Technical Communication for Engineers

Title and an abstract

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 Title
• While searching for a research study on a particular topic, one
probably notices that articles with interesting, descriptive research
titles attract most.

https://www.enago.com/academy/write-irresistible-research-paper-title/
• By contrast, research paper titles that are not descriptive are usually
passed over, even though they may be good research papers with
interesting contents.
• This shows the importance of coming up with a good title for your
research paper / seminar / dissertation / thesis when drafting your
own document.

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 Title
A search using the keywords “nursing”, “communication”, and
“meditation” may yield the results that have the following titles:
Title Comment

https://www.enago.com/academy/write-irresistible-research-paper-title/
Benefits of Meditation for the describes the topic and the method
Nursing Profession: A Quantitative of the study but is not particularly
Investigation catchy.
Why Mindful Nurses Make the Best partly describes the topic, but does
Communicators not give any information about the
method of the study—it could simply
be a theoretical or opinion piece.

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 Title
Title Comment
Meditation Gurus is somewhat catchier but gives
almost no information at all about

https://www.enago.com/academy/write-irresistible-research-paper-title/
the article.
Nurses on the Move: A Quantitative begins with a catchy main title and
Report on How Meditation Can is followed by a subtitle that gives
Improve Nurse Performance information about the content and
method of the study.

As we see, the last title has all the characteristics of a good research title.

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 Title
Predicts Reflects Important
Title Interesting?
content? tone? keywords?
Benefits of Meditation for the

https://www.enago.com/academy/write-irresistible-research-paper-title/
Nursing Profession: A Quantitative Yes No No Yes
Investigation
Why Mindful Nurses Make the
No Yes Yes No
Best Communicators
Meditation Gurus No Yes No No
Nurses on the Move: A
Quantitative Report on How
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Meditation Can Improve Nurse
Performance

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 Title
A paper / article involves ensuring that the title of the research
accomplishes four goals.
1. A good title predicts the content of the research paper.

https://www.enago.com/academy/write-irresistible-research-paper-title/
2. A good title should be interesting to the reader.
3. It should reflect the tone of the writing.
4. It should contain important keywords that will make it easier to be
located during a keyword search.

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 Tips for Writing an Effective Research Paper Title
When writing a research title, earlier discussed four criteria may be
used.

https://www.enago.com/academy/write-irresistible-research-paper-title/
Few other tips for an effective research paper:
1. Make sure research title describes (a) the topic, (b) the method, (c)
the sample, and (d) the results of your study.
2. Avoid unnecessary words and jargons. A title should be
comprehensible even to non-experts.
3. Make sure your title is between 5 and 15 words in length.

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 Title
Title should be:

• Strong and focused

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2. Abstract / synopsis / summary
• It is the first section which mostly a reader goes through after

http://www2.geof.unizg.hr/~znevistic/ids2018/ppt/PDS_Dubrovnik_abstract_writing.pdf
title
• It is a brief summary of work presented
• It tells the prospective readers what and how the work has
been done and what were the important findings?
• In someway it is an advertisement of your work / article /
manuscript
• Make it interesting, and easy to be understood without reading
the whole article
• Must be accurate, specific, simple and easily understandable

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2. Abstract / synopsis / summary / extended abstract
• A clear abstract will strongly influence whether or not your work is
further considered
• Generally, abstract and synopsis are used synonymously /
interchangeably, however, there are differences:
abstract means an abridgement or summary of a longer publication,
whereas synopsis means a brief summary of the major points of a
written work, either as prose or as a table.
Further, An abstract is said to reflect the mind of the author of the
research paper, whereas a summary, on the other hand, is said to
reflect the events of the particular act of a play, in a nutshell.

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The abstract of a paper is the only part of the paper:
 Generally, that is published in conference proceedings

http://www2.geof.unizg.hr/~znevistic/ids2018/ppt/PDS_Dubrovnik_abstract_writing.pdf
 That a potential referee sees when he is invited by an editor to
review a manuscript.
 That readers see when they search through electronic databases.

