ENGL300-1: Cory Wiest
ENGL300-2: Katherine Oko
Due by class time on: Wednesday, Sept. 14th, 2011
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Fri., Sept. 16th, 2011 (although this day is off, because your teacher will be at NCATE, and you will write your take-home EXAM I!!!)
The text you need to read is here. Here is the pdf file of this online article.
______________________________________________________________________
by: Cory Wiest
This article is about definitions and examples of two types of abstracts. The two forms are descriptive and informative. It will also teach you how to use them.
This article is about definitions and examples of two types of abstracts. The two forms are descriptive and informative. It will also teach you how to use them.
Abstract is something short that is self-contained the describes the larger work. The way its made up depends on the work is talking about. If its about “an abstract of a social science or scientific work may contain the scope, purpose, results, and contents of the work. An abstract of a humanities work may contain the thesis, background, and conclusion of the larger work. An abstract is not a review, nor does it evaluate the work being abstracted. While it contains key words found in the larger work, the abstract is an original document rather than an excerpted passage.” (How to write an Abstract).
The reason why you would want to write in abstract is to provide short snip of a larger work so the reader can decide if its worth reading the large work or not. The abstract work should have keywords so can be easily found.
Sectioning is just reading the abstract, to see if it worth reading. If you are doing a research paper if you read the section abstract. You don’t have to read the entire paper to find out if its about your subject or not, which will save you a lot of time and frustration in the long run.
Indexing is just to help you when you are searching for something on internet databases. The databases uses keywords in an article which can help people search for the articles they need.
There is two main forms of abstract writing and there is a third but its rarely used.
Descriptive abstracts: it only describes it does not give you a direct answer just the facts. Its like an outline of the work and is very short only about 100 words.
Informative abstracts: it informs on the topic. It does not critique work or evaluate the work. It gives the facts and results to help give a complete picture of the topic.
Critical abstracts: it is rarely used and the article did not explain it.
To write abstract just follow the key process elements.
Key process elements:
Reason for writing:
What is the importance of the research? Why would a reader be interested in the larger work?
1.
Problem:
What problem does this work attempt to solve? What is the scope of the project? What is the main
argument/thesis/claim?
2.
Methodology:
An abstract of a scientific work may include specific models or approaches used in the larger study.
Other abstracts may describe the types of evidence used in the research.
3.
Results:
Again, an abstract of a scientific work may include specific data that indicates the results of the project.
Other abstracts may discuss the findings in a more general way.
4.
Implications:
What changes should be implemented as a result of the findings of the work? How does this work add
to the body of knowledge on the topic?
5.
(This list of element is adapted with permission from Phil Koopman, "How to Write an Abstract,"
HTTP://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html (HTTP://www.ece.cmu.edu/%7Ekoopman/essays
/abstract.html) .)
All abstracts include full citations before the abstract. Put the most important information first. The language should be the same ( ex. Technical language). It should have keywords and phrases that can be quickly identify what the article is about. It should use clear, concise, and powerful language. Abstracts may have a theses of the work, and it should be the first sentence. They could have background information of the larger work. It should also have the chronological structure as the main work. Ways not to write abstract is by referring greatly to other works, adding information that does not contained in the work, and not define terms.
______________________________________________________________________
In the handout, "How to write an abstract" it begins by explaining exactly what an abstract is. According to the handout, an Abstract is a "self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work." It is known as an original document all by itself.
The handout then goes on to explain that there are two different kinds of abstracts which are informative and descriptive. It also explains why we have abstracts. It gives an example about searching for research topics. Abstracts allow researchers to narrow the search dramatically so they will be able to find what they need.
The next topic the handout covers is when people use abstracts. Some reasons are, when writing a book, writing a proposal for a book chapter, or applying for research grants. It explains when to write an abstract, how to write one, and even when to use the two different abstracts. Towards the end of the handout, it gives useful information such as revising. There are even examples of abstracts posted throughout the text.
-Katherine Oko
Reading the article Abstracts informs one on exactly how abstracts are written and for what purpose. There are two types of abstracts, descriptive and informative. Most common abstracts are informative, though descriptive abstracts serve their purpose as well. Descriptive Abstracts provide the reader with an idea of what he or she can expect to come in the article he or she will be reading. Informative Abstracts serve the same purpose as well, but divulge the most important o information along with as well. Such important information could be the results to an experiment or similar scenarios. Abstracts serve multiple purposes, while allowing future readers the idea of what he or she can expect to read.
ReplyDelete...
