Unit 1

Lesson 1: We read to write and we write to read

2. 1 Read the sentences below and circle T (true) or F (false).

1. An abstract is a summary of a report or article. T F

2. An abstract is the most read section of the body of your writing. T F

3. Abstracts are often the first item that you write. T F

4. There are three different types of abstracts. T F

5. Abstracts are 20 words in length. T F

2.2 Read the information below and correct your answers if necessary in exercise 2.1. Then answer
the questions.

What is an abstract?

An abstract is a summary of a research paper or thesis. The word “abstract” derives from the Latin word
“abstractum” that means a condensed form of a longer piece of writing. The abstract is placed at the beginning
of your paper; however, the abstract is the last thing that you write once you have reached your final
conclusions.

Some of the functions of an abstract are to provide an overview of your work and to convince the reader to
continue or to obtain the article, among others. Abstracts are the most read section of papers and thesis, this
is why they are an important part in your writing. Moreover, abstracts are important for selection and indexing
purposes. They are generally required when you complete and submit a thesis, when you submit an article to
a journal or when you apply for a research grant. According to literature, there are two types of abstracts:
descriptive and informative.

Descriptive abstracts are written for a less structure document for example essays, editorials, and books. They
could be very short, 100 words or less.

Informative abstracts are written for a strictly-structured document and depending on the requirements they are
between 180 and 300 words in length. The format of your abstract depends on the discipline you are working
with. Nevertheless, informative abstracts may be made up of the following sections:

 Background: A short introduction to the topic. Some abstracts do not include this section.
 Purpose: The statement of the main question or problem. This is the hypothesis of the study.
 Methodology: The techniques and approaches used in the larger study. In this part you describe the
evidence used in the research.
 Results: This refers to the data collected in the study, the results of the project.
 Conclusions / Limitations: The analysis of the results of the study. This part states the limitations or
implications of the study. This section may also explain whether the hypothesis of the study was
correct.
 Key words: These are words that can be used to explain the whole study, the more frequent words in
it. They are usually 3 - 5 words. Compound words count as one.
1. Where are abstracts written in a paper?

____________________________________________

2. What is the most read section in a research paper?

____________________________________________

3. What types of abstracts are there?

____________________________________________

4. What type of abstract are you going to write once you

have finished your internship?

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5. How long should it be?

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6. What parts or sections does an informative abstract have?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

2.3 The following paragraph is an example of an abstract. We have used different colors for each
section so that you can identify each part. However, it does not have key words. Think about the
possible key words and write them on the line provided.

Purpose Methodology Results Conclusions Key words

This paper aims to describe a case study comparing the perception of teaching materials between students
and teachers at Mex-Land University. The study is based on the hypothesis that teaching materials are
perceived differently by teachers and students during the teaching-learning development process. In order to
carry out the study 20 semi-structured interviews were done, where forty students and twenty teachers were
interviewed about different aspects of their English class and teaching materials. In addition, ten class
observations were carried out to collect more data. Based on the results, there seem to be indication that the
more complex the teaching materials are the less interest the students have. Moreover, the results also indicate
that the different aspects of the materials used in the teaching-learning process play an important role to draw
the students’ attention. The connection between the different aspects of the materials is not shared between
the teachers and the students making the shared knowledge less meaningful to the students. However, further
investigation and analytically richer data are required in order to verify the findings. More case studies have
been planned in order to understand the area better.

Key words: _____________________________________________________________________________