English for biology



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|Writing up Research |

|The Abstract |

|This page covers: |

|Purpose   |

|Common problems  |

|What is the difference between an abstract and an introduction? |

|Examples |

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|PURPOSE |

|For conference papers, research papers, theses and dissertations, you will almost always be asked to write an abstract. The |

|main point to remember is that it must be short, because it should give a summary of your research. In fact, not only are |

|abstracts short, they must almost always be a certain, specified length. Many abstracts are, so, before you begin writing, you |

|must find out how long your abstract should be (for example, 200 words for AIT master's theses) and you should come close to - |

|but not go over - this limit. Abstracts that exceed the maximum word limit are often rejected because they cannot be used for |

|databases, summaries of conferences, etc. |

|An abstract should briefly: |

|[pic]Re-establish the topic of the research. |

|[pic]Give the research problem and/or main objective of the research (this usually comes first). |

|[pic]Indicate the methodology used. |

|[pic]Present the main findings. |

|[pic]Present the main conclusions |

|It is essential that your abstract includes all the keywords of your research, as it will enabled on databases which other |

|researchers will search. Obviously if you only have two hundred words, you can only cover each of these areas briefly. The |

|emphasis is generally on the main findings and main conclusions since these areas are of most interest to readers. |

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|COMMON PROBLEMS |

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|Too long. If your abstract is too long, it may be rejected - abstracts are entered on databases, and those is usually a |

|specified maximum number of words. Abstracts are often too long because people forget to count their words (remember that you |

|can use your word processing program to do this) and make their abstracts too detailed (see below). |

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|Too much detail. Abstracts that are too long often have unnecessary details. The abstract is not the place for detailed |

|explanations of methodology or for details about the context of your research problem because you simply do not have the space |

|to present anything but the main points of your research. |

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|Too short. Shorter is not necessarily better.  If your word limit is 200 but you only write 95 words, you probably have not |

|written in sufficient detail. You should review your abstract and see where you could usefully give more explanation - remember|

|that in many cases readers decide whether to read the rest of your research from looking at the abstract. Many writers do not |

|give sufficient information about their findings |

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|Failure to include important information. You need to be careful to cover the points listed above. Often people do not cover |

|all of them because they spend too long explaining, for example, the methodology and then do not have enough space to present |

|their conclusion. |

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|ABSTRACTS AND INTRODUCTIONS COMPARED |

|At first glance, it might seem that the introduction and the abstract are very similar because they both present the research |

|problem and objectives as well as briefly reviewing methodology, main findings and main conclusions.  However, there are |

|important differences between the two: |

|Introduction |

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|Should be short, but does not have a word limit; |

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|Main purpose is to introduce the research by presenting its context or background. Introductions usually go from general to |

|specific, introducing the research problem and how it will be investigated). For more detail see Introductions. |

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|Abstract |

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|Has a maximum word limit; |

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|Is a summary of the whole research; |

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|Main purpose is to summarize the research (particularly the objective and the main finding/conclusion), NOT to introduce the |

|research area. |

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|EXAMPLES |

|Example 1 |

|Here is an abstract from a published paper. It is 220 words long. Read it through looking for the main purpose of each sentence|

|(for example, presenting research problem, objective, methodology, main findings, or conclusion). You can find suggested |

|answers by clicking on the sentences. |

|Abstract |

|Major problems of the arid region are transportation of agricultural products and losses due to spoilage of the products, |

|especially in summer. This work presents the performance of a solar drying system consisting of an air heater and a dryer |

|chamber connected to a greenhouse. The drying system is designed to dry a variety of agricultural products. The effect of air |

|mass flow rate on the drying process is studied. Composite pebbles, which are constructed from cement and sand, are used to |

|store energy for night operation. The pebbles are placed at the bottom of the drying chamber and are charged during the drying |

|process itself. A separate test is done using a simulator, a packed bed storage unit, to find the thermal characteristics of |

|the pebbles during charging and discharging modes with time. Accordingly, the packed bed is analyzed using a heat transfer |

