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70
1. Always read the questions very carefully: at least as carefully as you read the text they are based on. In a
question, every word is important.
2. Watch out for statements in true-false or multiple-choice questions that have the little, but important,
qualifying words such as not, some, can, must, may, most, very, hardly, often, always, usually, never, or
seldom. They affect the meaning of the sentence.
Double negatives are tricky; «the idea was not unattractive» means that the idea was attractive. (See Unit 8
of Section II [Part II]). Also, make sure that you have read the relevant part of the text to the very end of the
idea being expressed. The writer may begin by suggesting that one thing may be true, but then go on to decide
that the opposite is true!
3. In answering multiple-choice questions, cross out the choices you're sure are wrong for some reason (e.g.,
because they make no sense; because they obviously contradict something stated in the text; etc) and
concentrate on the ones that are left.
4. In answering matching questions (where items from one column are matched to items in a second
column), lightly cross out the items you've already used (lightly - because you may change your mind); that
way you can keep track of the one's you still have to work with.
5. You may be asked to fill in blanks in a sentence. Be careful; after filling in the blank, reread the whole
question just to be sure the completed statement makes sense, and is in reasonably good English.
6. Always reread your answer to short answer questions to make sure you wrote what you meant.
It's
probably a good idea to translate your answer from English into your native language to make sure that it
makes sense.
UNIT 7. READING/WRITING ABSTRACTS*
* Based on a Manual-Publications of the American Psycholigical Association Abstracts (1974)
An abstract is a brief summary of the content and purpose of an article. In some journals, the abstract is used
in place of a concluding summary. The abstract allows readers to survey the contents of an article quickly. It is
self-contained, fully intelligible without reference to the body of the paper. Information or conclusions that do
not appear in the paper are not supposed to appear in the abstract.
(suggested length: 100-175 words)
I. An Abstract of a Research Article usually includes:
1. statement of problem
2. method
3. results
4. conclusions
It should specify: subject population (number, type, age, sex, etc.)
It should describe: research design, test instruments (i.e. questionnaires, tests, interviews), research apparatus
of data gathering procedures
It should summarize: data or findings
It should report: inferences or comparisons or conclusions drawn from results
II. An Abstract of a Review or a Theoritical Article should include:
1. Topics covered
2. Central thesis
3. The Sources used (i.e. personal observation of author, review of published literature, or present, current
research bearing on topic and conclusions drawn)
It should be short but informative.
Exercise:
A. Read the abstracts in the following set of 9. Categorize each abstract as one based on: