Saturday, February 19, 2011

EMDT613 Week 3 - Abstract Project

This post is a reflection of my thoughts as I write my abstract. Creating my abstract is daunting! I don't want to have a piece that does not convey the essence of my research, yet 120 words is such a small number with which to contain this essence. After all, I'm not condensing soup that merely needs water added back in to become whole.
This is about information and ideas. Take each section and condense to one or two sentences. OK, but in order to do this and have it work, I need to settle into myself and determine what I want people to know about my research that will give them a reason to go beyond the abstract and want to know more. This is not about cutting out words, but determining what the words are really saying. Can the essence of the full project be conveyed through the abstract?

... I'm adding on as I've finished my abstract. Bare bones. It was still difficult to do because I'm so used to adding in details, wanting to give a clearer picture of whatever it is I'm discussing. It was a good exercise in determining what the most important pieces were to share. I was able to do it in 119 words and was happy with the result. Like this picture of my hands, does it pique an interest in knowing more? How did this come to be or where will it lead? 

1 comment:

  1. I know it's a tough thing to do, but this is a practice in being descriptive without having the room to justify or prove the importance of ones work. In the words of Dragnet's Joe Friday, "Just the fact, ma'am."

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