ESP
Unit 4
final task
Comparative
Analysis of four Abstract in specialized journals
Carrizo
Liliana
Consoli,
Claudia
Comparing Abstracts from Assorted Perspectives
The American Psychological Association (APA, 2008) determines
that an “abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the
article; it allows readers to survey the contents of an article quickly (…)”
(p.12). According to Swales and Feaks(1994),abstracts usually
consist of a single paragraph containing from about four to ten full sentences and it is
generally more important to the reader than the writer. This paper consists of
a comparative analysis of four abstracts from different research articles
concerning the medical and educational fields. This study will imply delving
into the various parts and characteristics of this valuable section of a
research article.When analysing and comparing the various abstracts, we will
make use of the APA conventions to abstract writing.
On the one hand, the two medical
articles are written in a structure form which includes bolded headings.Each
heading identifies some of the sections of the Introduction, Methods, Results
and Discussion (IMRAD) formula. Both papers could be classified under the
informative type of abstract. As regards linguistics characteristics, both
papers make use of the past tense and the present and passive voice. The
approach to writing is in both cases a summary.
On the other hand, the two educational
papers present numerous differences between each other and the medical papers
as well.
The abstract on the use of DVD is a short unstructured
paragraph not following the IMRAD formula at all. It only provides the reader
with a brief description of what the paper will deal with. It is an informative
text which approach to writing is a summary. The writing style though rather
simple is capable of engaging the reader into continuing reading. It is mainly
written using the present tense and the present perfect tense.
The abstract on the use of video in the classroom is
quite different. To begin with , it is longer and more detailed. It contains in
paragraph form an attempt to the IMRAD formula. Nevertheless, it lacks the
¨Results¨ and ¨Conclusion¨ .It provides the reader with some definitions to
unknown words and a general idea of the way of work. This text starts in the
present tense moving between past tense, and passive voice accordingly. The approach
to writing is also a summary but it also works as the blueprint of the paper
ahead.
All in
all, it is noticeable that the medical and educational articles follow contrasting
abstract features and parameters. The Medical papers provide a clear understanding
of the research articles whereas the educational articles cannot shed light on
all the reports’ sections. If writers wish their
work to be accepted within their corresponding discourse community, they will have
to adhere very strictly to the established principles for each field. Therefore, It could be concluded that the
medical research articles abstracts hold the necessary parts and
characteristics that are determined by the academic writing community. The papers seem to reflect the qualities of each
field: the medical papers, precision of data and a clear format ; the articles on
education, creativity and reader friendly characteristics to approach the
classroom teacher as well as other researchers.
American
Psychological Association (2008).Publication Manual (5th ed.). Washington,
DC: British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.
King,J.
(2002) .Using DVD feature films in the EFL classroom . The weekly column, 88 (1). Abstract retrieved from http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=24130
Kokonis,M
(1993) .The video in the classroom: Agatha
Christie’s ‘Evil Under the Sun’ and the teaching of narratology through
film . Educational Resources Information
Center. Abstract retrieved from http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=24128
Martinez,
C., LAssimes,T., Mines,D.,Dell’Aniello,S, Suissa,S (2009). Use of venlafaxine compared with other
antidepressants and the risk of sudden cardiac death or near death: a nested case-control
study . British Medical Journal.
2010;340,c249doi:10.1136/bmj.c249 . Abstract retrieved from http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=24124
Swales, J.M., &Feak, C.B. (1994).Academic
writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills. Ann Harbor, MI:
The University of Michigan Press.
Wijeysundera,D.,
Beattie,W. Elliot,R.F., Austin,P. Hux,J.Lapaucis,A.(2009) . Non-invasive cardiac stress testing before elective
major non-cardiac surgery: population based cohort study.
British Medical Journal. 2010;340:b5526doi:10.1136/bmj.b5526
. Abstract retrieved from http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=24126