Tasks and Activities

Assignment I.To make sure your abstract meets the requirements and you have not forgotten or left out anything it is recommended to apply the checklist provided below. If everything is OK you should answer ‘Yes’ to every question. If any question gets a ‘No’ answer, you should carefully study the failure and improve your piece of writing. Apply this to one of the sample abstracts.

What Makes for a Good Abstract on a Science Project? You Should Answer ‘Yes’/’No’ to Every Question  
Does your science abstract include:  
  • Introduction
  • Problem Statement
  • Procedures
  • Results
  • Conclusions
 Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No
Did you review the list of "Things to Avoid" in a science fair project abstract? Yes / No
Did you write the abstract so that the reader is motivated to learn more about your science project and its results? Yes / No

 

Assignment II. You have a number of words and word collocations which belong to different parts of the abstract structure. Analyze which part they belong to and classify them according to the correct categories in the table below. Can you add some more words?

It is necessary that a more thorough study of the phenomenon should be done.., The primary aim of the study is to test ..., Particular attention is given to the optimal operating conditions…, The results obtained for both ketones studied are found to be very valuable for further research…, The problem was studied (a study was made of...)…, The process involved heating and was followed by quick cooling…, Finally the substance is washed, dried and weighed…, The object of the experiment is to describe ..., The paper studies some photochemical characteristics of the substances concerned…, The chief purpose of the investigation is to establish ..., The remarkable characteristic of the resulting compound is its resistance to aging and specific electrical insulating properties…, The conclusion is made that these mixtures have several advantages over others…

Introduction   Problem Statement Procedures Results Conclusions
           

 

Assignment III. Apply the knowledge you have just acquired to a particular piece of writing:

1. Find three or four written abstracts from some papers you have read as part of your home reading assignment. It is important that you have actually read most of the papers.

2. Diagram each abstract into the 5 parts above.

3. Discuss with your group mates how each abstract meets or does not meet the above criteria. Some good abstracts may not perfectly match the criteria.

4. Discuss how they could be improved or why their choice is appropriate to the work and/or results in this paper.

5. Choose an abstract to improve and work on a computer or on paper to rewrite it. You can insert specifics that make the abstract correct, engaging and exclusive!

 

Assignment IV. Write an abstract for your project (e.g., your current or previous term paper), regardless of the status of the project. You should diagram the abstract and present it in class.

Even if the project is only half way through, you can write an optimistic abstract in which all the experiments or proofs turn out perfectly. Ask your scientific supervisor or the teacher in charge of the course to help you identify what the problem is and why it is important.