Writing the text of the presentation

Step by step you are approaching the final stage of your preparation work. This final stage usually involves:

• making up a plan (it should reflect every aspect of the topic you are studying, and every aspect or a sub-question should be given a separate point or sub-point of the plan, which will correspond to a section or a subsection of the text)

• making up an outline (it is a preliminary listing of the ideas of the text; every point and sub-point of the plan is supplied with theses)

• making up a draft of the whole text (it is a preliminary variant of the work, still incomplete, with gaps left and inserts on the margins and on cards)

• making up an improved variant of the text (it is received from the improved draft)

• making up the final variant (it includes correcting the mistakes in the reasoning and facts, making the wording more accurate, completing the classification, adding more facts, correcting stylistic and grammar mistakes, etc.

Writing an Abstract

Glossary

Abstract- a) a short account of a research work (e.g. a paper, report, article, review) usually placed at the beginning of it used to help the readers quickly ascertain the paper’s purpose.

2. a short account of a conference paper

Conference committee/conference review panel—a small group of people chosen to select the candidates on the basis of their abstracts for participation in a conference.

Flow of writing—a smooth movement from one idea or piece of information in a text to the next

Introduction—a beginning section which states the purpose and goals of the following writing. This generally followed by the body and conclusion, and may be preceded by an abstract.

Overview—a short description of something which provides general information about it, but no details.

Reference—a short note telling where certain information may be found.

Research—scholarly or scientific investigation or inquiry.

Summary—a shortened version of a text aimed at giving the most important information or ideas of the text.

What is an Abstract?

An abstract¹ is a self-contained, short summary of an oral presentation written primarily for the conference organizers. It is NOT your actual presentation paper, it functions independently from the paper it is based on, since its primary audience is the conference review panel.

It can propose a short account of work that was done or is being done and planned to be completed before the beginning of the conference. The abstracts submitted for conferences usually participate in the competition for acceptance. Thus, they are reviewed by conference committees and a certain number of abstracts may be rejected. The conference review committee will see only your abstract and not your actual paper of presentation. Thus, whether you are accepted for the conference program depends entirely on how your conference abstract is perceived by review panel. Therefore, the abstract is your SALES PITCH!

Adhere strictly to abstract guidelines and deadlines stated in the call for conference abstracts!

Abstract guidelines for a student conference organized by the department of Business English in BSEU: Language—English Title—both in English and Russian Abstracts should be accompanied by one paragraph in Russian placed after the title and before the body of the abstract. The purpose of the paragraph is to summarize your presentation in a very concise form for a non-English reader. Size—1 page, maximum 1.5 page if you include references.

Take time to write the abstract, it is harder than you think. Write it once, reread it a week later. Have others read it.

Guidelines for writing Abstracts

When writing an abstract one should consider the Title, Content, Structure, and Style.

1. Title

The title needs to cover the contents, and it should look appealing on the program. Use a title that is not too short or too long. Short attention-catching titles are the most effective. Be careful when translating the title, especially of the so called “faux amis” (ложные друзья переводчика).

Examples of unsuccessful titles may be:

• Свободные экономические зоны в Республике Беларусь.—Free economic zones in the Republic of Belarus. (too broad)

• Интеграция поведенческих тенденций потребителя в процессе принятия бизнес-решений с помощью информационных и коммуникационных технологий.—Integrating consumer trends into business solutions through information and communication technologies. (too long and wordy)

And here are examples of eye-catching and successful titles:

• Стратегия выхода из тупикового экономического заблуждения.—An exit strategy for deadly economic delusion.

• Сколько стоит расширение ЕС?—How much is the enlargement of EU?

• Взгляд потребителя на электронную коммерцию.—Consumer’s view on e-commerce.

• Реклама: нужна ли она?—Advertising: do we need it?