Guidelines
Guidelines
复制标题
DOI：
10.1111/j.1464-5491.2004.1424-3.x
复制
发表时间：
1994-09
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
H. Stähelin
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
H. Stähelin
抽象就像一个人的脸。它可以告诉你该期待什么。它应该在一个简短的段落中给出论文的要点。除了作为一个总结，它还有另一个目的。一个展示品，它召唤读者进入报纸。你不想写一个设计得太好的摘要，以至于潜在的读者在看了一眼后会决定跳过这篇论文。但更糟糕的是，你想避免写一个令人沮丧的摘要，让读者远离摘要和论文本身。不要写难以理解的摘要。这似乎是不言而喻的。一个开头的句子，如“片段的聚酮合酶（PKS）基因扩增从互补DNA（cDNA）的镰孢菌素C生产丝状真菌镰刀菌monoliforme和镰刀菌venetatum通过使用简并寡核苷酸设计选择真菌PKS C-甲基转移酶（CmeT）域”是不可能的：太技术，太密集，太复杂的语法，沉重的首字母缩略词。乐从翻译和分解这个句子开始。不如这样，“两种丝状真菌产生镰刀菌素。它们的互补DNA用于扩增聚酮合酶基因的片段。为此目的，我们使用简并寡核苷酸，设计用于选择所需的甲基转移酶结构域。“此外，由于论文标题以“Fusarin C Biosynthesis”开头，就不要重复了，上面这句话想要表达的意思是“我们制备了对真菌聚酮合酶基因具有选择性的寡核苷酸PCR引物。“为什么不这样开始抽象呢？把抽象想象成商店橱窗。它需要优雅和吸引力。后者应反映工作的质量、方法的新奇性及其成果的重要性。前者完全是文字技巧和风格的问题。在写论文之前或之后的五分钟内迅速写出一份摘要是不够的。一个好的摘要可能是几个小时的制作过程。花时间组装这样一颗宝石并不奇怪。如何才能做到这一点？就像你在给朋友写明信片一样：使用简单的句子，不要使用技术，用50到100个单词表达一个干净的信息。做不到这一点？在这种情况下，从你完成的论文中抽出1/4，在你认为能概括这篇论文的12个句子下面划上下划线。将它们粘贴在一起，并使用过渡将它们绑定在一起。现在，编辑这一段。无情点。试着减少三分之一。你现在应该有你的摘要的初稿了。只剩下把它从体面的英语变成巧妙的英语了。不要犹豫，求助于同义词词典和使用其他工具，如风格手册。大声朗读你的摘要，这是一个至关重要的测试。它会让你抛弃多音节的不发音的单词。它会让你专注于论文的真正成就。它会让你抓住你的读者的袖子：“进来吧，先生，我有一些真正了不起的东西我想给你看”。这是一个精心设计的抽象的信息。
An abstract is like the face of a person. It can tell one what to expect. It should give the gist of the paper in a short paragraph. Besides being a summary, it has another purpose. A showpiece, it beckons the reader into the paper. You do not want to compose an abstract so well devised the prospective reader after glancing at it will decide to skip the paper. But even worse, you want to avoid writing an abstract so discouraging as to turn the reader away from both the abstract and the paper itself. Don’t compose an unreadable abstract. This would seem to go without saying. An opening sentence such as ”Fragments of polyketide synthase (PKS) genes were amplified from complementary DNA (cDNA) of the fusarin C producing filamentous fungi Fusarium monoliforme and Fusarium venetatum by using degenerate oligonucleotides designed to select for fungal PKS C-methyltransferase (CmeT) domains“ is impossible: Too technical, too dense, too complicated a syntax, heavy with acronyms. Le’s start with translating and breaking down this sentence. How about, instead, ”Two species of filamentous fungi produce fusarin. Their complementary DNA serve to amplify fragments of polyketide synthase genes. We use for this purpose degenerate oligonucleotides, designed to select for the desired methyltransferase domains.“ Moreover, since the title of the paper starts with ”Fusarin C Biosynthesis“, don’t repeat it. The desired meaning of the above sentence is ”We have prepared oligonucleotide PCR primers selective for fungal polyketide synthase genes.“ Why not start the abstract thus? Think of an abstract as a shop window. It requires elegance and attractiveness. The latter ought to be a reflection of the quality of the work, of the novelty of its approach, of the importance of its results. The former is exclusively a matter of word-craft, of style. It is not enough to whip out an abstract in five minutes, either before writing the paper or after having done so. A good abstract might be hours in the making. To invest time assembling such a jewel is not out of whack. How can it be done? Write as if you were penning a postcard to a friend: use simple sentences, don’t get technical and utter a clean message in a maximum of 50 to 100 words. Incapable of such a feat? In that case, take a printout of your completed paper and underline a dozen sentences you feel epitomize the work. Paste them together and tie them together with transitions. Now, edit this paragraph. Be merciless. Try to reduce it by a third. You should now have the first draft of your abstract. It only remains to turn it from decent into artful English. Do not hesitate to resort to a dictonary of synonyms and to use other tools such as a style manual. Read your abstract aloud, a crucial test. It will make you jettison multisyllabic unpronouncable words. It will make you focus on the genuine achievements of the paper. It will make you grab your reader by the sleeve: ”come inside, Mister, I have something truly marvellous I’d like to show you“. This is the message from a well-designed abstract.