|model with finite difference technique described before and during the charging and discharging processes. Graphs are presented|

|that depict the thermal characteristics and performance of the pebble beds and the drying patterns of different agricultural |

|products. The results show that the amount of energy stored in the pebbles depends on the air mass flow rate, the inlet air |

|temperature, and the properties of the storage materials. The composite pebbles can be used efficiently as storing media. |

|Helwa, N. H. and Abdel Rehim, Z. S. (1997). Experimental Study of the Performance of Solar Dryers with Pebble Beds. Energy |

|Sources, 19, 579-591. |

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|Example 2 |

|Here is a second abstract from a published paper. It is 162 words long. Again, read it through looking for the main purpose of |

|each sentence (for example, presenting the research problem, objective, methodology, main finding, or conclusion). You can find|

|suggested answers by clicking on the sentences. |

|Abstract |

|The long-term performance of various systems was determined and the economic aspects of solar hot water production were |

|investigated in this work. The effect of the collector inclination angle, collector area and storage volume was examined for |

|all systems, and various climatic conditions and their payback period was calculated. It was found that the collector |

|inclination angle does not have a significant effect on system performance. Large collector areas have a diminishing effect on |

|the system’s overall efficiency. The increase in storage volume has a detrimental effect for small daily load volumes, but a |

|beneficial one when there is a large daily consumption. Solar energy was found to be truly competitive when the conventional |

|fuel being substituted is electricity, and it should not replace diesel oil on pure economic grounds. Large daily load volumes |

|and large collector areas are in general associated with shorter payback periods. Overall, the systems are oversized and are |

|economically suitable for large daily hot water load volumes. |

|Haralambopoulos, D., Paparsenost, G. F., and Kovras, H. (1997) Assessing the Economic Aspects of Solar Hot Water Production in |

|Greece. Renewable Energy, 11, 153-167. |

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|Writing up Research |

|The Abstract - Text Analysis |

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|EXAMPLE 1 |

|"Major problems of the arid region are transportation of agricultural products and losses due to spoilage of the products, |

|especially in summer." |

|This sentence gives the general problem the research is attempting to help solve (rather than the specific research problem) in|

|order to provide a rationale for the research. |

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|"This work presents the performance of a solar drying system consisting of an air heater and a dryer chamber connected to a |

|greenhouse. The drying system is designed to dry a variety of agricultural products." the performance of a solar drying system |

|consisting of an air heater and a dryer chamber connected to a greenhouse. The drying system is designed to dry a variety of |

|agricultural products." |

|This part of the abstract gives the main objective of the research. |

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|"The effect of air mass flow rate on the drying process is studied." |

|Here the authors give the parameter they will be focusing on in order to measure the effect of air mass flow rate on the drying|

|process. Their research problem, therefore, is to find out the effect of air mass flow rate on the drying process.  |

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|"Composite pebbles, which are constructed from cement and sand, are used to store energy for night operation. The pebbles are |

|placed at the bottom of the drying chamber and are charged during the drying process itself. A separate test is done using a |

|simulator, a packed bed storage unit, to find the thermal characteristics of the pebbles during charging and discharging modes |

|with time. Accordingly, the packed bed is analyzed using a heat transfer model with finite difference technique described |

|before and during the charging and discharging processes." |

|This part of the abstract summarizes the methodology used. |

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|"Graphs are presented that depict the thermal characteristics and performance of the pebble beds and the drying patterns of |

|different agricultural products. The results show that the amount of energy stored in the pebbles depends on the air mass flow |

|rate, the inlet air temperature, and the properties of the storage materials." |

|Here we are told in what form the results are presented, and the main findings. |

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|"The composite pebbles can be used efficiently as storing media." |

|Finally, we are presented with the main conclusion of the research.  |

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|EXAMPLE 2 |

|"The long-term performance of various systems was determined and the economic aspects of solar hot water production were |

|investigated in this work." |

|Here the authors present the objectives of their research (and by implication their research problem, i.e. the long-term |

|performation and the economic aspects are unknown and need to be found). |

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|"The effect of the collector inclination angle, collector area and storage volume was examined for all systems, and various |

|climatic conditions and their payback period was calculated." |

|Here we are told what was studied and calculated, i.e. we are given a very brief summary of the methodology.  |

