Three-word Four-word Five-word

 

In order to            on the other hand              on the other hand the

In terms of            at the same time               at the end of the

One of the             in the case of                    it should be noted that

The use of             the end of the                     it can be seen that

As well as             as well as the                     due to the fact

The number of      at the end of                       at the beginning of the

Due to the             in terms of the                    may be due to the

On the other          on the basis of                    it was found that

Based on the          in the present study           to the fact that the

The other hand       is one of the                      there are a number of

In this study            in he form of                    in the case of the

A number of           the nature of the               as a result of the

The fact that            the results of the               at the same time

Most of the              the fact that the                 is one of the most

There is a                 as a result of                     it is possible that the

According to the      in relation to the                one of the most important

The present study      at the beginning of            play an important role in

Part of the                with respect to the            can be seen as a /the

The end of                the other hand the             the results of this study

The relations between the relations between the   from the point of view

In the following        in the context of              the point of view of

The role of                can be used to                  it can be observed that

Some of the               to the fact that                  this may be due to

As a result                as shown in figure             an important role in the

It can be                    it was fund that                 in the form of a

 

Activation

Complete these sentences using a suitable academic phrase.

 

1. Ranke came to his conclusion------------------------------------earlier research.

2. It thereby recognizes-------------------psychology in determining the origins of social behavior.

3. This could also be linked to--------------------------many have a lack of language skills and familiarity with British institutions.

4. The gradual increase before the peak is----------------the general effect of increasing temperature.

5.-------------------------books of the Enlightenment era was undoubtedly Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.

6. Theory of International Politics was written by Waltz-----------------the pluralist challenge to classical realism.

 

How do we write a good abstract?

 

                                                    “To make abstract that which is concrete.”

                                                                                          Siegfried Sassoon

A. Reflection

 

Answer the following questions abut abstracts:

 

- When doing research for essays, why do you read abstracts?

- How long should an abstract be?

- What is the difference between an abstract and an introduction?

- At which stage of the writing process should you write your abstract?

 

B. Contextualization

Read the following abstract, written for an essay entitled “What are the characteristics of good abstracts?”

Define the abstract on sections and identify the purpose of each section.

 

Abstracts are a key component of academic writing, a window t potential reader. This said, many students find it difficult t write a god abstract. This paper argues that there are main reasons for this: they do not understand what the key aspects of a good abstract are, and they do not know the strategies which can be used t write one. In response to this situation, this paper analyzed 500 abstracts from a range of different academic sources and surveyed 1.000 students. From the former, a list of important, recurring components was identified; from the latter, quantitative and qualitative data provided insight into students’ levels of understanding. From this research, two main findings emerge: students need greater exposure to abstracts throughout studies and they require more training in writing them.

Keywords: academic writing, abstracts, essay structure, concise language    

                      .

 

What is a good abstract?

In simple terms, an abstract is a short passage, which appears at the beginning of your essay, usually after the title. The primary function of an abstract is to be a “shop-window”- to provide the reader (or the potential reader) with an overview of the piece of writing, that follows, and to indicate the key characteristics.

At the student level, abstracts are generally associated with longer pieces of writing, namely dissertations and theses. Additionally, professionally written academic articles will always have an abstract, which you can use to decide whether or not the article is relevant for your own writing. There is no specific length for an abstract. Very often, they will be 100-150 words, and an abstract for a paper given at conference may also be 50-80 words.

 

Three top tips for writing abstracts:

- Does it sell your essay? If you read the abstract, would you want to read the essay?

- While the abstract at the very end, when you know the exact scope of your essay.

- Be patient-the abstract is not easy to write. It has many different functions and has to be extremely well-written. It will take time to do this.

 

What are the key “structural” aspects of an abstract? The following numbers refer to the order of abstract sections presented on the previous page.

 

1. Establish the context of the research.

Abstracts are a key component of academic writing, a window to potential readers. Many students find it difficult to write a good abstract. 

 

2. Establish the topic of the research/research problem.

. This paper argues that there are main reasons for this:  the students do not understand what the key aspects of a good abstract are, and they do not know the strategies which can be used to write one.

3. Indicate the methodology

In response to this situation, this paper analyzed 500 abstracts from a range of different academic sources and surveyed 1.000 students

4. Present the main findings

From the former, a list of important, recurring components was identified; from the latter, quantitative and qualitative data provided insight into students’ levels of understanding.

5. Indicate the conclusion

From this research, two main findings emerge: students need greater exposure to abstracts throughout studies and they require more training in writing them.

6. Keywords

Academic writing, abstracts, essay structure, concise language    

 

If your essay can be searched by means of online database, toy will be required to put in keywords, which will help potential readers narrow the search. You must therefore choose those words which most accurately and powerfully encapsulate your essay.

 

 

Language.

A s the abstract needs to give a lot of information in few words, the language used must be clear, concise and direct. To ensure this, it is important to use powerful content words as far as possible.

 

Grammar.

Use the present simple to introduce the topic and describe results and conclusions.

- From the research two main findings emerge……

Use the past simple (often in the passive voice) to describe research methodology and results

- …..this paper analyzed 500 abstracts from a range of different academic sources…

Style

The abstract should be short, powerful, but grammatically correct sentences tend to be common.

Good cohesion and linking between sentences is critical. References may be included if relevant.

 

Audience

You want to encourage people to read your essay, but at the same time to sound professional. You should judge the content and the language you use accordingly.

 

Format.

 

Usually abstract are written as one paragraph and appear in a slightly smaller font than the rest of the essay.