EAPP - LAS (Week 8)

Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Regional Office No. VIII
Division of Northern Samar
LORENZO S. MENZON AGRO-INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL
Lapinig, Northern Samar
LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET WEEK 8
Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes (Grade 12)
Name:_____________________________ Date__________
Section:___________________________ Score_________
Learning Content : Reading Academic Texts
Learning Outcomes: 1. writes a précis/abstract/summary of texts in the various discplines
References : http://www.victoria.ac.nz/education/pdf/Writing_an_abstract.pdf
http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/function/jeltex.htm
http://www.uefap.com/writing/genre/genrefram.htm
Illustration :
Writing an Abstract
Often when asked to write a report or article you will be required to include an abstract. This is
usually a very concise summary of what the article or report is about and is usually placed before the
body of your writing. The abstract can be read to get a quick overview: it tells the reader what to
expect in your report or article and it should be based on what you have written. An abstract has a
particular format that will be outlined in this learning guide.
Definitions
The word abstract comes from the Latin abstractum, which means a condensed form of a longer piece of writing.
There are two main types of abstract, the descriptive and the informative abstract. The type of abstract you
write depends on the discipline area and whether you are reporting on experimental research.
Descriptive abstracts
Descriptive abstracts are generally used for humanities and social science papers or psychology essays.
Most descriptive abstracts have certain key parts in common. They are:
• Background
• Purpose
• Particular interest / focus of paper
• Overview of contents (not always included)
This type of abstract is usually very short (50-100
words).
Informative abstracts
Informative abstracts are generally used for science, engineering or psychology reports. Most informative
abstracts also have key parts in common. They are:
• Background
• Aim or purpose of research
• Method used
• Findings/results
• Conclusion
Each of these parts might consist of one or two sentences. You must get the essence of what your report is
about, usually in about 200 words.
The table below summarises the main features of, as well as the differences between, the two types of abstracts:
Descriptive abstract Informative abstract

• Describes the major points of the project • Informs the audience of all essential
to the reader. points of the paper.
• Includes the background, purpose and • Briefly summarises the background,
focus of the paper or article but never the purpose, focus, methods, results, findings
methods, results and conclusions, if it is a and conclusions of the full-length paper.
research paper. • Is concise, usually 10% of the original
• Is most likely used for humanities and paper length, often just one paragraph.
social science papers or psychology • Is most likely used for sciences,
essays. engineering or psychology reports.
Why do we write abstracts?
Abstracts are important parts of academic assignments, most often, reports and research papers. The abstract is the
last item that you write but the first one people read when they want to have a quick overview of the whole paper.
We suggest you leave writing the abstract as your last section. Produce your abstract when you have finished your
paper because by then you will have a clear picture of all your findings and conclusions.
What makes a good abstract?

An effective abstract:
• uses one well-developed paragraph that is coherent, concise and clear and is able to stand alone as a unit of
information
• covers all the essential academic elements of the full-length paper, namely the background, purpose,
focus, methods, results and conclusions
• contains no information not included in the paper
• is written in plain English and is understandable to a wider audience as well as to your discipline-
specific audience
• often uses passive structures in order to report on findings, focussing on the issues rather than people
• uses the language of the original paper – often in a more simplified form for the more general reader
• usually does not include any referencing
• in publications (such as journals) is at the beginning of the text but in academic assignments is placed on
a separate preliminary page.
Steps for writing an abstract

1. First re-read your paper/ report for an overview.
2. Then read each section and shrink the information in each down to one or two sentences.
3. Next read these sentences again to ensure that they cover the major points in your paper.
4. Ensure you have written something for each of the key points outlined above for either
the descriptive or informative abstract.
5. Check the word length and further reduce your words if necessary by cutting out
unnecessary words or rewriting some of the sentences into a single, more succinct sentence.
6. Edit for flow and expression.
Examples of abstracts
Here are two abstracts with the key parts identified. The descriptive abstract is for a humanities paper,
the informative abstract for a psychology report.
Model descriptive abstract
Abstract Key parts
The opportunity to design and deliver short programs on Background

referencing and avoiding plagiarism for transnational UniSA
students has confirmed the necessity of combating both the "all-
plagiarism-is-cheating" reaction and the "just-give-them-a-
referencing-guide" response. The notion of referencing is but the
tip of a particularly large and intricate iceberg. Consequently
teaching referencing is not adequate in educating students to Purpose and aim
avoid plagiarism. In this presentation I will use the transnational
teaching experience to highlight what educating to avoid Particular focus of paper
plagiarism entails.
(56 words)
(Stevenson, 2004)
Model informative abstract
Abstract Key parts
Metalinguistic awareness contributes to effective writing at Background

university. Writing is a meaning-making process where linguistic,
cognitive, social and creative factors are at play. University
students need to master the skills of academic writing not only for
getting their degree but also for their future career. It is also
significant for lecturers to know who our students are, how they
think and how we can best assist them. This study examines first- Purpose and aim
year undergraduate Australian and international engineering
students as writers of academic texts in a multicultural setting at Methods
the University of Adelaide. A questionnaire and interviews were
used to collect data about students’ level of metalinguistic
awareness, their attitudes toward, expectations for, assumptions Results
about and motivation for writing. The preliminary results of the
research show that students from different cultures initially have
different concepts about the academic genres and handle writing
with different learning and writing styles but those with a more
developed metalanguage are more confident and motivated. The Conclusions
conclusion can also be drawn that students’ level of motivation
for academic writing positively correlates with their opinion
about themselves as writers. Following an in-depth multi-
dimensional analysis of preliminary research results, some
recommendations for writing instruction will also be presented.
(200 words)
(Zoltan, 2005)
How is an abstract different to an introduction?
Students are sometimes confused about the difference between an abstract and an introduction. In fact, they are
different pieces of writing with different aims and key parts.
The following table will briefly describe these differences in the case of a research paper.
Abstract Introduction
The essence of the whole paper Introduces the paper
Covers the following academic elements: Covers the following academic elements:
* Background * Background
* Purpose and focus * Purpose
* Methods * Proposition (also sometimes called as point
* Results (also called as findings) of view or thesis statement)
* Conclusions * Outline of key issues
* Recommendations (or Implications, not * Scope (optional, not always relevant)
always relevant)
Summarises briefly the whole paper Introduces the paper and foregrounds issues
including the conclusions. for discussion.
Activity1:
Direction: Write an abstract by visiting the link given below. Write your answer on a separate sheet in this
LAS activity
Link: http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/function/jeltex.htm
Prepared by:
JACKIE LOU P. ALCANTARA

Teacher

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Republic of the Philippines

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET WEEK 8

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes (Grade 12)

Learning Content : Reading Academic Texts

Learning Outcomes: 1. writes a précis/abstract/summary of texts in the various discplines

Descriptive abstract Informative abstract

What makes a good abstract?

Steps for writing an abstract

Abstract Key parts

The opportunity to design and deliver short programs on Background

Model informative abstract

Abstract Key parts

Metalinguistic awareness contributes to effective writing at Background

JACKIE LOU P. ALCANTARA

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