Abstracts

Abstracts appear at the beginning of technical reports and briefly summarize what the document contains. Most abstracts contain four elements - (1) the purpose, (2) the methodology, (3) the results, and (4) the conclusions - and which of these you include depends on the type of document you are writing, the requirements given to you (from your company, your teacher or a professional board and the needs of your readers). Usually, writers draft the abstract after they have written the report, so that it accurately reflects the material in the document. There is a school of thought that suggests you

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should write the abstract first as a means of focusing on what you want the document to say, but most technical communicators choose to wrestle with the report first and then write the abstract afterwards.

Whether you decide to write your abstract before or after you draft the document, you should think carefully about which kind of abstract serves your purpose best and meets the needs of your readers. In general, there are two types of abstracts:

1. The descriptive abstract acts as a prose table of contents indicating the main topicsthat are covered within the body of the document. In other words, it is a general-purposedevice that doesn’t contain a lot of details or quantitative information. Readers whoprefer this type of abstract want to know what the general coverage of the document is,what the subdivisions are, and how the material is developed. An example of adescriptive abstract:

Organizational communication and Culture: A Study of 10 Italian High-Technology Companies. An important contribution of this research is the testing in international environments of communication and culture models previously developed within U.S. high-technology organizations. Specifically, this research demonstrates that relationships among organizational culture themes, employee values, organizational communication activities, and perceptions of a variety of organizational outcomes are similar but not identical for U.S. and European high-technology organizations. Second, the research extends previous work by identifying cultural dimensions that are related to a variety of communication processes.

2, The informative abstract acts as a document in miniature, a capsule version of theoverall report or proposal highlighting the primary ideas. It is often longer than thedescriptive abstract and is preferred by readers who want to get the main points withoutreading the entire document or who need to take action on these important pointsimmediately but will read the entire document later. For example:

The objective of the electro-mechanical project was to design and build an experimental testbedfor nonlinear control research. The final design is a Twin-Bar Rotaiy (TBR) System that consists of two easily reconfigured flywheels with a flexible shaft. Masses are attached to each bar on a pulley connected by a wire to a single compression spring. A DC motor rotates the testbed at a maximum of lOOipm to accommodate safety constraints. When the shaft on the testbed rotates, the masses move out radially allowing the entire system to achieve a 90% inertial change. Our data acquisition group has also provided the means to control and analyze the system with computer program and optical encoders. This TBR System can be used to demonstrate physical programming - a highly effective system optimization approach - in the context of control research. Most abstracts are no more than one page in length - most often they are no more than 150 words.

(Taken from Writing for the Technical Professions by Kristin R. Woolevef)

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Unit 4

Task 4. 42. Note some useful tips on how to write a summary. It is simple and exciting. Translate the tips to be further used for practical purposes:

I. Study the textt :ead iitirst tather quickly to geethe general meaning. Then read morr carefully following the author’s argument and noticing what is a fact and what is an opinion, what is general statement and what is particular example. It is also helpful to summarize each paragraph in a few words at this stage.

П. Identify the key points: note that some parts of the text may be completely irrelevant. Go through the text again and mark the places where important information is given by underlining, highlighting with coloured pen or simply making a mark on the margin. Ш. Make notes: write down the key points you’ve identified in note form in your own words. It is especially important for two reasons:

885. it shows how you understand what you have read;

886. it helps you to fit all the necessary information into the word limit.

At this stage a good command of English vocabulary is required (synonyms, antonyms, particular and general words).

IV. Put points in order: look at the list of points you have made and see if there are anywhich go together. Then decide the best order to put the points in, this may be differentfrom the order in the original text. Number the points in this order.

V. Leave out unnecessary details: e.g. lists, figures, explanations.

FIRST DRAFT

VI. Edit your first draft: check the spelling and grammar, count the number of words.If you have many fewer words than the limit, you have probably left out somethingimportant, so check the original text again. If you have more than the limit, look forways of combining points in one sentence or of omitting words here and there.

FINAL DRAFT

Your summary should consist of three logical and coherent parts: an introduction, the main part and conclusions. Connecting the points with link words is recommended. Here are some of them:

hence, consequently, therefore, so, but, accordingly;

firstly, secondly, on the one hand... on the other hand, etc.

