Writing abstract

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Writing abstract
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• Contents
• Structure of a technical papers
• Writing abstract

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Structure of Technical papers

• http//myweb.ncku.edu.tw/msju/mml/techwrt.htm
• http//www.cs.ccu.edu.tw/ccc/article/TecWrite.htm
  
• http//www.cs.columbia.edu/hgs/etc/writing-style.
  html

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• A technical paper should be clear and concise.
  The goal is to convey ideas and results to the
  readers in the least possible time and space.
  Everything about the document should contribute
  to this goal. The notations and format should be
  consistent throughout the paper.
• It is a very common error to dive into the
  technical approach or the implementation details
  without having appropriately framed the problem.
  You should first say what the problem or goal is,
  and even when presenting an algorithm first
  state what the output is and probably the key
  idea, before discussing steps.

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Structure of a technical paper

• A paper usually consists of the following
  components
• 1) Title It should be concise and to the
  point. For example, some publications limit the
  title to less than ten words.
• Avoid all but the most readily understood
  abbreviations.
• Avoid common phrases like "novel", "performance
  evaluation" and "architecture", since almost
  every paper does a performance evaluation of some
  architecture and it better be novel. Unless
  somebody wants to see 10,000 Google results,
  nobody searches for these types of words.
• Use adjectives that describe the distinctive
  features of your work, e.g., reliable, scalable,
  high-performance, robust, low-complexity, or
  low-cost.
• If you need inspiration for a paper title, you
  can consult the Automatic Systems Research Topic
  or Paper Title Generator.

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• 2) Abstract A summary of the paper, including a
  brief description of the problem, the solution,
  and conclusions. Do not cite references in the
  abstract.
• 3) Keywords They should be selected such that a
  computerized search will be facilitated.
• 4) Introduction This should contain the
  background of the problem, why it is important,
  and what others have done to solve this problem.
  All related existing work should be properly
  described and referenced. The proposed solution
  should be briefly described, with explanations of
  how it is different from, and superior to,
  existing solutions. The last paragraph should be
  a summary of what will be described in each
  subsequent section of the paper.

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• 5) System Model The proposed model is described.
  There will invariably be assumptions made. State
  the model assumptions clearly. Do the assumptions
  make sense? Use figures to help explain the
  model.
• 6) Numerical results Based on the model,
  numerical results will be generated. These
  results should be presented in such a way as to
  facilitate the readers understanding. Usually,
  they will be presented in the form of figures or
  tables.
• The parameter values chosen should make
  sense. All the results should be interpreted.
  Details on the simulation time, the computer, and
  the language used in the simulation should also
  be included.
• 7) Conclusions This summarizes what have been
  done and concluded based on the results. A
  description of future research should also be
  included.

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• 8) References This should contain a list of
  papers referred to in the paper. If there is a
  choice, use a reference which is more readily
  available, i.e., if an author has published a
  conference version and a journal version of the
  paper, refer to the journal version. Research
  reports, internal memos, private correspondences,
  and preprints are usually hard to access and
  should be avoided as much as possible.
• 9) Appendix Those materials which are deemed
  inessential to the understanding of the paper,
  but included for the sake of completeness.
  Sometimes, detailed mathematical proofs are put
  in the appendix to make the paper more readable.
• 10) Figures The figures may be placed
  immediately after they are referred to in the
  text, or placed at the end of the paper. Each
  figure should be readable without relying on the
  accompanying description in the text. Thus, all
  symbols used in the figure should be explained
  in the figure legend. In addition, do not make
  the figures and legends too small.

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Writing abstract

• http//www.olemiss.edu/depts/writing_center/grabst
  ract.html
• http//www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21ABS1.HTMexamin
  ed20for20all20systems

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• An abstract is a summary of a body of information
  in a paragraph100-350 words for a descriptive
  abstract, 100-250 words an informative abstract.
  An abstract expresses the main claim and argument
  of a paper.
• In most disciplines, it never includes
  bibliographic citations. An abstract concisely
  highlights or reviews the major points covered
  along with the content and scope of the writing.
• An abstract can also be a useful tool for writers
  to check that they have a clear grasp of their
  thesis and argument. If the writer can state the
  thesis and argument clearly in a few
  sentencesand in such a way that someone who
  doesn't know the subject will still be able to
  understand the main ideathen the writer knows
  she has a good grasp of the ideas she is trying
  to express.
• An abstract says everything of central importance
  in a way that gives the reader a clear overview
  of what is contained in the essay.

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Essential elements of the abstract are

• Background A simple opening sentence or two
  placing the work in context.
• Aims One or two sentences giving the purpose of
  the work.
• Method(s) One or two sentences explaining what
  was done. (Described at length only if it is
  unusual)
• Results One or two sentences indicating the main
  findings. (Absolutely essential)
• Conclusions One sentence giving the most
  important consequence of the work. (Telling what
  the results mean).

