What are the stylistic features of English abstracts?
(1) normal
Generally speaking, it is aimed at professionals, belongs to formal style and requires strict and standardized syntactic structure. Therefore, all the sentences in the abstract are complete, and there are no omitted or incomplete sentences in the oral style. The use of words is also very standardized, using standard terms in the field of paper research, formal English, and rarely using abbreviations and ancient words.
(2) refining
It needs to be detailed, and it is not appropriate to compare it with other research work. Statements are rarely repeated. In terms of cohesion, lexical means are mainly used. Through the cohesion of words in meaning, all parts of the whole article are closely linked together, making the article compact and echo. Compound nouns can make the text concise and tidy, so compound nouns are used more in abstracts.
(3) Concrete
Every concept and argument should be concrete and distinct. Generally speaking, you don't write a paper about what, but write a paper about what directly. Use words accurately, use more narrow "big words" and "long words" in French and Latin, and try to avoid ambiguity or polysemy.
(4) Integrity
The abstract itself should be complete. Some readers use abstract magazines or index cards for their research work, and may not get the whole paper, so be careful not to quote a section or an illustration of the paper instead of explanation.
Tense selection of English paper abstracts
1, if it describes the research results and conclusions, use the simple present tense.
2. If you describe the specific research process, use the simple past tense.
3. If you describe the influence of the research results on the future, use the simple future tense.
4. If it is the result of past research, but it has influence on the conclusion drawn now, use the present perfect tense.
5. If the quotation has become an accepted fact, use the simple present tense.
Time problem in English paper abstracts
The part is a collection of all the structures of the article, and various sounds will be used.
When introducing background information, if it is a common fact that is not affected by time, use the present tense; If it is an overview of a research trend, you can use the present perfect tense.
When describing the research purpose or main research activities, if "paper-oriented" is adopted, use the present tense, as presented in this article ..., because now is the time to write a paper; If we adopt "research-oriented" and use the past tense, such as this research survey ... because the research has been completed.
When summarizing the main results, the present tense is usually used.
You can use present tense and future tense when describing conclusions or suggestions.
Finally, the use of the simple present tense needs special mention.
Besides describing what is happening now, the simple present tense can also be used to describe generally accepted facts and truth.
So it's up to you to decide what the facts and the truth are. For example, the following example.
We find that the pressure increases with the increase of temperature, which shows that temperature plays an important role in this process.
Sentence 2: We find that the pressure increases with the increase of temperature, which shows that temperature plays an important role in this process.
The first sentence uses the past tense to indicate a certain moment in the past. During the experiment, we found that the temperature increases, so does the air pressure, which shows that the temperature plays an important role in the change of air pressure in this experiment. In other words, this phenomenon was observed at some time in the past, and it was correct at that time, but I don't know what it was like at other times.
The second sentence is the same, except that the tense has become the present tense, which expresses the general fact that the author believes that this phenomenon is not limited to his laboratory, but should be established under any conditions and circumstances. The present tense is used here, with a strong tone, indicating confidence in one's research results.
Tense and Voice of English Abstracts
1) English abstract tense. The use of English abstract tenses is also better to be concise. The present tense and past tense are often used, the present perfect tense and past perfect tense are seldom used, and the continuous tense and other compound tenses are hardly used.
General present tense. It is used to explain the research purpose, describe the research content, describe the results, draw conclusions, make suggestions or discuss, etc. Examples are as follows: This study (investigation) is the anatomy of the stem secondary xylem of Davidia involucrata and Camptotheca acuminata (Camptotheca acuminata). Is comparison. The results show (reveal) that ... people find that ... The conclusion is that ... The author suggests that ... involves recognized facts, natural laws, eternal truths and so on. Of course, we should also use the simple present tense.
Simple past tense. Used to describe the discovery of a certain time (period) and a certain research process (experiment, observation, investigation, medical treatment, etc.). For example, in July and August of 1996, the trunk sap flow of two main deciduous trees was studied by thermal pulse technique. It should be pointed out that discoveries and phenomena described in the past tense are often not recognized as natural laws and eternal truths, but just as they were at that time; The research process described also has obvious traces of the past.
Present perfect tense and past perfect tense. Use less when you finish, but not without it. The past perfect tense can be used to indicate something that has been completed before a certain time in the past, or another past behavior that has been completed before a past thing is completed. For example, concrete has been studied for many years. Humans have not learned to store solar energy.
2) Voice of English Abstracts. Which kind of voice should be adopted should not only consider the abstract characteristics, but also meet the needs of expression. An abstract is very short, try not to mix it casually, let alone say a word.
Active voice. Because it helps the text to be clear, concise and expressive. The author systematically introduces the history and development of population organization training, which has a stronger sense of language than that of population organization training. If necessary, the author systematically deletes it and starts to introduce it directly.
Passive voice. In the past, passive voice was emphasized because scientific papers mainly explained the facts. As for who did it, it was not necessary to prove them one by one. In fact, in the indicative abstract, it is best to use the passive voice in order to emphasize the actors. Even in the summary of the report, in some cases, the passive person is irrelevant, and the emphasized thing must be the subject. For example, in this case, higher accuracy of measuring distance is possible. 3) Person of English abstract. The first sentence of the original abstract often begins with the third person, this article …, and so on. For example, describe …, study …, investigate …, evaluate …, determine …, and develop a mountain torrent classification model and a dangerous area mapping model based on GIS. You don't need to use your personal name when writing, so as to facilitate the editing and publication of abstract publications.
The content format of English paper abstracts is not standardized in the process of writing. Choosing appropriate tense and voice is the premise of making abstracts conform to English grammar and rhetoric rules. Many people are prone to make mistakes in the choice of tense, and they don't know when to use the present tense and the past tense. I hope everyone can have a deeper understanding and understanding after reading the complete article.