Introductory presentation on how to write an academic abstract. Intensive Course, Weizmann Institute of Science, Tel Aviv, October 24-25, 2018. iPEN European project (Innovative Photonics Education in Nanotechnology).

1. Principles of scientific writing
Katerina Zourou and Tatiana Codreanu, Web2Learn, Greece
Weizmann Institute of Science
October 25, 2018.

2. Objectives of this module
• Designed as core element of soft skills specific
training.
• Aimed at candidates carrying out academic work in
English.
• English tends to be an international “lingua franca”
over the range of academic contexts (at faculty, at
scientific venues, on the Internet, cf. “the digital
scholar”, Weller, 2011).
=>Focus on writing of an abstract for academic purposes
Writing skills 2

3. Οutline
1. Writing an abstract for academic purposes
1.1 Main contents of an abstract
1.2 Define your research topic / question
1.3 Where to find bibliographic references
1.4 Why do you need to cite authors?
1.5 Research methodology
1.6 Revise your abstract for grammatical and spelling errors

4. 1.1 Main contents of an abstract
In order to better summarise your work, you need to bear in mind the
main contents of your research. An abstract contains:
• a research question clearly stated
• your approach to answering the research question
• A justification and the implications for your study
• the results of your study
• your conclusions
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5. Where to start from?
=> Starting from your research question/hypothesis,
 and taking into account the context in which you will carry out your
study
 explain and clearly justify all your choices by informing readers
what your research is providing in terms of answers.
 Avoid jargon, subjective words and adjectives.
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6. Guiding questions
The following questions will guide you:
• What is my research question?
• What is the context of my research?
• Can I justify my research methodology?
• Am I able to explain my choices in writing?
• What are the results of the study?
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7. Video:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=55&v=szwkBea4qv0
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8. 1.2 Define your research topic / question
What distinctions do you make between a research topic and a
research question? What is a research hypothesis?
=>Mapping Your Research Ideas
Recommended video:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?time
_continue=68&v=jj-F6YVtsxI
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9. 1.3 Where to find bibliographic references
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10. Discussion: Using google,
Wikipedia, google Scholar
and ResearchGate to look
for bibliography: what are
the differences?
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11. Carefully selecting bibliographical sources
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• Caution! Try to differentiate between web pages established by
people who have a scientific or professional project (journal
websites, researchers’ websites, laboratory’s website, Google
scholar, etc.) and other non-professional sources who may be
passionate but might not have the credibility to be referenced as
official sources. Also try and connect with researchers on different
academic social media platforms.

12. Bibliography (cont.)
Quizz 1: an important paper you are looking for is behind a paywall or it
does not belong to the free-access journals in your university library.
What do you do?
• (likely) Copy/paste its title on Google Scholar+ “all versions” Example
• Contact the author
Quizz 2: you succeeded in locating a free-of-access electronic copy of a
paper but it says “preprint”. What do you do?

13. 1.3 Why do you need to cite authors?
• to give credit to authors you have referenced
• to enable the reader of your paper to understand the sources of
information you have used to support your arguments
• to build your theory on the topic, elaborate on results and
conclusions already established
Quiz: you found on the Internet a very nicely written master thesis. Do
you have to cite it?
Yes!
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14. 1.4 Research methodology
• In order to approach this step, you need to start from your research
question. Do you have your main research question or hypothesis in
mind?
• You will then have to decide on the methodology best suited to
answer this main question / hypothesis.
• Can you explain your research in a short abstract?
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15. 1.5 Revise your abstract for grammatical
and spelling errors
• Your abstract needs to be formatted properly and your ideas
adequately communicated.
• - use short, direct sentences : 70 useful sentences for academic writing
• - use past tense when describing your results and apply it consistently:
• Tenses in Academic Writing
• Tense considerations for science writing
• How to write in an academic style
• - use connectors : List of connectors
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16. You can use some free software to review
your abstract:
• SWAN Scientific Writing Assistant
• Grammarly
• Ginger
• WhiteSmoke: English Grammar Checker Software (paid)
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17. Any questions?
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18. Task
Read the instructions on your handout
(released by the University of Maryland
Writing Center), and fill in the “Abstract
worksheet”. Once you are done,
produce an abstract in your preferred
topic according to these guidelines and
send it to katerinazourou@gmail.com
for review (free of charge).

19. Thank you!
http://web2learn.eu/
info@web2learn.eu
@web2Learn_eu
Web2Learn_eu
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All slides available at https://www.slideshare.net/Web2Learn_eu

20. Credits
• How to write an abstract. University of Maryland, Baltimore Writing
Center
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=55&v=szwkBea4qv0
• Mapping Your Research Ideas. UCLA Library
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=68&v=jj-F6YVtsxI
• Raised hands, from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/hands-raised-
hands-volunteering-1234037/