(Taken from The Basics: A Rhetoric and Handbook)

Task 4. 43. Translate some more information about how to write a good summary. Are there any new hints compared to what you have read above? Discuss every­thing you know about writing summaries in small groups or with a partner.

When conducting a research on a particular issue students are encouraged to work with the primary and secondary sources of information. Primary sources of information include interviews, observations, and questionnaires, while secondary sources comprise books, magazines etc. Once the research has been completed and all relevant informa­tion has been gathered, it needs to be summarized.

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Writing a Summary

“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires...that every word tell.

(William Strunk.)

Writing a summary is the process of condensing and shortening a particular text, but preserving its overall meaning. Summarizing serves the following purposes:

887. To demonstrate understanding of a reading;

888. To establish the ideas to be discussed;

889. To inform a reader unfamiliar with the text.

Writing a good summary requires not only good reading comprehension, but also the ability to find the main idea of the text and the most relevant supporting mformation. Summaries are substantially shorter (up to 75 percent) than an original text. In a good summary, a student conveys the main idea of an article or a book and, thus, saves a reader the time needed to read the entire original.

Practical Recommendations for Writing an Effective Summary

In order to write a good summary a student should begin with mentioning the source and the author of the text. It is extremely important that a student states the author’s main idea without distorting it or adding his own comments. Moreover, a student should use his own words when writing a summary. However, when a particular phrase in the original is especially striking or interesting, a student may decide to use it in his summary, but should always put quotation marks around the phrase.

The first step in writing a summary is to divide a text into paragraphs. The next step is to label each paragraph with a subheading indicative of the paragraph’s main idea. If several headings address similar subjects, a student may group them together under one heading. Finally, the last step in writing an effective summary is to use the list of subheadings and groupings as a roadmap which highlights the main points of the article.

Additional tips on writing an effective summary:

890. A summary should be written in the present tense. The rationale behind this rule is to acknowledge that the author’s ideas continue to exist even though the author has finished writing about them.

891. A writer should periodically remind his reader that he is summarizing someone else’s ideas by using such phrases as: “the article states that”, “the author goes on to say that...,” etc.

892. A writer should revise his writing at least two times.

893. A writer should proofread his summary and edit it ruthlessly as, according to Meister Elkhart’s famous saying, “Only the hand that erases can write the true thing.”

(Adapted from P.Sebranek. “A Student Handbook for Writing and Learning”)

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Unit4

Task 4. 44. Following the above mentioned tips make a summary of the text assigned by the teacher as your home reading (or of a scientific article) in 200 words.

Task 4. 45. Translate the following information into English, using a dictionary. Then use it while working on the special text assigned to you fpr home reading.

Реферат - це скорочений письмовий виклад суп реферованого матералу. OcHOBHi вимоги до реферату в щлому таю:

894. об'ективний виклад реферованого оригшального матер1алу, тобто виклад лише тих даних та факта, яю листаться в оригшаш;

895. повнота викладу, тобто фшсування Bcix суттевих положень оригшалу; 3)едшсть стилю, тобто використання тих самих мовних засоб1в, едносп термшологп, скорочень тощо.

BiflOMi два основн1 прийоми скорочення тексту: компреая i супреыя. Компреая - це скорочення тексту за допомогою битый економних мовних

(лексичних, граматичних, стилютичних) 3aco6ie тощо. Форма викладу -

реферат, яким е конспективний виклад суттевих положень тексту оригшалу в

щлому.

Текст такого реферату складаеться з трьох частин: вступу - introduction

(вихщш дат), опису (виклад ochobhoi щеУ i bcix суттевих положень

оригшалу) та заключноУ частини - conclusions (основш висновки по тексту в

щлому).

В реферат} стата викладаеться суть оригшалу за планом, який може не

сшвпадати з планом побудови оригшального тексту. При цьому перекладач не

повинен давати власну оцшку змюту оригшального матер1алу.

В такому реферат! шюстрацн або залишаються в текста, або описуються.

Об'ем реферату - приблизно 2000 друкованих знаюв.

