what is an abstract? readers typically decide whether or not to read a paper based on their impressions of the abstract. A good abstract summarizes the complete report content, including at least one sentence per section: purpose, technical approach, results, and conclusion. In other words, what did you find give numerical results of your measurements, including numerical uncertainty estimates , and what do your results mean do they agree with theory? with other measurements?.

The abstract does not lead in to your introduction – it is a stand alone section of text. format: the abstract for your 2.671 journal article should be a single paragraph of about 150 words, a typical length. you may use the word count tool in the tools menu in ms word to count the words in your abstract. typically the abstract is placed on its own page, before the first page of the report. In the interest of saving paper, however, the 2.671 journal article introduction can immediately follow the abstract on the same page numbered 1. tip: because writers consider the abstract the most difficult and important piece of their papers, abstracts are always written after you have written your entire report. Check out the abstract worksheet on the 2.671 website for a step by step method for writing your abstract filling out this worksheet will be required for future abstract writing assignments.

pitfalls to avoid: wordiness, providing too much or too little motivation for your project ask technical instructors if you are unsure , and failure to include a relevant conclusion. Poor abstracts contain abbreviations, chemical formulas, jargon, or references to the literature, tables, or figures. Poor abstracts contain claims that do not to correspond to findings in the report itself. what is an introduction? the introduction of your report is organized as a funnel that begins with a definition of why the experiment is being performed and ends with a specific statement of your research approach. In published journal articles, there are at least two citations required in the introduction that support the need for your research and experiments, or show upon which theories your experiment relies.

Make sure to include at least two citations in your 2.671 reports not required for the soda can lab paper. A non technical reader must understand the introduction, including the technical goals and objectives, the main technical issues, any applications in the real world as appropriate. Explain the motivation for the project as necessary , and provide a focus.

College Application Essay Questions

format: the length of the introduction should typically be about ѕ page 1 3 paragraphs. tip: in general the more complex an experiment, the more background required even to the point of including a separate background section, as seen in some of the sample articles on the 2.671 website. The experiments performed in 2.671, however, limit the scope of background material required in your journal articles. Using lackluster openers and weak follow through in the body of your introduction.

Format of a Book Review Essay

what is the experimental procedure section? the experimental procedure section is typically divided into several subheadings, each of which corresponds to the major intellectual steps you took to complete the experiment e.g. Note that the heading for this section should not be called experimental procedure – a heading title specific to your experiment is preferred, such as new design for particle beam fusion in the example in table 1. The subheadings must describe specific aspects of the experimental procedure, as shown in the example below.