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Qualities of a Good Abstract

• Well developed paragraphs are unified, coherent,
  concise, and able to stand alone
• Uses an introduction/body/conclusion structure
  which presents the article, paper, or report's
  purpose, results, conclusions, and
  recommendations in that order
• Follows strictly the chronology of the article,
  paper, or report
• Provides logical connections (or transitions)
  between the information included
• Adds no new information, but simply summarizes
  the report
• Is understandable to a wide audience
• Oftentimes uses passive verbs to downplay the
  author and emphasize the information

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Voice

• Scientists have grappled for years over the
• appropriate way to talk about discoveries should
  it be
• "We measured ion concentration in the blood"
• or
• "Ion concentration in the blood was measured"

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Donts

• Do not commence with "this paper, "this
  report" or similar. It is better to write about
  the research than about the paper. Avoid use of
  "in this paper, what other paper would you be
  talking about here?
• Do not contain references, as it may be used
  without the main article. It is acceptable,
  although not common, to identify work by author,
  abbreviation or RFC number. (For example, "Our
  algorithm is based upon the work by Smith and
  Wesson.")
• Avoid sentences that end in "is described", "is
  reported", "is analyzed" or similar.
• Do not begin sentences with "it is suggested
  that "it is believed that", "it is felt
  that"or similar. In every case, the four words
  can be omitted without damaging the essential
  message.

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• Do not repeat or rephrase the title.
• Do not enumerate a list of topics covered
  instead, convey the essential information found
  in your paper.
• Avoid equations and math. Exceptions Your paper
  proposes E m c 2.
• Do not refer in the abstract to information that
  is not in the document.
• If possible, avoid trade names, acronyms,
  abbreviations, or symbols. You would need to
  explain them, and that takes too much room.
• The abstract should be about the research,
• not
  about the act of writing.

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Where to find examples of abstracts

• The best source of example abstracts is journal
  articles. Go to the library and look at biology
  journals, or look at electronic journals on the
  web.
• Read the abstract read the article. Pick the
  best ones, the examples where the abstract makes
  the article easier to read, and figure out how
  they do it.
• Not everyone writes good abstracts, even in
  refereed journals, but the more abstracts you
  read, the easier it is to spot the good ones.

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Example 1

• (Here is an abstract from a published paper. It
  is 220 words long. )
• Abstract
• Major problems of the arid region are
  transportation of agricultural products and
  losses due to spoilage of the products,
  especially in summer. This work presents the
  performance of a solar drying system consisting
  of an air heater and a dryer chamber connected to
  a greenhouse. The drying system is designed to
  dry a variety of agricultural products. The
  effect of air mass flow rate on the drying
  process is studied. Composite pebbles, which are
  constructed from cement and sand, are used to
  store energy for night operation. The pebbles are
  placed at the bottom of the drying chamber and
  are charged during the drying process itself. A
  separate test is done using a simulator, a packed
  bed storage unit, to find the thermal
  characteristics of the pebbles during charging
  and discharging modes with time. Accordingly, the
  packed bed is analyzed using a heat transfer
  model with finite difference technique described
  before and during the charging and discharging
  processes. Graphs are presented that depict the
  thermal characteristics and performance of the
  pebble beds and the drying patterns of different
  agricultural products. The results show that the
  amount of energy stored in the pebbles depends on
  the air mass flow rate, the inlet air
  temperature, and the properties of the storage
  materials. The composite pebbles can be used
  efficiently as storing media.
• Helwa, N. H. and Abdel Rehim, Z. S. (1997).
  Experimental Study of the Performance of Solar
  Dryers with Pebble Beds. Energy Sources, 19,
  579-591.

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Example 2

• (Here is a second abstract from a published
  paper. It is 162 words long. )
• Abstract
• The long-term performance of various systems was
  determined and the economic aspects of solar hot
  water production were investigated in this work.
  The effect of the collector inclination angle,
  collector area and storage volume was examined
  for all systems, and various climatic conditions
  and their payback period was calculated. It was
  found that the collector inclination angle does
  not have a significant effect on system
  performance. Large collector areas have a
  diminishing effect on the systems overall
  efficiency. The increase in storage volume has a
  detrimental effect for small daily load volumes,
  but a beneficial one when there is a large daily
  consumption. Solar energy was found to be truly
  competitive when the conventional fuel being
  substituted is electricity, and it should not
  replace diesel oil on pure economic grounds.
  Large daily load volumes and large collector
  areas are in general associated with shorter
  payback periods. Overall, the systems are
  oversized and are economically suitable for large
  daily hot water load volumes.
• Haralambopoulos, D., Paparsenost, G. F., and
  Kovras, H. (1997) Assessing the Economic Aspects
  of Solar Hot Water Production in Greece.
  Renewable Energy, 11, 153-167.

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Web links

• http//penscanner.bellus.com.tw/howtothesis-2.html
  (Technical writing)
• http//pioneer.netserv.chula.ac.th/pkanchan/html/
  eap2.htm (English for Academic Purposes -Science)
  
• http//www.cs.washington.edu/homes/mernst/advice/w
  rite-technical-paper.html (Writing a technical
  paper)
• http//infolab.stanford.edu/widom/paper-writing.h
  tml (tips for writing technical papers)