The Challenges that Face Abstract writing in Terms of Contents, Coherence, and Cohesive Devices for Sudanese Researchers

Prepared by the researcher

• Dr. Abedelrahman Mohammdain Abdurrahman Ahmed, Associate Professor, El Imam – El Mahdi University, Faculty of Arts and Humanity, and White Nile University Sudan
• Dr. MohiEldeen Ahmed Abdelrahman Ahmed, Assistant Professor, White Nile University, Faculty of Arts, English language Department, Sudan

Democratic Arabic Center

Journal of cultural linguistic and artistic studies : Thirty Issue – December 2023

A Periodical International Journal published by the “Democratic Arab Center” Germany – Berlin

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Abstract

The current study aimed to investigate the challenges that face Sudanese researchers in abstract writing in terms of contents, coherence, and cohesive devices. A descriptive analytical method was adopted to conduct the study. The population of the study was Sudanese researchers who continue to write researches in different fields of knowledge. The sample of the study was taken randomly from the population of the study. 2o abstracts represent the sample of the study. 5 PhD in applied linguistics, 5 PhD studies in Arabic language and psychology, and 10 Master studies in science and nursing. Textual analysis technique and contents analysis were used as way to analyze the data. The analysis of data revealed that 70% of the selected ample do not satisfy the requirements which were about the basic components of an abstract. The selected sample of the abstracts do not explain why it gets on this particular study which is not answered by the selected sample abstracts, how the study was organized and the methodology that is followed by the researchers. Finally, results or what the data showed must be mentioned as well as the recommendations of the study. The majority of the selected abstracts do not satisfy the above mentioned requirements which are very essential in writing a proper abstract.  The researchers do not use the suitable discourse markers when writing the abstracts that make it improper way of writing a good abstract. Moreover, they don’t differentiate writing abstract according to the nature of the field of the study. Based on the results of the study, the researchers recommended that Sudanese researcher should have study the way abstracts are written.

Introduction

It is well known that abstract is one of the most important contents of a research. It has a scientific process to be followed so as to be perfect and effective. A lot of Sudanese researchers face many obstacles when writing abstract.  According to Mark C. Griffin(p:6), abstract is the synopsis of the thesis. It should state the study main hypothesis, the methods that are followed by the researchers, a brief summary of the study results, and a brief conclusion. It is the final thing that the researcher writes.

It is very important to know that when writing a research or article, we will be asked often to include an abstract. It is one of the most essential requirements for the research to be accepted at all universities as well as educational institutions in Sudan of higher education and scientific research.  According to Writing Centre (2014:1) the word abstract comes from the Latin word ‘abstractum, which means a shortened form of a longer piece of writing. The center adds that there are two main types of abstract:  the descriptive and the informative abstract depending on the field you are writing in.

It is very important to write abstract when writing research, papers or even sometimes assignments. It is the last item that we write, but the first thing people read when they want to have a quick overview of the whole paper. The researchers suggest that writing an abstract should be delayed to the end of the study, because you will have a clearer picture of all your findings and conclusions. There is no agreement that an abstract is usually a very concise summary of what the report or article is about and is usually placed before the body of your writing. Abstract can be read to get a quick synopsis. A good and satisfactory abstract tells the reader what to anticipate in written or oral work and it should be founded on what has been written by the researchers.

The aim of this study is to investigate the problems that face Sudanese researchers in writing the abstracts of their thesis.  It aims to explore how interact discourses markers are arranged by research article abstract writers belonging to differ castigatory communities within the social sciences, while trying to reach the audience by creating organized discourse.

This study is considered to be very significant that is why because it tackles a very indispensable element of research writing which is an abstract. It is important parts of reports and research papers and sometimes academic projects. It decontaminates the most important information that appears in a research. It enables the readers to understand precisely what the researcher has conducted in his or her research. Why they have conducted it, the method they utilized to conduct the work, what are the main outcomes, results or conclusions were as well as the researcher’s argument.

