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Join Dr. Katherine Schaefer for an insightful session on writing engineering papers and abstracts. Learn how to effectively communicate your research by crafting a compelling "story." Discover the essentials of structuring your abstract to quickly convey the key question, methods, findings, and implications of your work. Engage with fellow attendees, share experiences, and receive feedback as you enhance your writing skills. For questions or discussions, feel free to email or stop by!
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ME241Abstracts: Using and Writing Them Katherine Schaefer, PhD Lecturer, The College Writing Program Specialist in Scientific and Technical Writing RRL G121D (The CWP) Please feel free to stop by/email and discuss/ask questions!
Purpose of an engineering paper: tell a good “story” • SHORT VERSION • What was the question? • What did you do about the question? • What did you find out/what was the answer? • LONGER VERSION • What was the question? • Where does the question fit in/why is it important? • What did you do about the question? • What did you find out/what was the answer? • What does it mean/what can we do now?
Purpose of an abstract • Summarize the engineering “story” • Help the reader decide QUICKLY whether the paper contains information useful to him or her
Structure of an abstract • What was the question? • Where does the question fit it/why is it important? • What did we do about the question? • What did we find out? • What does it mean/what can we do next? • From the instructions: • “ABSTRACT. A brief summary of the work: what you did and what the results were. Generally less than 100 words.” (Report Structure, WrittenReports.ppt) • “The abstract identifies the key question/problem [and] briefly describes methods and results…” (Grading Criteria)
So do I state the question or not???!! • SOLUTION I • What did you do about the question (conceptual, implies question)? • What did you do about the question (more specific)? • What did you find out? • SOLUTION II • What did you do? • What did you find out (conceptual, states the answer to the question in such a way that the question is obvious?
Sample: • What was the question? • Stated directly or implied? • What did the writer do about the question? • What did the writer find out/what was the answer? • Anything you were unclear about? Reporting of Results/Sample Report or in WrittenReports.ppt
Hands on: • Divide into groups of 2-3; get an “evaluation sheet” • Working together (try to come to agreement on each sample) evaluate all three abstracts • Pick the one you found least clear, and try rewriting it. • Use the evaluation sheet to help you decide what to add/change
Need feedback? writing.rochester.edu/writing center/writing center resources Click here to schedule a 50 min appt with a consultant (click “login”) Click here for written feedback in 48h Click here for Writing Fellows Walk-In Hours