-
摘要（
Abstract
）
摘要
(Abstract)
也成为内
容提要，通常在学士论文中都必须附有摘要，其位置应放在论文的正文之
前，对整个论文
内容的概述。无论对专业读者还是对非专业读者而言，摘要都是一个非常重要的文件。
摘要如果和论文一起发表，则被称为一次性出版物摘要，主要
用于帮助读者评价文章内容及其潜
在作用，使读者不必阅读全文就可以了解论文的内容。
除此之外，摘要也可以被单独收入文摘机构出版
的摘要期刊如：生物学文摘（
Biological Abstract
）
、化
学文摘（
Chemical Abstract
）等、称为二次
性出版
物摘要。此类脱离论文独立成篇的摘要主要用于方便读者检索文献、收集信息，帮
助研究者寻找新的研
究领域。
一．
摘要的定义
摘要的英文术语：有两个词汇，一个是
abstract,
一个是
summary.
根据美国国家标准学会
（
American National Standard Institute
）
于
1971
年通过并颁布的
《美国国家文
摘写作标准》
（
American National Standard for
Writing
Abstracts
）规定，
Abstract
不应与
summary
混同。
Abstract
对一篇论文的主要内容以精炼的文字进行高度概括，使读者不必阅读全文即可了解论文内
容，或者让读者对即将阅读的文章有思想准备，或者让读者判断是否有通读全文的必要。文中只对
论文
信息进行浓缩，而不加主观评论或解释，可以脱离原文而独立成篇。字数通常在
100~150
个词左右，更
确切地说，<
/p>
约为原文长度的
1% ~
5%
（有的杂志规定摘要平均为全文的
3% ~ 5%
）
。
现在越来越多的用法
是
abstract.
尤其是放在索引资料中一律要用
abstract
这个术语，在论文的题目下也通常要用这个词。
Summary
(
概要
)
与
abstract
无明显差别。严格地说，
summary
一般附在论文的后面，对论文的主
要结论和成果进行再叙述。其前提是读者已经通读
过全文，通过
summary
来巩
固论文的主要论点和成
果。在某些论文中，用
summary
取代正文中的
conclusion
部分。
Summary
是论文的“缩影”
，
可以概
括论文的全部内容，只是在删繁就简上下功夫，字数长短不一，少则两三句话，多
则
500
个单词甚至更
长。美国的一些
高等学校规定，硕士论文提要（
summary
）以
250
词左右为宜，而博士论文题要以
350
词左右为宜。国际会议论文的提要一般规定为
300 ~ 500
词或
1000
个印刷符号。
至于究竟要采用什么形
式，要根据征稿而定。一般说来，国际学术会议论文及要求按
Summary
方
式来写摘要，而正
式出版发行的刊物要修不尽一致。对于个别论文还见有前面为
Abstract,
结尾又有一
个
Summary ,
这多半是由于文章过长，内容有多，后面的
Summary
相当于该文的缩写。
二．
摘要的种类
摘要分为两类，一类是说明性摘要（
Descriptive/
Indicative
Abstract
）
，一类是资料性（
Informative
Abstract
）摘要。
1.
说明性摘要
（
Descriptive / Indicative
Abstract
）
如同迈克尔
.
艾利
（
Michael Alley
）所说
，
“一篇说明性摘要是段落形式的目录，使读者手中的一份
简要
地图。
”从这句话中可以清楚地了解说明性摘要的作用。说明性摘要指向读者指出论文的
主要议题
是什么，
不涉及具体的研究方法和结果，
但无法给读者提供更多的详细信息。
它一般是用于综述性文章，
也用于讨论、评论性文章，尤以介绍某学科近期发展动态的论文居多，常出现“
…
is
studied
”
、
“
…
is
discussed
”
字样。时态多用现在时或现在完成时。其篇幅也较短，大多在
100
~
150
字之间。以下是一
篇说明性摘要的样例。
Ten
widespread diseases that are hazards in isolated
construction camps can be prevented by removing or
destroying the breeding places of
flies, mosquitoes and rats, and by killing their
adult forms.
由于说明性摘要仅限于陈述论文的主要论题且篇幅较小，主
要用于评述性的论文。
2.
资料性摘要
（
Informative
Abstract
）
资料性摘要的优
点是比说明性摘要能提供多的多的信息，它应该尽量完整和准确地体现原文的具体
内容，
特别强调指出研究的方法和结果、结论等。其篇幅较长，大多在
150
~250
字之间。根据原文长
度，也
有多达
500
字的。通常，这类的摘要反映了论文的基本面貌，
能够代替阅读论文全文。
Ten widespread diseases that are
hazards in isolated construction camps can be
prevented by removing or
destroying the
breeding places of flies, mosquitoes and rats, and
by killing their adult forms. The breeding of
flies is controlled by proper disposal
of decaying organic matter, and of mosquitoes by
destroying or draining
pools, or
spraying them with oil. For rats, only the
indirect methods of rat-resistant houses and
protected food
supplies are valuable.
Control of adult forms of both insects and rodens
requires use of poisons. Screens are
used for insects. Minnows can be
planted to eat mosquito larvae.
三．
如何写摘要
1.
摘要的位置
摘要的位置是确定的，一般在作者工作单位的下方。如：
Cultural Differences Between China and
U.S.A (
标题
)
Xu Ying
（署名）
Hunan University
(Changsha, Hunan, 410082)
(
工作单位
)
Abstract:
(
摘要
)
Key words:
(
关键词
)
2.
