Course: HUL 810, Communication Skills Topic: Literature Review Classes on this topic: 13 and 16 January 2014

Class on 13 January 2014

Types of Academic Papers Research paper Viewpoint Technical paper Conceptual paper Case study Literature review General review What is an abstract?
Brief synopsis/summary of research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding Usually between 150-500 words context, purpose Assists reader understand purpose of paper Helps researcher sift through papers to reach those relevant to his research Point of entry for academic paper Signpost for paper May stand in for entire paper

When to Formulate an Abstract

Usually written after writing the full paper research has already been carried out and noted in the paper easy to summarize main points May be written before the paper has been written at all conferences, presentations, etc. provides direction to the writer on how to structure the paper

Academic Writing
Language of abstract needs to be well crafted Muddled language causes confusion Boring writing is tossed aside Slipshod writing breeds distrust Crisp, clear style gets readers attention, takes up less time Suggests the writer is competent in other areas as well

Checklist
Check for: flow of text

Pallavi Narayan, Abstract Writing, HUL 810, IIT Delhi

punctuation typos facts grammar tense jargon

How to Tell if You have Written an Abstract

Does it summarize all the important points? Will a reader get the main points you want to make? Does the abstract stand alone? Does it lead to other sections of the paper? Does it have a clear focus? Does it have the required structure?

Class on 16 January 2014

Papers and Abstracts
Paper writing mix of active and passive voice long, middling, and short sentences different kinds of sentence construction great for full papers Abstract writing active voice as it is a short paragraph sentences that are easy to grasp in one go same tense throughout great for paragraphs between 100-300 words

Abstracts by Discipline
Abstract: Short, powerful, self-contained, original Scientific or social science abstracts: scope, purpose, results, contents Humanities abstract: thesis, background, conclusion Not a review Does not evaluate

What should an Abstract Tell a Reader?

WHAT you did WHY you did it HOW you did it WHAT you found WHAT it means

Re-read, Review, Revise

Pallavi Narayan, Abstract Writing, HUL 810, IIT Delhi

Read the abstract aloud: How does it sound? How does it flow? Revise to improve transitions. Review the abstract for accuracy; recheck all statistics and numbers. Review the abstract for conformity to the directions of the call for abstracts

Pallavi Narayan, Abstract Writing, HUL 810, IIT Delhi