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|"It was found that the collector inclination angle does not have a significant effect on system performance. Large collector |

|areas have a diminishing effect on the system’s overall efficiency. The increase in storage volume has a detrimental effect for|

|small daily load volumes, but a beneficial one when there is a large daily consumption." |

|This part of the abstract presents the main finding (i.e. results) the authors obtained.  |

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|"Solar energy was found to be truly competitive when the conventional fuel being substituted is electricity, and it should not |

|replace diesel oil on pure economic grounds. Large daily load volumes and large collector areas are in general associated with |

|shorter payback periods. Overall, the systems are oversized and are economically suitable for large daily hot water load |

|volumes." |

|Finally, the main conclusions and recommendations from the research are given.  |

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|No Compassion for Drunk Drivers |

|Roger Simon |

|from the Los Angeles Times |

|This is only part of Simon's purpose in writing |I would like to make an admission up front: I have|

|the article. We must continue to read to discover|a thing about drunken drivers. I hate them. I |

|the rest of his purpose. |really hate them. |

| |Every time I read about another innocent person |

| |slaughtered by a drunken driver I become enraged. |

| |So when I saw the nationally broadcast PBS special|

| |on drunken driving last week, I did not react as |

| |many did. I did not think it was sensitive and |

| |forthright. |

| |I did not react as Phil Donahue, the host, did |

| |when he came on at the end and said: "I was |

| |enormously moved by this documentary, as I'm sure |

| |you were." |

|This description of Simon's reaction to the |Not me, Phil. I wanted to kick the set in. |

|documentary begins Simon's discussion of the |I was plenty moved for the victims. I was plenty |

|scope of his article. His focus is his response |moved for the people who were crippled, paralyzed,|

|to the television documentary. |reduced to vegetables or dying. But the drunken |

| |drivers themselves did not hardly move me. I |

|Further, the scope of his article is limited to a|thought most got off easy. |

|criticism of the media and the judiciary. |First, let me tell you about the magnitude of the |

|Honestly, Simon could have included many more |problem. Someone is killed by a drunk driver every|

|"targets" within the scope of this article — such|20 minutes in this country. On any given weekend |

|as the distillers and the brewers of alcohol, the|night, on any road in America, 1 out of every 10 |

|advertisers of alcoholic beverages, or the |drivers is drunk. |

|barkeeps and store owners who sell the products. |And that is why drunken drivers will continue to |

|He could also have focused on the lack of |get off easy, because so many of the lawmakers, so|

|responsibility exhibited by the drinkers |many of the jurors, so many of the judges have |

|themselves. But he does not focus on those |driven drunk themselves. They have a certain |

|groups. Instead, he limits his scope here to |amount of sympathy for those who get caught. |

|lawyers, judges, and the media. |The purpose of the documentary, called "Drinking |

| |and Driving: The Toll, The Tears," was to show |

| |that a drunken driver doesn't get off easy. |

| |Sometimes they go to jail, and sometimes they lose|

| |their licenses, and sometimes they lose their |

| |jobs, we are told. |

|These paragraphs are crucial to Simon's purpose. |But, in reality, they rarely do. Most drunken |

|He wants to write a tough piece that will shock |drivers get away with it. If they are caught, and |

|people out of their complacency toward the issue.|few are, most go out and hire the best lawyers |