Koopman, Phil. (2010:1) Abstracts are important for both selection and indexing purposes. Selection: Abstracts allow readers who may be interested in the study to decide quickly whether it is relevant to their purposes and whether they need to read the whole study. Indexing: most academic journal databases accessed through the library enable you to search abstracts. This allows for quick retrieval by users. Abstracts must include the key terms that a possible researcher would use to search.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to investigate the impediments that face Sudanese researchers to write a well-connected abstract with appropriate contents. The most important focus of this study is that some Sudanese researchers don’t write the abstracts of their researchers well. They suffer from the proper ways to write a well-connected abstract as they are written universally. So, the problem of the recent study could be based on the fact that a lot of Sudanese researchers face problems in writing a proper abstract of their studies.

The researchers as teaching staff at a lot of Sudanese universities and supervisors of some candidates; B.A, MA as well as PhD observe that a lot of Sudanese researchers suffer from how to write an abstract. They write some ideas which are not a part of what is known universally as an abstract. Also they do not write cohesively and in a cohesion way. They don’t include some of the most important components of the abstract such as the results, recommendations, as well as methodology. They include ideas which are not part of the abstracts such as the titles of the chapter as well as some of the contents of their study.

The questions of the study

1. What are the global requirements of accepted contents of the abstract?
2. To what extend do the candidate use the suitable discourse markers when writing the abstracts?
3. To what extents writing abstract is different according to the nature of the field of the study?

The Hypotheses of the study

1. There are international requirements of accepted contents of the abstract.
2. The candidates don’t use the suitable discourse markers do make the abstract coherent as well as cohesion when writing the abstracts.
3. Sudanese researchers don’t know that writing abstract is not different according to the nature of the field of the study

The Objectives of the study

1. To identify if there are international requirements of accepted contents of the abstract.
2. To identify weather Sudanese researcher’s, use the suitable discourse markers do make the abstract coherent as well as cohesion when writing the abstracts.
3. To identify weather Sudanese researchers, know that writing abstract is not different according to the nature of the field of the study?

Methodology of the Study

The researchers adopted the descriptive analytical method to conduct the study. The tool which was followed to collect data was a survey that via a survey that focusing on some target abstracts which were not achieved properly due the lack of contents and unity. Twenty abstracts were chosen by the researchers from different field of knowledge as a sample of the study. The content analysis was adopted to measure the content, the cohesion and cohesive devices that were followed.

Limits of the Study

This study takes the following limits:

First, the population was limited to the Sudanese researchers. Second, the generalization of the results is limited to the population of the study. Third, this study was confined on the problems that face Sudanese researchers who face challenges in writing abstract in term of contents and coherence and cohesive devices.

Literature Review

Definition of abstract
An abstract is a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work. As there is no universal formula for writing a successful abstract, components vary according to your discipline. An abstract of a social science or scientific work may contain the scope, purpose, results, and contents of the work. An abstract of a humanities work may contain the thesis, background, and conclusion of the larger work.

According to American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) definition of an abstract, Huckin’s (2006: 93) ‘Stand-alone mini-texts’; ‘Screening devices’; ‘Previews’; and ‘Aids to indexing’.  Abstracts provide readers with a quick summary of topic, method and results of a work. It also, helps readers to decide on whether they wish to read the entire article, focusing especially on the body of the topic. The third function shapes an interpretive scheme which guides the reading process. Moreover, function, abstracts assist indexing for large database.

An abstract is a brief summary that shortens in itself the argument and
all the needed information of a study. An abstract allows the reader to review the contents of the study and decide whether to carry on reading. It needs to be dense with information but also readable, well-organized, brief, and self-contained. Abstracts are generally 100-250 words, though a thesis or conference abstract may be up to 400 words. There are no rules for the exact format of an abstract. This Guide provides samples, below, of the commonly used formats: paragraph style, headings style, and mixed style. A conference paper may have an audience of a few dozen; the audience for a journal paper may be hundreds to thousands. An abstract, though, has a life of its own in electronic databases around the world. Like a title, it is used by abstracting and information services to index and retrieve articles. Thus, for every person who hears or reads a paper, hundreds will read the abstract.

Importance of abstract

You may write an abstract for various reasons. The two most important are selection and indexing. Abstracts allow readers who may be interested in a longer work to quickly decide whether it is worth their time to read it. Also, many online databases use abstracts to index larger works. Therefore, abstracts should contain keywords and phrases that allow for easy searching.