Одним з вщцв такого реферату (до 200 cnie) е експрес-шформащя. CynpeciH - це скорочення тексту шляхом усунення з нього другорядних деталей,

повторень, загальновщомих факта, багатосл1в’я, образних пор^внянь тощо.

Форма викладу - реферат як техшчний переклад окремих суттевих частин

тексту оригшалу. Реферативний переклад використовуеться в процес* обм}ну науково-техшчною

iнфopмaцieю при обробщ матерал*в, що не потребують TepMiHOBoro

використання, але мають певну практичну i потенщйну щншсть для

спещалктав. Отже, реферативний переклад - це повний письмовий переклад наперед

ввдбраних частин орипналу, яю складають зв’язний текст. Такий переклад в

залежноста вщ потреб коротший вщ оригшалу в 5-10 раз1в. В npo4eci робота

над ним вимагаеться усунення Bciei зайвоУ шформацп. Робота над реферативним перекладом складаеться з таких еташв:

1) попередньо ознайомитись з орипналом, з проблемою, технолопею; уважно

прочитати текст; усно перекласти статпо;

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2) розмггити текст за допомогою квадратних дужок для вилучення його другорядних частин та повторень;

3)прочитати останню версио з метою усунення можливих смислових дис­пропорцій та неув’язок; ' '4) зробити повний письмовий переклад частин оригшалу поза дужками. Цейпереклад повинен бути зв’язним текстом, побудованим на цш же лопчншocHOBi, що і оригінал.

Task 4.46. Read the text and answer the questions that follow:

Paraphrasing, quoting and plagiarizing are activities that involve the use of someone else’s ideas, but whereas paraphrasing and quoting are legitimate writing strategies, plagiarizing is a serious offense.

To paraphrase means to.summarize someone else’s ideas in your own words. To quote means to copy information from another source and enclose it in quotation marks in your paper.

When you paraphrase and quote be sure to cite the source of your information. If you do not cite the source, then you are plagiarizing. You are stealing the ideas and using them as your own.

("Adapted from PRACTICE EXERCISES for the Test of English as a Foreign Language by Pamela J.Sharpe)

896. What are the three writing strategies mentioned in the text?

897. What do they have in common?

898. What is the difference between them?

899. When are quotation marks used?

900. Is it obligatory to cite the source you take information from?

901. When is it considered that you are stealing the ideas?

Task 4. 47. Get acquainted with the following information on paraphrasing and discuss it in small groups. How do you understand the quotation? Use the information practically while working on writing a review of the text assigned by the teacher.

Paraphrasing

“Adam was the only man who, when he said a good thing, knew that nobody had said it before him.”

Mark Twain

Paraphrasing requires using one’s own words to state someone else’s ideas and words. This process resembles translating; however, unlike translating, paraphrasing involves writing in the same language and restating someone else’s ideas. One might use paraphrasing to make a text easier to understand and remember or to change the style or the language of the original. Unlike a summary which requires shortening an original text, paraphrasing does not typically alter the length of the original.

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Unit4

Practical Recommendations on Paraphrasing:

902. Carefully read a sentence for several times, cover it and try writing from memory using your own words;

903. Begin a sentence differently and change as many nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs as possible without departing from the original meaning of the sentence;

904. When paraphrasing, think not only about the meaning of a passage but also about its tone. If a writer is sarcastic, funny or angry, your paraphrase should reflect that sarcasm, humor or anger;

905. Break one long sentence into shorter ones or combine ideas in short sentences into a longer one;

906. Use active voice because it is more direct and vigorous than passive voice. For example, write “I shall always remember my first visit to Lviv” instead of “My first visit to Lviv will always be remembered”;

907. Put statements in positive form in order to avoid hesitation and noncommittal language. For example, write “He usually came late” instead of “He was not very often in time”;

1. State each important idea as clearly and briefly as possible;

908. Arrange ideas in logical order;

909. Put quotation marks around words and phrases taken directly from the source.

(Adapted from: P.Sebranek. A Student Handbook for Writing and Learning)

SECTION VI. EXTENDED READING

Task 4. 48. Read the text that follows and single out helpful hints for making a successful presentation. Prepare a presentation on the topic.

HOW TO PRESENT A PAPER AT A MEETING