| |they can afford in order to beat the rap. |

| |The elements that made this documentary special is|

| |that it was produced and written by Kelly Burke, |

| |39, a Washington, D.C. television reporter. At |

| |6:17 A.M. on July 1, 1984, after having 6 to 11 |

| |glasses of wine, his van crossed the center line |

| |and crashed head-on into a pick-up truck driven by|

| |Dennis Crouch, who was on his way to Army Reserve |

| |training. |

| |Crouch was killed, leaving behind a son and a wife|

| |whom the report said 8 months pregnant. |

| |After the accident, Burke's lawyer told reporters:|

| |"It's our feeling that there's a defense no matter|

| |what charges come down." |

| |That line wasn't in the documentary, of course. |

| |Burke's lawyer did a heck of a fine job, by the |

| |way. He was worth whatever he cost, because |

| |Burke's case was plea-bargained. In return for a |

| |guilty plea, the charge of homicide with a motor |

| |vehicle while intoxicated was dropped. Instead, |

| |Burke pleaded guilty to charges of driving under |

| |the influence and failing to stay in the proper |

| |lane. |

|These paragraphs are crucial to Simon's method. |His driver's license was revoked. He was sentenced|

|He is now focusing on the details of the |to two years of unsupervised probation, fined |

|documentary and pointing out the hypocrisy and |$500, and ordered to produce a documentary on the |

|patronizing attitude of the reporter, Burke. |results of drinking and driving. |

| |But having seen Burke's documentary, I get the |

| |impression that one of the big results of his |

| |drinking and driving was getting exposure on |

| |national TV. |

|These paragraphs are Simon's toughest yet. He is |The show, which he also narrates, uses a lot of |

|building upon his method to reach these results |euphemisms. |

|about how drunk drivers rationalize their |Drivers are "impaired" after "imbibing". In one |

|behavior to excuse themselves of responsibility. |case, we are told that a drunk driver who killed a|

| |family of five "didn't mean it; he didn't even |

| |remember its happening." |

| |But didn't he mean it? Don't all drunken drivers |

| |mean it? If you drink 6 to 11 glasses of wine, as |

| |Burke did, and then get behind the wheel, just |

| |what is it you do mean? |

| |In the last segment, Burke comes on the screen. He|

| |stands there in a nice suit, and there is dramatic|

| |background music. He tells us about a driver, who |

| |pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of |

| |alcohol. This driver had worked "long hours and |

| |began celebrating." And then this driver crashed |

| |into a guy and he now suffers from a "melancholy |

| |paradoxically like that of the victims." |

| |And, Burke tells us, this driver now is "bumming |

| |rides" and taking "buses and the subway" because |

| |his license was revoked. Legal fees are high. If |

| |this wasn't enough, "social activists kept saying |

| |he hadn't suffered enough." |

| |Then Burke tells us: "I was the driver." Wrong, |

| |Mr. Burke. |

| |You were the killer. So why don't you just say it?|

| | |

| |A guy is dead, a woman widowed, two children |

| |orphaned, and Kelly Burke is telling me what agony|

| |it is to take public transportation. |

| |As I said, I wanted to kick in the set. I admit my|

| |reaction to drunk driving is extreme. But Burke |

| |and I do agree on one thing: "I've said many |

| |times," he told the judge at the sentencing, "I |

| |wished it had been me." |

|Here is the conclusion of Simon's thinking about |If these self-indulgent slobs would just maim and |

|drunk driving. |kill each other, drunken driving wouldn't upset me|

| |as much. |

| |In fact, it wouldn't upset me at all. |

Putting all of this information together, I wrote the following informative abstract.

|An Informative Abstract of Roger Simon's "No Compassion for Drunk Drivers" |

|     In "No Compassion for Drunk Drivers," Roger Simon explains the anger he felt over viewing a |

|television documentary entitled "Drunk Driving: The Toll, The Tears." He felt enraged by the attitudes |

|expressed both the journalist who produced the documentary, Kelly Burke, and the host of the |

|documentary, Phil Donahue. The source of his anger seemed to grow out of the hypocrisy surrounding this|

|issue that Simon believes exists both in the judicial system and the media. First, Simon uses |

|statistics to point out that drunk driving is a common crime in the United States, and because of that |

|fact, judges and jurors alike are likely to be biased in favor of the drunk driver, he reasons. |

|Secondly, Simon uses a detailed analysis of the images and language in the documentary to illustrate |

|his contention that the media is biased in favor of the drunk driver. His evidence takes the form of |

|language that unquestioningly portrayed the drunk driver as a victim, rather than a criminal. Simon |

|recognizes that his solution to this hypocrisy is unrealistic: a wish that drunk drivers would only |

|kill and maim each other. |

Abstract

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Many students just beginning their science education may be unfamiliar with the concept of an abstract in a lab report; it is often not required in introductory science courses because of its level of difficulty. As one takes higher level classes the teacher will specify if he or she wants an abstract to be included in the written reports. If it is required, it is the first part of your report, directly following the title page and proceeding the introduction.