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this article I had only known about abstracts from scientific works. I did not know that they were used for humanities as well. I thought this article did a great job at explaining the different types of abstracts and how to write them. I know from experience that writing at is important to know how to write and differentiate between the two.n abstract is not as easy as it may seem. Most abstracts are the informative type, especially when dealing with a scientific article. These often include results and information about what is being further displayed in the article. Descriptive abstracts give the reader a general idea of what the article is about, without giving results or statistics. Both of these abstracts are useful, and it is important to be able to write and differentiate between the two.
I have written abstracts before, but I had no idea what kind of abstract I had been writing. This article was very informative in the distinction it made between descriptive and informative abstracts. I've only mostly written informative abstracts previously, i.e. short summaries of the research and results/consequences of the research. I think it might be hard for humanities majors to write descriptive abstracts, but I have seen it done, proposing papers to be written as opposed to papers that have already been written. I'm glad that I now know what kind of abstracts I've been writing!
ReplyDeleteI believe the first time I had even heard of an abstract was when I was on Ebsco-host doing a research paper. I understand they can be hard to write because they are neither an excerpted passage nor a review, but "a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work." Abstracts are convenient insights into what a piece of work will contain.
ReplyDeleteDuring my time here at SIU I have read many abstracts, because most of the instructors that I have had were teachers at the Doctoral level. An abstract is a statement that describes the basis of a researched topic. Since the most common abstracts that I have come in contact with were descriptive abstracts, it would be hard for me to create any thing other than that.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, "Abstracts," it informs the reader on how abstracts are written as well as the purpose for writing them. The author states that there are two types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. The informative abstracts are the most commonly written; however, the descriptive abstracts are also equally essential. Informative abstracts divulge important information from articles (which are mostly about some kind of scientific research and its results). Conversely, descriptive abstracts provide the reader with a general idea of what he or she can expect to come in the article, which does not contain any given results or statistics. Both of these abstracts are useful. Furthermore, it is not only useful to know how to write a specific abstract, but to also be able to know how to distinguish between the two. Overall, abstracts have multiple purposes in different fields of study, which helps allow its future readers of what is to come in the article.
ReplyDeleteThis article is very informative about what abstracts are and why one should write them. I have known what abstracts were for a while, and have had to write many of them over the few years for school. Writing abstracts gives a short description about the full version of a paper you might have written. This is helpful because it can give readers a chance to get drawn into reading the full paper. I never knew there were two kinds of abstract until I read this article. I learned that most of the abstracts I have written are informative ones.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, abstracts have been very useful. I have written a few abstracts, but I haven't put much thought into them. I never realized that there was a formula for writing abstracts, like this article lays out. Abstracts are great agents of order and organization; that's why it is important to be organized when writing an Abstract. I find the "cut and paste" method of piecing an abstract together very interesting; for most writing situations, "cut and paste" are dirty words because they suggest plagiarism. I don't think this is the case for cutting and pasting with an abstract, because the abstract is a representative of the article itself.
ReplyDeleteThis article is very helpful on what abstracts are and the purpose of them. I have used abstracts in the past before not a lot though. Therefore It keeps you organized and gives the reader a idea of what you about to talk about in the paper. It helps prepare you for the rest of the paper. They should use abstracts for every paper you Write.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was very interesting. Although I have never written an abstract, I have read a few. I had no idea that there was a formula involved in writing abstracts. I think abstracts are a great way to inform the reader about the subject at hand. This article presents two types of abstracts, informative and descriptive. Informative abstracts are the most common however descriptive abstracts are useful as well. It is important to know there are two types of abstracts and the difference between the two. An informative abstract puts forth facts while a descriptive abstract draws the reader in with a description of what the paper is about without giving away too much. Both types of abstracts seem to be equally effective.
ReplyDeleteThis article went into great detail about the different distinctions between informative and descriptive abstracts. Informative abstracts are most commonly used. This article helped clear up the difference on when to use informative and descriptive and the purpose of them. Informative abstracts give useful information about the article, where as the descriptive abstracts give the reader detail about what they should expect to come in the article. Abstracts are useful to help write longer papers because they keep ideas and facts organized.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of writing an abstract before but I do not believe I have ever written one. The main purpose of writing an abstract is to keep information organized so the reader can follow along. This article tells about two different types of abstracts, informative and descriptive. Informatives present information over the article, and descriptives give an idea of what the article is going to be about. Overall, I found this article to provide a lot of good information about how to write a successful paper.
