Sample Informative Abstract based on Experimental Work

Palmquist, M., & Young, R. (1992). The Notion of Giftedness and Student Expectations About Writing. Written Communication, 9(1), 137-168.

Research reported by Daly, Miller, and their colleagues suggests that writing apprehension is related to a number of factors we do not yet fully understand. This study suggests that included among those factors should be the belief that writing ability is a gift. Giftedness, as it is referred to in the study, is roughly equivalent to the Romantic notion of original genius. Results from a survey of 247 postsecondary students enrolled in introductory writing courses at two institutions indicate that higher levels of belief in giftedness are correlated with higher levels of writing apprehension, lower self-assessments of writing ability, lower levels of confidence in achieving proficiency in certain writing activities and genres, and lower self-assessments of prior experience with writing instructors. Significant differences in levels of belief in giftedness were also found among students who differed in their perceptions of the most important purpose for writing, with students who identified "to express your own feelings about something" as the most important purpose for writing having the highest mean level of belief in giftedness. Although the validity of the notion that writing ability is a special gift is not directly addressed, the results suggest that belief in giftedness may have deleterious effects on student writers.

Processes for Writing Abstracts Cut and Paste Method

Beginning with reading may seem odd since you wrote the paper, but it can frequently be the fastest way to write an abstract because it allows you to "lift" as much of the abstract from your original paper as possible.

Guidelines for Cut and Paste Method

1. As you read through your own paper, highlight or copy sentences which summarize the entire paper or individual sections or sub-points of your main argument.

2. Write (or copy) a sentence that summarizes the main point.

3. Add sentences that summarize sections (or write new sentences for sections that lack a concise summary sentence).

4. If you're writing a descriptive abstract, you're ready to begin revising

5. If you're writing an informative abstract, look through your paper for details, particularly of key findings or major supporting arguments and major conclusions. Paste these into your abstract and proceed to editing for consistency and length--frequently in the original "cuts" you will still have more detail than is necessary in an abstract.

Outlining Method

Frequently, the best place to start writing an abstract is to first make an outline of the paper to serve as a rough draft of your abstract. The most efficient way to do this is to write what Kenneth Bruffee calls a descriptive or "backwards" outline.

Backwards Outline Instructions

1. Read through each paragraph of your paper and write one phrase or sentence that answers the question "what does this paragraph do?"

2. Take your list of descriptions for each paragraph and look for connections: i.e., do these 3 or 5 paragraphs do something similar? What is it?

3. When you've reduced your outline to 4 or 5 accurate generalizations, you most likely have a descriptive abstract.

4. If you're writing an informative abstract, fill in key details about your content.