写作要点
（
1
）
长度：有专家认为
150 ~ 200
个词之间；文章长度的五分之一。
有些刊物会规定摘要的篇幅不能超过一定的字数，如：在
80
~ 100
之间，在投稿前应查询。
若刊物没有规定长度时，可以参阅已发表的文章长度。
参加国际会议的论文摘要有字数限制，一般要求
200 ~
500
个词之间，约
1000
个印刷
符号。
（美
国化学文献、医学文献的
论文摘要规定在
200
个词以内）
（
2
）
不要重复论文中的句子。
（
3
）
避免列举大堆数据
（
4
）
一般只是一个段落，不要将其分为数段。
（
5
）
不要使用祈使句、感叹句、公式、表格等。
（
6
）
完成论文后在写摘要。
（
7
）
一般使用第三人称或被动语态。
（
8
）
语言需简明扼要。
下面请看一段论文摘要：
This
paper
deals
with
the
English
syllabus
for
graduate
students
in
China. The
paper
first
reviews
the
history of the graduate English
teaching, then discusses the shortcomings in the
syllabus and finally proposes
some
suggestions for its revision.
Key words: syllabus,
graduate English teaching
阅读下面文章，然后写出一段
80
个词左右的摘要。
These
days,
there
is
a
common
belief
among
parents
that
schools
are
no
longer
taking
any
notice
of
students
’
spelling. But, no school I have taught in has ever
ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a
basic skill. There are, however, vastly
different ideas about how to teach it, or how much
importance it must be
given
over
general
language
development
and
writing
ability.
The
problem
is,
how
to
encourage
a
child
to
express
himself freely and confidently in writing without
holding him back with the complexities of
spelling.
If spelling
becomes the only focal point of his
teacher
’
s interest, clearly
a bright child will be likely to
“
play
safe
”
. He will tend to write
only words within his spelling range, choose to
avoid adventurous language.
That
’
s
why
teachers
often
encourage
the
early
use
of
dictionaries
and
pay
attention
to
content
rather
than
technical ability.
I was once shocked to read
on the bottom of a sensitive piece of
writing about a personal experience.
“
This work is terrible!
There are too many spelling errors and your
writing is hard to read.
”
It
may have been a
sharp criticism of the
pupil
’
s technical abilities
in writing, but it was a sad remark from the
teacher who had
omitted to read the
essay, which contained some beautiful expressions
of the child
’
s deep
feelings. The teacher
was
not
wrong
to
draw
attention
to
the
errors,
but
if
his
attention
had
centered
on
the
child
’
s
ideas,
an
expression
of
his
disappointment
with
the
presentation
would
have
given
the
pupil
more
motivation
to
seek
improvement.
三．摘要的内容
摘要的写作必须准确
、明晰、简洁，概述与细节之间需要相互平衡、相互补充。内容取舍的标准首
先是对论文
本身重点的理解，其次应该考虑到读者阅读的方式。资料性摘要的内容通常包括：
1.
背景知识或文献回顾
（
Background Information /
Literature Review
）
2.
研究的主要目的和范围
（
Principal
Purpose
）
3.
研究方法
（
Methodology
）
4.
研究的主要结果
（
< br>Results
）
5.
结论和建议
（
Conclusions and
Recommendation
）
例
1
：
This article discusses some possible
roles for self-access pathways, particularly in
cultures which have no
tradition of
self-study. It suggests how pathways might
influence the design and running of self-access
centres,
and gives an illustration of
how pathways were designed and employed in a
centre in China. Feedback is based
on a
mini-survey distributed to thirty users.
(ELT Journal V
ol.51/1
January 1997 Oxford Univ. Press, 1997)
例
2
：
The science
taught in the classroom should be resonable up-to-
date. What is taught should place emphasis
first on the principles and major
concepts of science rather than on the
applications of scientific knowledge. The
instructional
techniques
comprise
laboratory
work
which
is
introduced
in
such
a
manner
as
to
emphasize
science
as
a
process
-----
to
reveal
through
practice
that
science
involves
inquiry,
discovery,
and
experimentation. The
paper suggests that college science programs
should be revised with view to preparing
teachers to handle science in secondary
and elementary schools.
四．
常用表达方式
描述目的、介绍相关知识
This
The
Paper
Thesis
Article
Study
Survey
Project
Research
Investigation
Present study
work
Advances
the view that
…
Advocates
…
Analyzes
…
Argues that
…
Contains deal with
…
Discusses
…
Develops
…
Explains the
reason why
…
Expresses
…
Focuses (attention) on the fact that
…
Holds that
…
Includes
…
Investigates
the features of
…
Makes a comparative study upon the
…
Offers
…
Presents
…
Proposes that
…
Reviews
…
States
…
Supports
…
Paper
is
Study
Project
Research
Survey
work
To investigate
…
Discuss
…
Evaluate
…
Examine
…
Determine
…
Measure
…
Reveal the cause of
…
The
research is designed
Study
Project
Investigation
The experiments on
…
were made
The author attemps
Intends
The author
’
s
endeavor is
The
chief
Major
Main
Primary
principal
Aim
Goal
Objective
Object
Proposal
purpose
Of
This
Of
the
to
Determine
…
Measure the amount of
…
Evaluate
…
Calculate
…
Obtain the result of
…
Obtain some
knowledge of
…
Explain the reason why
…
Outline the
framework of
…
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