The abstract, although it comes first logistically, always should be written last. It needs to be written last because it is the essence of your report, drawing information from all of the other sections of the report. It explains why the experiment was performed and what conclusions were drawn from the results obtained. A general guideline for an abstract has five sections or areas of focus: why the experiment was conducted; the problem being addressed; what methods were used to solve the problem; the major results obtained; and the overall conclusions from the experiment as a whole. Do not be misled, however, from this list into thinking that the abstract is a long section. In fact, it should be significantly shorter than all of the others. All of this information should be summarized in a clear but succinct manner if the abstract is going to be successful. An estimated average length for all of this information is only a single paragraph. Although this may seem as though it is a short length to contain all of the required information, it is necessary because it forces you to be accurate and yet compact, two essential qualities.

The best way to attempt to go about writing an abstract is to divide it into the sections mentioned above. The first two sections are very similar and can be grouped together, but do not have to be. If you decide to address them separately, make sure that you do not repeat anything. Often a section can be mentioned in only one sentence. Remember, brevity is the key to a successful abstract. Each section is addressed below to help clarify what needs to be included and what can be omitted.

The most important thing to remember when writing the abstract is to be brief and state only what is pertinent. No extraneous information should be included. A successful abstract is compact, accurate and self-contained. It also must be clear enough so someone who is unfamiliar with your experiment could understand why you did what you did, and what the experiment indicated in the end. An additional note is that abstracts typically are written in the passive voice, but it is acceptable to use personal pronouns such as I or we.

General questions to be addressed in the abstract section

1. Why it was done and what is the problem being addressed?

These two sections can be grouped together into one brief statement summarizing why the experiment was performed in the first place? What was the question trying to be answered? Science is an exploration for truth. It is all about curiosity and answering questions to find out why and how things work. The scientific method is a clear example of this; first state a problem or question and then try to determine the answer. This section is the statement of the original problem. It is the reason behind why an experiment is being done. This should not include many details, rather it should be a simple statement. It can even be stated in one or two sentences at the most.

2. What did you do?

This part of the abstract states what was done to try to answer the question proposed. It should in no way be very detailed. It contains a brief outline of what was done, highlighting only crucial steps. It is the materials and methods section of your abstract, but it is only one or two sentences in length. It is a description of how you decided to approach the problem.

3. What did you find out?

In other words, what did all of your hard work and preparation tell you about the question you set out to answer. This contains only the crucial results obtained. The crucial results are those that are necessary to answer your original question posed. Without these results, the experiment would have been useless. The results should be stated briefly and should not be explained; they should only be mentioned. It is very similar to the results section of your paper, but it highlights only pertinent results used to draw conclusions. An average length for this section is two or three sentences at the most. This number can vary however, depending on the complexity of the experiment, and so these length guides are just that, guides, not rules.

4. Conclusions?

This is the end of your abstract, directly hinging on the results obtained. This is the "so what" part of your experiment. "So what" refers to what the results mean in the long run. You need not include how you drew your conclusions, only the final conclusion. This should directly follow the results so the reader knows what results led to what conclusions. This is the equivalent to the discussion part of the paper, but again, like the rest of the abstract, it needs to be stated briefly and succinctly. You do not need to explain how you deduced the conclusion from the results obtained, only the end conclusions. After you have stated this, the abstract is complete.

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Here are two examples of the same abstract, sample one is an example of a badly written abstract, while sample two is an example of a well-written abstract. Italicized words are links to explanations describing why the sentences are a good or bad example of an abstract.

