Re: Abstracts...

[Lori Lathrop <76620 -dot- 456 -at- COMPUSERVE -dot- COM>]

In response to Margaret Redding (INTERNET:ab555 -at- FREENET -dot- CARLETON -dot- CA), who
asks about editing abstracts ....

> [stuff deleted]
> In most cases I won't have the full text of the paper--just the abstract.
> It seems I have to "jazz" these abstracts up and make them sound
> interesting.
> [stuff deleted]
> I'm a bit puzzled about how I can know if the abstract truly
> reflects what is in the paper, if I don't have the paper.

Margaret -- I've written and edited a *lot* of abstracts, and one thing
I can tell you is that you can't do much unless you have the original
papers; if they can't give you the papers, then they're severely limiting
your work.

Also, you didn't say what type of abstracts you're editing.  Basically,
there are three types:  critical, descriptive, and informative.  I won't
waste bandwidth here describing each because I assume you'll be editing
informative abstracts, which are generally about 200-250 words.  The
most common format for an informative abstract is 3-4 paragraphs, with
a description of the goal or objective in the first paragraph, a fairly
detailed description of the methods used in the second paragraph, and
the results and conclusions at the end.

If you need more advice, please send me an e-mail message, and I'll send
you some guidelines.  Good luck with your project!

Lori Lathrop ------------> INTERNET:76620 -dot- 456 -at- compuserve -dot- com
Lathrop Media Services
P.O. Box 808
Georgetown, CO 80444
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