Abstract-writing(论文摘要写作)

1UnitTwoTHEABSTRACT摘要摘要是科技论文的高度概括，是国际会议及学术刊物决定取舍论文的重要依据，也是读者是否继续阅读全文的重要依据。摘要的主要作用在于帮助读者在较短时间内清晰地了解论文的主要内容、研究目的及范围、采用的方法、实验过程、取得的重要数据、得出的结果及结论。摘要具有简洁准确、客观具体、信息充足、独立成篇的特点。为了便于他人和计算机检索文献，一般要求作者在摘要之后提供3～6个关键词以表达论文主要内容。摘要的类型有很多，常用的有指示性摘要(indicativeabstracts)、信息性摘要（informativeabstracts）和综合性摘要(informativeandindicativeabstracts)。指示性摘要，亦称描述性摘要，短小精悍，一般不涉及具体数据和结果，只对论文的主要观点、涉及范围和结论做简要概述以便帮助读者判断是否有必要阅读全文。指示性摘要常见于理论性和综述评论性较强的论文。信息性摘要是科技论文主要内容的缩影，概括论文研究的目的、方法、列出重要数据、结果和结论，如果采用的是新方法，还要说明其原理和操作范围，尽量为读者提供论文中所包容的定量和定性信息。国际会议论文和实验性、技术性较强的论文常采用此类摘要。综合性摘要是指示性摘要和信息性摘要的整合，向读者提供充分必要的信息，既有研究的背景和条件，也有研究的方法和分析，还有具体数据和结论便于读者参考和验证。这类摘要常见于学位论文和专题研究。根据不同需要，摘要的字数一般限制在100~300字左右，其语言特点是简洁准确、信息量大、言简意丰，少用或不用缩略词、特殊字符，采用简单完整句和第三人称句等。2UnitTwo:TheAbstract2.1WhatIsanAbstract2.1.1DefinitionofanAbstractAnabstractisaminiaturereportthatcondensesthemostimportantinformationincludedinareport,aresearchpaper,adissertationorothertechnicaldocuments.Itsummarizestheimportantpointsinvestigatedandtheresultsfoundinanextendedpieceofwriting.Itbrieflydescribes1)theobjectivesandscopeofinvestigation,2)themethodsused,3)themostimportantresults,and4)theconclusionorrecommendation.Dependinguponthepublicationthewriterintendstopublishthepaperin,anabstractcanalsobecalledaprécisorasummary.Theorderinwhichmanypeoplereadaresearchpaperis:abstract,discussion(conclusion),introduction,results,methodsandmaterials.Althoughtheabstractusuallycomesbeforetheintroductionofapaper,itisoftenthelastparttobewrittenafterknowingexactlythecontentsofthepaper.2.1.2FeaturesofAbstractsBydefinitionanabstractisanabbreviated,accuraterepresentationofthecontentsofadocument,withoutaddedinterpretationorcriticismandwithoutdistinctionastowhowrotetheabstract.Asitcontainsgeneralorbackgroundinformation,manyreadersdependonittodecideiftheyshouldcontinuetoreadtheentirepaper.Theabstract,therefore,shouldbe(1)Brief:Theabstractprovidesthereaderwithabriefpreviewofthestudybasedoninformationfromtheothersectionsofthepaper.Usuallythelengthlimitationofanabstractis100-300words3dependingondifferentpublications.(2)Accurate:Chosetheexactwordsneededtogetaprecisemeaningacrosstothereaders.(3)Specific:Itshouldnotcontaincitationstosourcesormaterialusednorshoulditmakereferencetoanytablesorfiguresinthepaper.(4)Objective:Anabstractiswrittenforthepurposeofsuccinctlysummarizingthemainpointsofanytextasobjectivelyaspossible.(5)Informative:Theabstractshouldnotbeatableofcontents,norshoulditbeanintroduction.Itshouldbeinformative.Theabstracttellsthereaderwhattheresearchwasabout,howitwasundertakenandwhatwasdiscovered,butnothowthepaperisorganized.Themainfindingsmustbesummarized.(6)Self-contained:Anabstractmaybeusedseparatelyfromthepapereitherinaseparatereferencebookpublishedseveraltimesayearorinacomputerdatabaseofabstracts.Itmustmakesensealonewithoutreferencetothemaintext.2.2ClassificationofAbstractsThereexistsarangeoftypesthatarecommonlyusedtodescribeabstracts.Despitetheschoolofthoughtthatbelievesonlyindicativeandinformativeabstractscanberegardedastrueabstracts,wewillexploremanyotheradditionalterms,suchasinformative-indicativeabstracts,criticalabstracts,mini-abstracts,etc.Themostappropriatetypeofabstractinanycircumstancewillbeafunctionofthenatureoftheoriginaldocumentandtheanticipatedreadership.Forthisreasonwewillexploitmorethanonetypeofabstract.Further,thetypesdiscussedbelowarenotexclusiveandinsomecasesitmaybeappropriatetoapplymorethanoneofthesetypestooneabstract.2.2.1IndicativeAbstracts4Indicativeabstracts(sometimescalleddescriptiveabstracts)merelyincludeinformationaboutthepurpose,scope,andmethodsusedtoarriveatthefindingscontainedintheoriginaldocument.Aindicativeabstractneednotbelongerthanseveralsentencesifitadequatelysummarizestheinformation.Itdoesnotcontainspecificdataandresults.Itisbriefandconcise,fromwhichreaderscandecideiftheyshouldcontinuetoreadtheentirepaper.Thistypeofabstractisoftenusedinwritingtheoreticalpapers,commentaryarticles,booksand,insomecircumstances,conferenceproceedings,reportswithoutconclusions,essaysandbibliographies.Example1:Abstract:Thephotocatalyticpropertiesofion-exchangeablelayeroxidesarereviewed.Thesematerialshavetheabilitytoconvertwaterintohydrogenandoxygenviasolarenergyandthushavepotentialasameansofgeneratinghydrogenasanalternativefuel.Semiconductingoxidesareattractivephotocatalyticmaterials.Thisreview,whichcoverstheprimaryliteraturefrom1980-1993,considersthecaseofniobate-basedphotocatalysts,inparticularK4Nb6O17,andperovskite-typelayeredniobates,includingthosewithpillaredlayers.Thecatalyticperformanceofthesematerialsforthephotodecompositionofwaterispresented.TheimportanceofthesurfaceandbulkchemicalpropertiesofthesematerialstothesecatalyticpropertiesaredescribedbyusingtheresultsofX-rayphotoelectronspectroscopy,extendedX-rayabsorptionfinestructure,andX-raydiffractionstudiesonthesematerials.Comment:Thisabstractpresentsthepurpose,scopeandthemethodusedintheresearchpaperbyusing123wordsin6sentences.Thefirstsentencegivesthepurpose.Thesecondtothefifthshowthescopeoftheresearch,andthelastonepresentsthemethodusedintheoriginalpape