 Components of abstract
The format of your abstract will depend on the basic tenets and conventions of your academic discipline. An abstract of a more scientifically oriented research paper will contain elements not found in an abstract of a literature article, and vice versa. But, all abstracts share some components, and there are also some optional parts that you can decide to include or not. When preparing to draft your abstract, consult some major publication outlets (e.g., journals articles, edited books, reports, etc.) in your discipline to get acquainted with format, style, prose, and other components.

What to include in an abstract
The format of your abstract will depend on the discipline in which you are working. However, all abstracts generally cover the following five sections:
1. Reason for writing
What is the importance of the research? Why would a reader be interested in the larger work?
2. Problem
What problem does this work attempt to solve? What is the scope of the project? What is the main argument, thesis or claim?
3. Methodology
An abstract of a scientific work may include specific models or approaches used in the larger study. Other abstracts may describe the types of evidence used in the research.
4. Results
An abstract of a scientific work may include specific data that indicates the results of the project. Other abstracts may discuss the findings in a more general way.
5. Implications
How does this work add to the body of knowledge on the topic? Are there any practical or theoretical applications from your findings or implications for future
research?

Abstracts may include:
The thesis of the work, usually in the first sentence.  Background information that places the work in the larger body of literature. The same chronological structure as the original work.
Abstracts do not include:
– Extensive references to other works.
– Information not presented in the original work.
-Lengthy definitions and description of concepts or methodological protocols.
-Citations.
-Tables or graphs.

Knowing key terms:
Search through the entire document for key terms that identify the purpose, scope, and methods of the work. Pay close attention to the Introduction (or Purpose) and the Conclusion (or Discussion). These sections should contain all the main ideas and key terms in the paper. When writing the abstract, be sure to incorporate the key terms. Instead of cutting and pasting the actual words, try highlighting sentences or phrases that appear to be central to the work. Then, in a separate document, rewrite the sentences and phrases in your own words.

Key words and phrases that quickly identify the content and focus of the work. Clear, concise, and powerful language.

Revise your abstract
No matter what type of abstract you are writing, or whether you are abstracting your own work or someone else’s, the most important step in writing an abstract is to revise early and often. When revising, delete all extraneous words and incorporate meaningful and powerful words. The idea is to be as clear and complete.

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Types of abstract

According to academic-skills (2010) Abstracts can be informative and descriptive. Descriptive abstracts describe the work being abstracted. They are more like an outline of the work and are usually very short – 100 words or less. The majority of abstracts written at the university of Melbourne are informative. Informative abstracts act as substitutes for the actual papers as all the key arguments and conclusions are presented; specifically, the context and importance of the research, reasons for methods, principal results and conclusions.

Abstracts are usually required for:
– submission of articles to journals
– application for research grants
-completion and submission of theses
– submission of proposals for conference papers

According to Keria (73-75) The Abstract provides the reader with a summary of the contents of the research. It should therefore be brief but contain sufficient detail, telling the reader the motivation for the work; project. Objectives; techniques employed; main results and conclusions. Abstracts should not normally exceed a page and should be self-contained. The abstract is the “gateway” to the contents of the research, and therefore it is important that the abstract gives the reader a good initial impression.

He added that an abstract is a summary of the major ideas contained in your
research; it is usually required for papers written in the natural or so- cial science, but not in the humanities. In writing the abstract, use no more than one page. (Enter the title “Abstract’’ (without quotation marks) one inch from the top of the page. (Remember that the whole point of abstracting is to condense) the page containing the abstract must come after the title page but be- fore the actual body of the research. It should have running head and page number. To produce a smooth abstract, you need only link and condense the main ideas of the outline with appropriate commentary.

The abstract should observe the following convention.

1. Reflect accurately the purpose and content of your research.
   2. Explain briefly the central issue or problem of your research.
   3. Summarize your research’s most important points.
   4. Mention the major sources used.
   5. State your conclusion clearly.
   6. Be coherent so that it is easy to read.
   7. Remain objective in its point of view.

