MSE 478-578
Scientific Communication in Materials Science & Engineering
Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering
Fall 2014/Bill Knowlton
Assignment 5
Provide your PI only with the following (Due Monday, 10/6/14, before class):
1. From two journal articles most relevant to your research, do the following:
i. Extract the abstracts and color code the abstracts relative to its organization as is done below and as
was described in class. Sections may be missing which is fine, but make sure you note which sections
are missing.
a. State the topic of your research area. (1 sentence)
b. State the hypothesis or question your research seeks to answer (i.e., Knowledge Gap). (1-2
sentences)
c. State the experimental approach you are using to determine whether or not your hypothesis is
correct. (1 sentence)
d. State your findings or results that have been revealed by your experimental approach. (1-2
sentences).
e. State the conclusion of your findings (1 sentence)
f. State the implications/impact/ramifications of your findings (1 sentence)
ii. State the number of words used in the abstract.
iii. Comment on how you might improve the abstract.
iv. Comment on whether or not the title sufficiently represents the work described in the abstract.
2. Please describe your research in abstract form as if you are writing a scientific paper. Strictly follow the
guidelines below to write your abstract as was described in class. Use the color coding shown below to
delineate each part. Limit the number of words to 150.
a. State the topic of your research area. (1 sentence)
b. State the hypothesis or question your research seeks to answer (i.e., Knowledge Gap). (1-2 sentences)
c. State the experimental approach you are using to determine whether or not your hypothesis is correct. (1
sentence)
d. State your findings or results that have been revealed by your experimental approach. (1-2 sentences).
e. State the conclusion of your findings (1 sentence)
f. State the implications/impact/ramifications of your findings (1 sentence)
Do not use pronouns (I, you, we, they, etc.)
3. Now read the abstracts you extracted and color coded in problem 1. Then read your abstract in problem 2.
Comment on and describe how you would improve the readability (e.g., choice and use of words, syntax –
word order, sentence linking, grammar, organization, etc.) of your abstract as compared to the abstract in
problem 1.
4. Using your abstract and the lecture given on abstracts and title as guides, create a title that represents the
work described in the abstract.
NOTE: For assignments:
• Please name your file: “FirstName LastName Assignment# Course & # year.file type”
• Please include the assignment request/question in your email to your PI so that the PI is aware of the
assignment request/question.
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