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Finally, most readers will acknowledge, that when they look a paper:
 First they only go through the titles of the papers.

http://www2.geof.unizg.hr/~znevistic/ids2018/ppt/PDS_Dubrovnik_abstract_writing.pdf
 If a title interests them, they glance through the abstract of that
paper.
 Only a dedicated reader will pursue the contents of the paper, and
then, most often only the figures, introduction and discussion
sections.
 Only a reader with a very specific interest in the subject of the
paper, and a need to understand it thoroughly, will read the entire
paper.
 Consequently, for the vast majority of readers, the paper does not
exist beyond its abstract.
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• For the referees, and the few readers who wish to read beyond the

https://pdcrodas.webs.ull.es/empresa/HowToWriteAGoodAbstractForAScientificPaperOrConference.pdf
abstract, the abstract sets the tone for the rest of the paper.
• It is therefore the responsibility of the author to ensure that the
abstract is properly representative of the entire paper / work.
• Further, the abstract is a condensed and concentrated version of the
full text of the research manuscript.
• It should be sufficiently representative of the paper if read as a
standalone document.
• The abstract must be as detailed as possible within the word count
limits specified by the journal / conference to which the paper is
intended to be submitted.

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• This will require good precise writing skills, as well as a fine judgment

https://pdcrodas.webs.ull.es/empresa/HowToWriteAGoodAbstractForAScientificPaperOrConference.pdf
about what information is necessary and what is not.
• The abstract must contain as much information as possible on the
analyses related to the primary and secondary outcome measures.
• The abstract should not present a biased picture, such as only
favorable outcomes with the study done, or findings that support the
authors’ hypotheses; important nonsignificant and adverse findings
should also receive mention.
• Thus, to the extent possible, the reader should be able to
independently evaluate the authors’ conclusions.

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 Components of an Abstract

https://pdcrodas.webs.ull.es/empresa/HowToWriteAGoodAbstractForAScientificPaperOrConference.pdf
• Despite the fact that an abstract is quite brief, it must do almost as
much work as the multi-page paper that follows it.
• Each section is typically a single sentence, although there is room for
creativity.
• In particular, the parts may be merged or spread among a set of
sentences.

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 Checklist for an abstract

https://pdcrodas.webs.ull.es/empresa/HowToWriteAGoodAbstractForAScientificPaperOrConference.pdf
Motivation:
• Generally, work is incremental progress on a problem that is widely
recognized as important
• It is better to put the problem statement first to indicate which piece
of the larger problem you have been working on.
• Also include the importance of your work, the difficulty of the area,
and the impact it might have if successful.

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 Checklist for an abstract

https://pdcrodas.webs.ull.es/empresa/HowToWriteAGoodAbstractForAScientificPaperOrConference.pdf
Problem statement:
• What problem are you trying to solve?
• What is the scope of your work (a generalized approach, or for a
specific situation)?
• Sometimes, it is appropriate to put the problem statement before the
motivation.

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 Checklist for an abstract

https://pdcrodas.webs.ull.es/empresa/HowToWriteAGoodAbstractForAScientificPaperOrConference.pdf
Approach:
• How did you go about solving or making progress on the problem?
• Did you use simulation, analytic models, prototype construction, or
analysis of field data for an actual product?
• What was the extent of your work?
• What important variables did you control, ignore, or measure?

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 Checklist for an abstract

https://pdcrodas.webs.ull.es/empresa/HowToWriteAGoodAbstractForAScientificPaperOrConference.pdf
Results:
• What's the answer?
• Specifically, most good papers conclude that something is so many
percent more accurate, faster, cheaper, smaller, or otherwise better
than something else.
• Put the result in numbers.
• Avoid vague statement.

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 Checklist for an abstract

https://pdcrodas.webs.ull.es/empresa/HowToWriteAGoodAbstractForAScientificPaperOrConference.pdf
Conclusions:
• What are the implications of your answer?
• Is it going to change the world?
• Are your results general, potentially generalizable, or specific to a
particular case?

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THANKS

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