Always place the abstract on a separate page, on page 2 of your Re-
search. Do not exceed 120 words.
The General Ideas:
1. A thesis is a hypothesis or conjecture.
2. A dissertation is a lengthy, formal document that argues in defense
of a particular thesis. So many people use the term “thesis” or refer
to the document that a current dictionary now includes it as the third
meaning of “thesis”).

Important information for writing Abstract

According to William T. Jerome, the following are very important points in writing abstract. These tips are as follow:

1. Write your paper first, and then write the abstract.
   A good abstract should not exceed 250 words.
   3. Proofread your abstract several times – submit your very best work.
   4. A good abstract is usually followed by a good paper. The opposite also tends to be true.
   5. A reader does not want to wade through complicated and unfamiliar terms in the abstract.
   6. Know your audience and target your abstract accordingly.
   7. Have a peer read your abstract and then tell you what your research is about. If he or she
   has difficulty explaining your research, chances are your abstract requires revision.

How to Structure an Abstract
Many of the following suggestions come from the American National Standard for Writing Abstracts published by the Council of National Library and Information Associations.
Explain the purpose of your study/paper. Ideally in one sentence, state the primary objectives and scope of the study or the reasons why the document was written. Also state the rationale for your research. Why did you do the research? Is the topic you are researching an ignored or newly discovered one?
In terms of methodology (research methods), clearly state the techniques or approaches used in your study. For papers concerned with non-experimental work (such as those in the humanities, some social sciences, and the fine arts) describe your sources and your use/interpretation of the sources.
Describe your results (the findings of your experimentation), the data collected, and effects observed as informatively and concisely as possible. These results may be experimental or theoretical, just remember to make note of that in your abstract. Give special priority in your abstract to new and verified findings that contradict previous theories. Mention any limits to the accuracy or reliability of your findings.
Your conclusions should in essence describe the implications of the results: Why are the results of your study important to your field and how do they relate to the purpose of your investigation? Often conclusions.

A good abstract should contain these elements

Statement of the purpose of your study the research methods/methodology used to arrive at your results and/or conclusions the results observed the conclusions drawn from your study these elements do not necessarily have to be presented in the order shown above. How the elements are sequenced in your abstract depends on the audience for whom the abstract is intended. For example, if the audience is exclusively or mainly interested in quickly applying new knowledge, then perhaps you would want to place your most important conclusions and results first, followed by the purpose of the study, methodology, and other findings and details.
Abstracts in the humanities and social sciences should also contain the above elements. All research; be it in the sciences or the humanities should have a stated purpose. Research methods in social sciences may differ substantially from the experimental methods of physical sciences but an abstract, whatever the discipline, must address the methodology of the research. Studies in the humanities and social sciences find results and draw conclusions; these results and conclusions must be included in the corresponding abstract.

Previous study

This study entitled an exploration of interactive metadiscoursal markers in academic research article in two disciplines, by Mohsen Khedri, Chan Swee Heng and Seyed Foad Ebrahimi University Putra Malaysia, 2013. The study aimed to explore how interactive metadiscoursal markers are deployed by research article abstract writers belonging to different disciplinary communities within the soft sciences, while trying to reach the audience by creating a well-organized discourse. Hyland’s (2005) interpersonal model of Meta discourse was adopted to analyze 60 research article abstracts written in Applied Linguistics and Economics. A generic analysis of research article abstracts can cover issues of different types; among them are linguistic features. An integral part of linguistic features of research article abstracts is interactive metadiscoursal usage that can assist to make the text persuasive and unfolding to a discourse community. The main principle behind applying interactive metadiscoursal is the view of writing as socially engaging; specifically, it indicates the ways writers project themselves into their arguments to declare their attitudes and commitments to the readers. Based on the results, there were marked variations found across the two disciplines in terms of interactive Meta discourse markers.

The Analysis of the Data

It is well known that qualitative data analysis is a combination of both coding down and coding up the main theme and motifs of the study.  Induction implies that all themes are emergent from the data; deduction implies that all themes are predetermined. Nevertheless, these differences, to be able to identify themes, patterns, and categories and to record notes and assign codes, there is no substitute for immersion in the data.

Continues reading of a text multiple times enable readers to identify important themes that the researchers are looking for. Focusing on the irrelevant points in a text with each subsequent read may reveal new or less obvious themes. The researchers read many abstracts and found out the problematic areas that included in the statement of the problem of the research.