ReplyDeleteThere are three main types of abstracts, descriptive, informative, and critical. The components and details of each type varies. Overall they achieve the same goal of summarizing the work and using key words. I have had to find many scholarly articles for different classes throughout college. While doing so, I have found that the best way to preview an article is by reading the abstract. There is no way a person can just skim the entire article, that would take way too long. This article has given me a lot more useful information and tips about abstracts. Abstracts are a great resource and they have saved me a lot of time. Long live the abstract!
ReplyDeleteIn the article entitled "Abstract", by The Writing Center at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the author discusses the various types and uses of abstracts. An abstract is generally a clear and concise summary of a larger work. Abstracts can be informative or descriptive as well as critical but these are rare. The article notes when each type is appropriate to use and how to use each one effectively. This article does a fantastic job of defining abstracts. I found this article helpful because I had seen abstracts before but I was not aware that they were called so. I felt that for someone who has never heard of an abstract before, after reading this article, would be able to write an entire paper alone on the subject of abstracts.
ReplyDeleteThe article “Abstracts” told us what an abstract was, the different types, how to create one, and then showed some examples. I have seen abstracts before like every time I search for a book in the library database. Looking back, I’ve never questioned the exact definition of an abstract; I just read it and figured it was some kind of summary. I also did not realize how much work went into writing abstract, let alone different types such as descriptive, informative, and critical. In the explanation descriptive and informative the author really showed the difference of the two. Informative went into more detail when descriptive only has the main bulleted points. I have never written an abstract before, which means I have no idea what needs to go into writing one. The writer of this article explains the mandatory components and the optional components which would be helpful for whenever I do have to write an abstract. I had no idea there was so much thought and time put into writing an abstract.
ReplyDeleteThis article describes to the reader what an abstract was. It went into detail and described several examples. The author goes on to talk about what sorts of things are mandatory and what is optional. In my opinion, this paper does a wonderful job of informing the reader on what an abstract is. Since an abstract is commonly defined as a descriptive overview of a larger piece of work. When I write papers, I usually try to write it in an abstract manner. To me, this is the best way to get a general point across without losing the readers interest.
ReplyDeleteBlog 8’s article provides definitions and examples of the two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. It also offers strategy for constructing an abstract and also general tips for a writer to keep in mind when drafting his/her own. Lastly, it includes a few examples of abstracts broken down into their component parts .An abstract, by definition, is a short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work. I am familiar with writing abstracts. My English 301 teacher required one for our final paper. Good examples of abstracts are also found Ebsco-host..Abstracts really offer a concise overview of the body of work; readers can easily decide if the material in the work will be pertinent or not. They’ve helped me get my research done faster.
ReplyDeleteThe article was very interesting to read. I have written an abstract for several science projects throughout high school. The article explained different kinds of abstracts, descriptive and informative. Descriptive abstract explains the information.It does not give a conclusion or provide results on research. Descriptive abstracts describe the work being abstracted. Informative abstracts evaluate the work. I found this article informative and interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis article is about abstracts and the different forms they are written in. There are 3 ways to write one: descriptive, informative, and critical. Each help when trying to to access a dissertation on the internet or even in a library catalogue. They are needed in order find them in an easier way with select words from the abstract text. Within the abstract, it is just a general overview of what the dissertation will be about.
ReplyDeleteThe article was very interesting to read. The article talked about how Abstracts will let you know what a piece of work might contain. It is a very insightful tool that can save or rescue you from writing some terrible papers.
ReplyDeleteThis article about abstracts was extremely intriguing. I remember reading abstracts to find the research needed for many of my papers throughout college. It is important to write an abstract correctly to find the correct research for papers.
ReplyDeleteThis article was very interesting. This article talks about how abstract may lead you to what the work means as a whole. The two different kinds of abstracts are informative and descriptive. Informative abstract is when the work is being evaluated, and descriptive is when the work is being described. Each plays a great part in writing.
ReplyDeleteI never understood what was so important about an abstract before I read this article. The article explains how the abstract itself is powerful and an important document to each paper written. It allows the reader to expect things that are going to be covered in the paper. Abstracts aer a good way to overview ones paper, and to capture the paper in its entirity in a short form. So although writing an abstract can be a pain, it is an extremely important document needed in writing. Now I understand.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in high school, I learned what an abstract is, but this article goes into greater detail of what an abstract is than I had ever learned before. I understand why they are important part of writing. In fact I use them all the time when writing research papers. Whenever I have used online articles or journals, I have decided to use them based on the information in their abstracts.