Sample 1: This experiment will determine what will make enzymes effective and what will make them ineffective. We tested different samples of enzymes in a spectrophotometer and recorded their absorption rates. Six samples were placed in the spectrophotometer but two contained no enzyme; these acted as blanks for the other samples. The four remaining samples contained Catecholase ranging from 0.5 ml to 1.75 m. The second half of the experiment contained four test tubes with a constant amount of Catecholase, but the pH levels ranged from four to eight. It was found that if the enzyme was present in large amounts, then the absorption rate was high, and if the pH level ranged from 6 to eight then the absorption rate was high. Therefore it can be said that enzymes work well in neutral pH levels and in large amounts.

Sample 2: This experiment was performed to determine the factors that positively influence enzyme reaction rates in cellular activities since some enzymes seem to be more effective than others. Catecholase enzyme activity was measured through its absorption rate in a spectrophotometer, using light with a wavelength of 540 nm. We compared the absorbance rates in samples with varying enzyme concentrations and a constant pH of 7, and with samples with constant enzyme concentration and varying pH levels. The samples with the highest enzyme concentration had the greatest absorption rate of 95 percent compared to the sample with the lowest concentration and an absorption rate of 24 percent. This suggests that a higher concentration of enzymes leads to a greater product production rate. The samples with a pH between six and eight had the greatest absorption rate of 70 percent compared to an absorption rate of 15 percent with a pH of 4; this suggests that Catecholase is most effective in a neutral pH ranging from six to eight.

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Explanations of the Example Links

Ineffective: This sentence is in the present tense and needs to be switched to the past tense. In addition to tense problems, the sentence does not tell the reader much about what is meant by the term effective. What exactly is an effective enzyme? The author needs to be specific and try to avoid generic terms such as effective. Also, the author never states why the experiment is being conducted. Why is enzyme effectiveness so important? What makes it important enough to be studied? (return to Sample 1)

Rates: This sentence is addressing what was done, yet it barely conveys any information. The author states that different samples of enzymes were tested, but mentions nothing about the contents of the samples. Was the same enzyme used in every sample? What was in each sample, and what varied in each sample? Also, what does absorption have to do with enzyme activity? This correlation needs to be explained to the reader. One last detail that should be included is the wavelength of light that was used in the spectrophotometer. Did it remain constant or was it a variable as well? (return to Sample 1)

Eight: This is too long and detailed to be in an abstract; it sounds as though it was pulled from the methods and materials section of the paper. The amounts of enzyme do not need to be stated, nor do the pH levels. The number of samples tested do not need to be included either; it is just extraneous information that is not crucial to understanding the experiment as a whole. The information contained in this sentence can be pulled out and rearranged to say that some samples had a constant pH and varying enzyme concentrations and other samples had constant enzyme concentrations and varying pH levels. With the controls and the variables stated you can move on to your results. (return to Sample 1)

High: This is just too general, although it conveys the right information. When stating results it is okay to use actual numbers. Instead of saying that the absorption rate was high, specify how high in comparison to samples with low absorption rates. (return to Sample 1)

Amounts: An experiment is never final, nor is it ever positive. Always avoid saying that the results you obtained are correct or definite. Instead just say that the data supported or did not support your hypothesis. (return to Sample 1)

Others: This sentence is clear and concise, telling the reader why the experiment was carried out. It postulates the question of why some enzymes are more effective than others and it explains that the experiment was set up to determine what causes these differences. (return to Sample 2)

540 nm: This sentence introduces the specific enzyme being studied and how it was studied. The light wavelength used in the spectrophotometer was also specified telling the reader that wavelength was not one of the variables manipulated in the experiment. (return to Sample 2)

Levels: It is okay to use personal pronouns in the abstract and this sentence uses "we" effectively. It also defines what was done without going into great detail. The controls and the variables are stated clearly and succinctly so the reader knows what factors are being tested to determine enzyme productivity. (return to Sample 2)

Clear summary: These two sentences combine the results with the conclusion. This helps to make the conclusions drawn from the results very clear to the reader. The author also stated concrete numbers in the results so the reader is aware of just how much the absorption rates changed in each sample.

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