The researchers examined the parts of the selected abstracts in which the contents
have not been associated with the contents of a proper content of abstract in which the following should be included. The following conventions of writing abstract are examined of the selected sample abstracts; it should explain and reflect the purpose and content of the research. What the researchers got out from the selected sample did not satisfy this requirement, so there have not been written according to the common method and way of writing abstract.  A good abstract explains concisely the central issue or problem of the research that a researcher write about. All the sample failed to satisfy this requirement. Also abstract must summarize the research’s most important points which are the main concerns of the study, the methods that has been followed, the main finding as well as the main recommendations. In surveying the selected sample abstracts, the researchers found out that the majority of them weren’t according the requirement. The major sources were not mentioned by the researchers.  The conclusions were not Stated clearly. The abstracts were not well connected, so the unity of the paragraphs were lost, so they weren’t easy to read. Moreover, the majority of the abstract were not objective in their standpoint.

To conclude this study, the researcher would like to answer the questions of the study which are: What are the global requirements of accepted contents of the abstract? To what extend do the candidate use the suitable discourse markers when writing the abstracts?  And to what extents writing abstract is difference according to the nature of the field of the study?

Question one which that is about the requirements the abstract that is important for the abstract to be accepted as an abstract. A proper abstract always begins with a statement of the topic of the article or what the study is about in a broad sense. 70% of the selected ample do not satisfy this requirement. Also a good abstract must explain why it gets on this particular study which is not answered by the selected sample abstracts. The abstract writer must make reference to a gap or debate in the literature or a particular “problem” that has been addressed. It also tells the audiences how the study was organized and the methodology that is followed by the researchers. Finally, findings or what the data showed must be mentioned as well as the recommendations of the study. The majority of the selected abstract did not satisfy the above mentioned requirements which are very essential in writing a proper abstract. The researchers do not use the suitable discourse markers when writing the abstracts that make it improper way of writing a good abstract.  Moreover, they don’t differentiate writing abstract according to the nature of the field of the study.

Conclusion

According to what has been written about the challenges that face Sudanese researchers in abstract writing in term of contents, coherence, and cohesive devices we could say that, the textual analysis technique and contents analysis of the data revealed that 70% of the selected ample do not satisfy the requirements that make proper abstract.  The selected sample of the abstracts do not explain why it get on this particular study which is not answered by the selected sample abstracts, how the study was organized and the methodology that is followed by the researchers. Findings or what the data showed must be mentioned as well as the recommendations of the study. The majority of the selected abstract do not satisfy the requirements which are very essential in writing a proper abstract.  The researchers do not use the suitable discourse markers when writing the abstracts that make it improper way of writing a good abstract. Moreover, they don’t differentiate writing abstract according to the nature of the field of the study. Based on the results of the study, the researchers recommend that Sudanese researcher should have to study the way abstracts are written so as to become outstanding when writing abstract.

References

David Crystal (2008:3) a Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics 6th Edition, Blackwell.

Kirya Ahmed Mohammed Nasr (2016) Scientific Research Methods, Open University of Sudan press.

Nigel Fabb and Alan Durant (2005) How to Write Essays and Dissertations: A Guide for English Literature Students, second edition, Pearson Education Limited 1993, 2005 –Longman

Koopman, Phil. (2010)How to Write an Abstract http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.ht ml> accessed 12 December 2010 University of North Carolina Abstracts http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/abstracts.html accessed 12 December 2010

William T. Jerome (   ) TLC@bgsu.edu, www.bgsu.edu/LearningCommons/

Writing Centre(2014) Writing an Abstract , Level 3 East, Hub Central North Terrace campus, The University of Adelaide ph. +61 8 8313 3021 writingcentre@adelaide.edu.au

www.services.unimelb.edu.au/academicskills, 13 MELB, academic-skills@unimelb.edu.au

https://www.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/page_files/27/OUR AbstractInstructions.pdfhttp://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/abstracts/ UNLV Undergraduate Research.
Mark C. Griffin, Writing the Thesis, Department of Anthropology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California 94132‐4155. http://online.sfsu.edu/~mgriffin
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/abstracts.html )