Lengua Inglesa C1.

1 (group A) Year 2020-2021

Prof. Marta Nadales Ruiz

WRITING ACTIVITY. A PROCESS ESSAY (2)

Write a process essay (350-400 words) on how to write an abstract.

Your essay should have 5 paragraphs and a title; it should contain direct quotations and
paraphrasing; it should include references both in the body of the text (in-text references)
and at the end (references/works cited). You should use either APA or MLA referencing system
(see APA/MLA handout).

(Suggested) steps required to write an abstract:

Step 1: Write the research paper

Step 2: Identify the key sections of the paper
Step 3: Draft a description of the key sections
Step 4: Put it all together

Text 1. Reference: Author: Julie Smith, Year: 2017, Pages: 25-46, Title: Writing an abstract in
a nutshell, Journal: Journal of Academic Writing, Volume: 23.

In many fields of research, a report, essay, or study begins with an abstract. An abstract is
meant to sell your work; it should explain the topic of your paper, the problem your research is
trying to solve or the question you are trying to answer, how you went about doing this, and the
conclusion you reached (Andrews, 2010). Writing an abstract is an important part of publishing
your research, and you should make the effort to make this portion of your paper detailed and well-
written. Many people do not realize the importance of abstracts and of knowing how to write an
abstract properly. (p.25)
It is important to understand that there are four main types of people who will need to write
an abstract at some point in their lives (Johnson, 2014). These include researchers who are
submitting their articles to be published on journals, as well as those researchers submitting their
papers to participate in a conference. Students, particularly post-graduate students, will also be
required to write an abstract after completing their Ph.D. dissertation or M.A. thesis. Finally, anyone
that wants to apply for research grants may also need to draft an abstract. (p.27)

Text 2. Reference: Author: Timothy Spencer, Year: 2015, Pages: 79-94, Title: The key to a
successful abstract, Journal: Academic Reading and Writing, Volume: 38, Issue: 3.
It is essential to bear in mind that before even thinking of writing an abstract, the research
paper must be written first. There are several reasons for this (Samuels, 2009). When you write and
revise, usually your plans change. Also, you might move or delete words, paragraphs, and even
entire arguments. This means it is almost impossible to write a summary of your work before you
have written it. (p.83)

There are different types of research, which imply different types of abstracts. Whereas
in basic research essays, you might simply review resources and create an argument based solely
on what you have read, when you are writing a more detailed research essay based on the results
of your own survey, study, or experiment, you will need to identify the key sections. These sections
will probably begin with the problem and why you are researching the problem. The next section
will most likely describe the methods or procedures used, which will focus on how you completed
your research. The third section will include a description of your results or findings. Finally, the
conclusions or implications will be discussed. Each section is as important and they all must be
represented in your abstract. (p.86)

Text 3. Reference: Author: Indira Anderson, Year: 2009, Publisher: Blackwell, Title: Academic
Writing in depth, Place: London.

It can be challenging to write the abstract all at once. This is why you should start by
sketching out your ideas in a rough draft format, in other words, draft a description of the key
Lengua Inglesa C1.1 (group A) Year 2020-2021
Prof. Marta Nadales Ruiz

sections that you have identified. As Sanders (2007, p. 35) clearly indicates “This description does
not need to include all the details”. For this reason, it is very important that you concentrate on
keywords. A good list of keywords in each section will provide you with all the vital information that
needs to be included in your abstract. A thorough reading process of your whole paper is required
so as not to forget the most significant aspects to include in your abstract. (p. 127)
It is common to write the abstract in separate sections, including one aspect in each of
them. The reason for this is that drafting each section separately helps ease the stress a little and
gives you a chance to outline your ideas, especially when you are first learning how to write an
abstract. However, writing the actual abstract can be a bit harder. You need to not only fit all the
information in one concise paragraph, but you also need to fit it all in within a set number of words.
It is widely acknowledged that this task can be complex, and it requires more time than it could be
thought at first. Nevertheless, practice contributes to improving this skill and once a few abstracts
have been written, the process becomes much easier. (p. 159)