LWPC	  Recipe	  and	  Template	  Series	  –	  stage	  3	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  by	  Paul	  W.	  L.	  Lai	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  Copyright	  2014	  How	  to	  build	  an	  informative	  abstract	  	  	  	  Main	  objectives:	  In	  order	  to	  build	  a	  satisfactory	  abstract,	  you	  are	  required	  to	  provide	  a	  SUCCINCT	  SUMMARY	  that	  highlights	  the	  main	  argument	  of	  your	  research.	  In	  doing	  so,	  the	  following	  questions	  must	  be	  answered:	  	  (i)What	  is	  that	  main	  task	  of	  your	  research?	  
(ii)
Why	  did	  you	  carry	  out	  your	  research?	  
(iii) How	  did	  you	  carry	  out	  your	  research?	  
(iv) What	  have	  you	  concluded	  in	  your	  research?	  	  Note:	  (i)The	  abstract	  to	  be	  built	  is	  only	  preliminary.	  Continual	  modifications	  of	  the	  abstract	  are	  expected	  throughout	  the	  writing	  process.	  	  
(ii)While	   working	   on	   the	   following	   steps,	   you	   are	   encouraged	   (although	  not	   required)	   to	   interact	   with	   a	   peer	   writer	   in	   order	   to	   make	   your	  writing	  process	  more	  effective	  and	  fruitful.	  	  (iii) After	   completing	   all	   the	   following	   steps,	   there	   is	   a	   checklist	   to	   make	  sure	   that	   you	   have	   completed	   all	   the	   required	   tasks.	   Please	   ask	   your	  peer	  writer	  to	  go	  through	  the	  checklist	  with	  you.	  	  	  Step	  by	  step	  guidance:	  	  Please	   answer	   the	   following	   questions	   as	   clearly,	   specifically,	   and	   concisely	   as	  possible.	   Feel	   free	   to	   substitute	   any	   of	   the	   words	   or	   phrases	   in	   the	   blue	   color	  below	  (they	  were	  provided	  only	  to	  inspire	  your	  thoughts,	  not	  to	  replace	  them).	  	  Step	  1:	  Please	  answer	  the	  following	  question	  in	  one	  sentence.	  	  	  What	  is	  the	  main	  task	  of	  your	  research?	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  You	   may	   answer	   the	   question	   by	   beginning	   with	   “In	   this	   study/research,	   we	  analyzed	  …”	  	  Step	  2:	  Please	  answer	  the	  following	  question	  in	  one	  sentence.	  
What	   is	   the	   motivation	   for	   carrying	   out	   your	   research	   (e.g.	   (i)	   background	  information	  and	  (ii)	  some	  unsolved	  problem	  in	  the	  field	  of	  your	  research)?	  	  	  You	   may	   answer	   the	   question	   by	   beginning	   with	   “Many	   studies	   on	   …	   have	  demonstrated…	  But	  there	  is	  a	  problem	  …”	  	  	  	  1	  LWPC	  Recipe	  and	  Template	  Series	  –	  stage	  3	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  by	  Paul	  W.	  L.	  Lai	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  Copyright	  2014	  How	  to	  build	  an	  informative	  abstract	  	  	  Step	  3:	  Please	  answer	  the	  following	  question	  in	  two	  to	  three	  sentences.	  	  What	   are	   the	   key	   procedures	   carried	   out	   to	   implement	   the	   main	   task?	   That	   is,	  how	   did	   you	   carry	   out	   the	   main	   task	   of	   your	   research?	   (e.g.	   conducting	   some	  experiments?)	  Please	  specify	  2	  ~	  3	  points	  (one	  sentence	  per	  point).	  	  	  You	   may	   answer	   the	   question	   by	   beginning	   with	   “In	   particular,	   firstly	   we	  conducted	  an	  experiment	  on	  …	  Second,	  …	  Third,	  …”	  	  	  Step	  4:	  Please	  answer	  the	  following	  question	  in	  two	  to	  three	  sentences.	  
What	   are	   the	   main	   results	   achieved	   from	   the	   tasks	   in	   (3)?	   You	   may	   combine	   this	  section	  with	  (3).	  	  	  	  Step	  5:	  Please	  answer	  the	  following	  question	  in	  one	  sentence.	  
What	  is	  the	  conclusion	  (thesis	  statement)	  based	  on	  the	  main	  task	  carried	  out	  in	  your	  research?	  That	  is,	  what	  have	  you	  found	  in	  your	  research?	  	  	  You	  may	  answer	  the	  question	  by	  beginning	  with	  “Based	  on	  the	  results	  we	  found	  in	  …,	  we	  can	  conclude	  that	  …”	  	  Step	   6:	   Combine	   your	   answers	   to	   the	   above	   questions	   using	   one	   of	   the	   following	  abstract	  formats.	  You	  are	  free	  to	  change	  any	  of	  the	  words	  or	  phrases.	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  2	  LWPC	  Recipe	  and	  Template	  Series	  –	  stage	  3	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  by	  Paul	  W.	  L.	  Lai	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  Copyright	  2014	  How	  to	  build	  an	  informative	  abstract	  	  	  	  	  Abstract	  format	  1	  (for	  Science	  paper)	  {Motivation}	  Many	  studies	  on	  ….	  have	  demonstrated	  ….	  But	  there	  is	  a	  problem	  ….	   {Main	   task}	   In	   this	   study/research,	   we	   investigated	   …	   {Procedures	   &	  Results}	   In	   particular,	   firstly	   we	   conducted	   an	   experiment	   on	   …	   Then	   we	  compared	   the	   results	   from	   the	   experiment	   with	   …	   Finally	   we	   conducted	   another	  experiment	   on	   …	   {Conclusion}	   Based	   on	   the	   results	   we	   found	   in	   …	   	   we	   can	  conclude	   that	   …	   {Implication}	   [optional]	   One	   important	   implication	   of	   our	  conclusion	  is	  that	  …	  	  Abstract	  format	  2	  (for	  Humanities	  paper)	  {Motivation}	  Many	  studies	  on	  ….	  have	  demonstrated	  ….	  But	  there	  is	  a	  problem	  ….	  {Main	   task}	  In	  this	  study/research,	  we	  analyzed	  …	  {Procedures	   &	   Results}	  In	   particular,	   firstly	   we	   studied	   the	   work	   by	   …	   Then	   we	   compared	   the	   results	  from	   the	   study	   with	   …	   Finally	   we	   further	   studied	   the	   work	   by	   …	   {Conclusion}	  Based	   on	   the	   results	   we	   found	   in	   …	   	   we	   can	   conclude	   that	   …	   {Implication}	  [optional]	  The	  implication	  of	  our	  conclusion	  is	  that	  …	  	  Abstract	  Check	  List	  	  (1) Is	  your	  abstract	  written	  in	  one	  paragraph?	  If	  not,	  why	  can’t	  it?	  	  (2) Has	  your	  abstract	  highlighted	  why	  you	  carried	  out	  your	  present	  research?	  
If	  not,	  why	  not?	  	  (3) Has	   your	   abstract	   highlighted	   the	   main	   objective	   or	   task	   of	   present	  research?	  If	  not,	  why	  not?	  	  (4) Has	  your	  abstract	  highlighted	  how	  you	  carried	  out	  your	  present	  research?	  
If	  not,	  why	  not?	  	  (5) Has	   your	   abstract	   presented	   the	   thesis	   statement	   (i.e.	   conclusion)	   of	   your	  present	  research?	  If	  not,	  why	  not?	  	  	  3