Parts of an Abstract

Despite the fact that an abstract is quite brief, it must do almost as much work as the multi-page paper which it covers. In a computer architecture paper, this means that it should in most cases include the following sections. 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. Use the following as a checklist for your next abstract:

Motivation:

Why do we care about the problem and the results? If the problem isn't obviously "interesting" it might be better to put motivation first; but if an article describes intermediate progress on a problem that is widely recognized as important, then it is probably better to put the problem statement first to indicate which piece of the larger problem the author is breaking off to work on. This section should include the importance of the author’s work, the difficulty of the area, and the impact it might have if successful.

Problem statement:

What problem is the author trying to solve? What is the scope of her/his work (a generalized approach, or for a specific situation)? Be careful not to use too many special terms. In some cases it is appropriate to put the problem statement before the motivation, but usually this only works if most readers already understand why the problem is important.

Approach:

How does the author go about solving or making progress on the problem? Does s/he use simulation, analytic models, prototype construction, or analysis of field data for an actual product? What is the extent of her/his work? What important facts does s/he control, ignore, or measure?

Results:

Specifically, most papers conclude that something is so many percent faster, cheaper, smaller, or otherwise better than something else. If possible, put the result there, in numbers. Avoid vague, hand-waving results such as "very", "small", or "significant."

Conclusions:

What are the implications of the author’s research? Is it going to change the world (unlikely), be a significant "win", be a nice hack, or simply serve as a road sign indicating that this path is a waste of time (all of the previous results are useful). Are the author’s results general, potentially generalizable, or specific to a particular case?

Unit 2-21. NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR NEW CULTURE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ESP

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