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English II Unit-I Lecture-4

An abstract is a concise summary of a longer work, such as a research paper, and is essential for conveying the aims and outcomes of the research. There are two main types of abstracts: descriptive, which briefly describes the work, and informative, which presents all main arguments and results. Effective abstracts should be coherent, cover essential academic elements, be understandable to a wider audience, and typically do not include references.

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English II Unit-I Lecture-4

An abstract is a concise summary of a longer work, such as a research paper, and is essential for conveying the aims and outcomes of the research. There are two main types of abstracts: descriptive, which briefly describes the work, and informative, which presents all main arguments and results. Effective abstracts should be coherent, cover essential academic elements, be understandable to a wider audience, and typically do not include references.

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Unit-I- Comprehension and Composition

Topic :Abstract Writing

Q.4.What is an abstract? What are the methods to write an effective abstract? Discuss
in short the key features and main types of an abstract.

Definition of abstract: The word abstract comes from the Latin abstractum, which means a
condensed form of a longer piece of writing. An abstract is a short summary of a longer
work such as a research paper or dissertation. According to Carole Slade an abstract is “a
concise summary of the entire paper” Abstracts are important parts of reports and research
papers and sometimes academic assignments. An abstract concisely reports the aims and
outcomes of a research so that readers know exactly what the paper is about. There are two
main types of abstract: the (1) Descriptive and the (2) Informative abstract. The type of
abstract depends on the discipline area.

Methods to write an effective abstract

1. First of all the paper or report should be read and re-read carefully for an overview. Then
each section should be read and the information should be condensed in each down to 1-2
sentences.

2. Next these sentences should be read again to ensure that they cover the major points in the
paper.

3. It should be ensured that something has been written for each of the key points outlined
above for either the descriptive or informative abstract. Each sentence should clearly
communicate one main point.

4. The word length should be checked and the words should be reduced, if necessary by
cutting out unnecessary words or rewriting some of the sentences into a single, more succinct
sentence.

5. Finally it should be edited for flow and expression.

Key features of an effective abstract

1. A good abstract has one well-developed paragraph that is coherent and concise, and is
able to stand alone as a unit of information.

2. It covers all the essential academic elements of the full-length paper, namely the
background (the motivation behind research), purpose, focus, methods, results i.e findings
and conclusions (implication of research)

3. It should only include information that can be found in the main text.

4. It is written in plain English and is understandable to a wider audience, as well as to


discipline-specific readers.
5. It should be written in the language of the original paper, often in a more simplified form
for the more general reader.

6. Usually it does not include any referencing.

7. In publications such as journals, it is found at the beginning of the text, while in academic
assignments, it is placed on a separate preliminary page.

8. If a research paper is published, the keywords used in the research paper are written at the
end of the abstract. These keywords reference the most important elements of the research.
Types of abstract

(1) Descriptive abstract

A descriptive abstract briefly describes a longer work. It is generally used for humanities and
social science papers or psychology essays. This type of abstract is usually very short (50-100
words). Most descriptive abstracts have certain key parts in common. They are

 background
 purpose
 particular interest/focus of paper
 overview of contents (not always included)
(2) Informative abstract

An Informative abstract presents all the main arguments and important results. It is generally
used for science, engineering or psychology reports. It contains the essence of the paper or
report usually in about 200 words. Most informative abstracts also have key parts in common.
Each of these parts might consist of 1-2 sentences. The parts include:

 background
 aim or purpose of research
 method used
 findings/results
 conclusion
In a nutshell a good abstract reflects the essence of the whole paper and covers the academic
elements such as background, purpose and focus, methods results also called ‘findings’
conclusions , recommendations (or ‘implications’, not always relevant) of a research work

Home-work

Q.1What is an abstract?

Q.2What are the characteristics of a good abstract?

Q.2 Write a short note on Aabstract writing? (2023)

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