte also said…… (1992).

2. Citing your source at the end of a sentence Extreme sports provide only a short-term superficial sense of satisfaction (Bellafonte, 1992). (to emphasize the information rather than the source of info)

Citing Indirect Sources (p.55 apa manual)

• If you use a source that was cited in another source, – name the original source in your signal phrase. – List the secondary source in your reference list and

include the secondary source in the parentheses as below.

Johnson argued that...(as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102).• Note: When citing material in parentheses, set

off the citation with a comma, as above. Also, try to locate the original material and cite the original source.

Direct Quotations

1. Less than 40 words: “Blah Blah…” (last name, year, page number). Sample p. 54 APA manual

2. More than 40 words: Block quotation Sample p. 53. APA manual

Type of resources So you can use “Citation Machine” ^^

• Let’s review Source work p. 125 – 128• OR ASK ME! ^0^

Goal for today

• 1. Check research bundle # 7• 2. Write an abstract for your paper. • 3. Finish reference page. (I highly recommend

CITATION MACHINE) to make your lives easier. ^^