江苏大学,2012级研究生英语期末考试,基础班,提高班Unit 4冯.doc

Unit 4 Abstracts （2hs） 1. Definition of Abstracts An abstract is a brief and self-contained summary and an accurate representation of the contents of a document such as a research paper, a journal article, thesis, review, conference proceeding, and other academic documents. The purpose of an abstract is to provide prospective readers the opportunity to judge the relevance of the longer work of their projects. In scientific writing, the abstract is the condensed version, or the “mini-version” of the paper. Since abstracts are included with various kinds of scientific publications or appear alone in all kinds of abstracting and indexing databases, they should be constructed to make sense both when read alone and when read with the paper. 2. Classification of Abstracts To create an abstract, an abstractor or author needs to identify the kinds of information he or she needs to provide about the document. It can be a description of what kind of information it is, which includes the purpose, scope, and methods of the research, or it can be the informative content of the document, which includes results and conclusions of the research. Depending on which information they contain, abstracts can be classified into major types: indicative (or descriptive abstracts), informative abstracts, indicative - informative abstracts and author abstracts. As they have different aims, they have different components and styles. While indicative abstracts are short in length and common in abstraction services, informative abstracts are usually those produced in thesis, journal essays, and research articles. 2.1. Indicative (or descriptive abstracts) An indicative abstract or descriptive abstract is one that describes the type and nature of the work abstracted, indicating the principal subjects covered and providing a brief description of the way the facts are treated and the methods or techniques that are being reported. This type of abstract simply describes the kinds of information