ReplyDeleteI have never written an abstract before and until I began taking classes at SIU and was required to pull articles from the library's online database I did not know what an abstract was. I think this article is very helpful in both telling he reader what an abstract is and also giving them the general information needed to compose an abstract. What I think is really helpful in this article is the listing of the components to be included in abstracts.
ReplyDeleteThe article is simply about how and why people write abstracts. I have used abstracts before to decipher whether or not an article is useful from a research paper. After reading this article, I know understand why searching certain words will turn up a mass amount of results and why others will only turn up a small amount. There are two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. Descriptive abstracts are generally short "summaries" of what can be found in the article, similar to an outline. An informative abstract is much more in depth but still isn't a full summary or paper. This type of abstract will include a list of sources, keywords or terms from the article, a thesis or statement explaining the point of the article. I found this article to be helpful if by chance you ever have to write an abstract.
ReplyDeleteThis article does a good job of explaining what an abstract is. It reminds me of reading the back of a book to find out if its worth reading or not. An abstract has to be powerful because it's really all you get to persuade someone whether the article is worth reading or not.
ReplyDeleteTo be as concise as possible, the article is simply about abstracts; the two types of abstracts and how abstracts can be written. To define abstract, an abstract is a short and powerful statement that describes a larger work. There are two types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. A descriptive abstract are generally short as to an informative abstract is more in depth. Abstracts are very important in writing especially with the majority of the students in this class striving to be English teacher or journalists.
ReplyDeleteThe article was about abstract articles. The essay describes the idea of abstract is, "a self contained short and powerful statement that describes a larger work." After this definition is revealed, it becomes much more simple to understand and right abstract essays. The part I enjoyed most about this article was how it talked about doing research. It sometimes seems when I am trying to do research for an essay i often have to type and retype different words in search engines before I have any real results. The articles come reveals simple tricks such as reading the back of the book to so you may have a better understanding of what you are researching before you end up reading the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteUpon finishing this article, I realized that in my entire academic career I have never created my own abstract for anything, at least not an official and credible one. I have had some contact with the abstract, however, as I do recall reading some when working on various research projects. Little did I know that there are actually two different kinds of abstracts: informative and descriptive. As an English major, I am a little concerned that I have never been instructed on the abstract and how to write one.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this article because it explained abstracts to me. I never realized that there was more than one type of abstract I always just thought that an abstract was a brief telling of what the article contains. though now i know that an abstract can also give you more of just a description and not the full answer of what it is.
ReplyDeleteThis article is brief and to the point. The descriptions of the different type of abstracts go no further than they need to. I personally had been asked to write abstracts in previous classes, but the "type" was never discussed. This would always lead to students bringing in something that resembled a "summary", rather than an "abstract".
ReplyDeleteBeing a senior at SIUC, I have used a lot of abstracts. They are key in doing any type of extensive work because people rarely have the time to ready every article that could potenially be about their topic to find out that it really has nothing to do with it at all. That is a very frustrating process. Abstracts help with this problem by providing by providing a small summary of what to expect from a certain work complete with key words and main ideas.
ReplyDeleteAbstracts are a way to learn about a bigger project. I have been asked to do an abstract in other classes. The directions usually, was to just write a short paragraph about your thesis of your paper. They can help you out with your bigger project because it helps you figure out if the topic you are writing on is something you want to actually do. It also helps to find out if you have enough information on the topic you had chosen. This article went more in depth on how to use abstracts. I learned more about why we should use them.
ReplyDeleteI believe this article is very informative. Abstracts remind me in a sense of flash fiction; something short but descriptive and full of detail. Although Flash fiction can be a story within itself and an abstract leads to a larger story. I like the break down of descriptive and informative abstracts. Abstracts are important because they give a reader a little taste of what is coming next.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this article and learned quite a bit. This article defines and gives examples of Abstracts. An abstract is a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work. It can contain the contents of the work but does not evaluate the work itself.Abstracts help in research, selection, and indexing.They can contain keywords and phrases for easy searching.
ReplyDeleteThere are two main types of abstracts, descriptive and informative. A descriptive abstract indicates the type of information found and uses key words found in the text. However, it does not evaluate the work itself. An informative abstract does not critique the work but it does describe it in more detail and gives more information about it.
At the end of this article, it gave examples of abstracts and instructions on how to write them. Overall, this article was informative and helpful.
An abstract is something that defines what one is writing about. It is short, but a very powerful statement that explains what the author is stating throughout the paper. An abstract can either gain or loss a reader. This means that when a reader reads an abstract they basically know if they will like or dislike the paper. An abstract should be very attractive and it should catch the readers attention so that they are glued in for the rest of the paper.
ReplyDelete