What is an abstract? An abstract is a concise summary of a research paper or entire thesis.

Components of an abstract 1. Motivation or Statement of Problem: Why do we care about the problem? What practical, theoretical, scientific, or artistic gap is your research filling? 2. Methods or Approach: What did you actually do to get your results? Did you analyse three plays, interview 125 students, or translate a book? 3. Results or Product: As a result of completing the above procedure, what did you learn or create? 4. Conclusions or Implications. Length:The abstract should be very concise Content: The abstract can be written as one large paragraph, or for easy reading you can use paragraphs for each section of the content. Paragraph 1 should contain your objectives, Paragraph 2 a description of the methods used, Paragraph 3 a summary of the results, and Paragraph 4 a statement of the main conclusions. Other considerations: The abstract is usually written in the past tense because the research is already done. In other words, write the thesis first! While first person ("I", "we") may be used in the body of your thesis, you must use third person (passive) in the abstract. objective: aim, intention, purpose, goal, target

Abstract Language
Introduction (usually in present, could also be in present perfect or simple past tense):
The (primary/ main) purpose/goal/aim of this study/thesis/ present paper is to investigate the effects of ... on ... The goals of this study are to determine / to characterize/ This study is specifically concerned with the effect of on This study has two major purposes: (1) to investigate ... (2) to demonstrate This thesis discusses/describes/analyses/studies/focuses on/deals with The purpose of this study was to investigate... Another aim was to find out... Finally, ... was examined in the study.

Materials and Methods (in past tense):

This study was conducted in The subjects of this study were This questionnaire investigated how companies view their A questionnaire was distributed/mailed/sent to Respondents filled in a form/indicated their preferences/rated each item. All 59 subjects participated in the study. Interviews were conducted by/with

Conclusions (in simple present or past tense):

These results suggest that / show that/ reveal that/ indicates that. It was concluded that On the basis of the results of this research, it can be concluded that The results provide some support for (ing) The results did not support the expectations that It was found/discovered that...

Further vocabulary 1. Verbs: show, demonstrate, illustrate, prove, argue, examine, explore, look into, consider, deal with, address,
involve, relate to, refer to, draw on, explain, investigate, highlight, outline, provide an overview of, define, distinguish between, indicate, support, reveal, suggest, conclude, recommend

2. Nouns: intention, purpose, aim, objective, thesis, argument, issue, assumptions, methods, results,
conclusions, outcome, recommendations

3. Connecting words: however, first, second, then, finally, thus, for example, furthermore, in addition, in
conclusion, by contrast, nonetheless, consequently, etc.

Sample abstracts:
The purpose of this paper is two-fold: to investigate the history of non-denominational, evangelical church music in America and its influence on church choirs of the same; and to begin a collection of classical music appropriate for evangelical church choirs. This paper outlines trends in evangelical music, gives a brief review of current literature related to evangelical church choir, and analyzes seven musical selections. The selection of quality repertoire is a core principle for teaching in a Kodly-inspired music classroom. The systematic analysis and categorization of folk music fulfills two purposes for music educators. The first is to determine whether the music is authentic and worthy of use in the classroom and the second is to determine how the music can be sequentially integrated into a curricular structure. The purpose of this project is to explore expanding the practices of analysis and indexing to choral music, focusing on repertoire suitable for treble choirs. The author developed a procedure for analysis that examines pedagogical implications in the choral rehearsal. An index was designed and formatted as a guide for programming a choral concert that is culturally diverse and musically satisfying. Using the established analysis and indexing procedures, the author provides thirty examples of choral repertoire suitable for young voices. The purpose of this study was to research classroom guitar instructional strategies, as well as the history of the use of instruments in the elementary general music classroom. Kodly principles applied in the project include a focus on child-development instructional practices as well as the inclusion of folk music. Classroom guitar instruction principles applied include the addition of popular music repertoire, a focus on musical notation, and beginning instruction from the level of students musicianship, rather than beginning anew. The resulting information was then applied to a Kodly-inspired sixth grade general music classroom, creating a scope and sequence, repertoire lists, and lesson plans for beginning guitar instruction. The subjects of this study were a class of fifth grade students at Pine Hill Elementary School in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, and their parents. The subjects (students and their parents) responded to mostly Likert-type questions concerning ways people choose to be involved in music and what that says about how they value music in their life. The survey results were shown on bar graphs or pie graphs in chapter 4. The data from the surveys indicated the parents who participated placed a high value on performing music, and singing for their own enjoyment and providing singing opportunities to sing with and for their children. It appeared parents influence and attitudes toward music positively influenced their children in this area: many of the children also valued singing for their own enjoyment as an important activity. The children seemed less fond of singing for and with their parents. A large percent of parents valued performing on an instrument for their own enjoyment and playing instruments for and with their children. Most of the children seemed quite excited about playing instruments, while others were less inclined. Parents in this study put a high value on listening and discussing music; most of the children answered similarly, although some not as positively in regard to discussion. The purpose of this project was to provide elementary music teachers with specific, practical examples and strategies to build a bridge of mutual respect with families to optimize the musical learning and growth for students. The first section demonstrates the need for connecting the elementary music classroom and home environment as displayed in previous research and articles. The second section provides communication techniques, classroom activities, and performance ideas to engage families in the K-5 elementary music setting. It is hoped that this paper will improve my personal work as an educator and help others in a similar setting gain insight and ideas for developing and maintaining reciprocal relationships with students home environments. The intent of this paper is to compare the leading philosophies for teaching elementary general music: Dalcroze, Kodly, and Orff. It is hoped that this paper will help other teachers gain insights into how these approaches can be applied in their classroom. This project comprises of three sections. The first section contains descriptions of Dalcroze, Kodly, and Orff. These descriptions contain a brief history of the pedagogue, the unique aspects of their approach, and how their philosophy could be used in the classroom. Section One ends with a comparison of these three approaches. In the second section sample lesson segments are offered to explore how each of these approaches could be used in the classroom. To accentuate the differences between these approaches, all of the lesson segments will use the same children's song, "Ding, dong diggidiggidong": the lesson segments will focus on how this song could be used to teach rhythm. The final section reflects upon the impact that studying these approaches has had on my teaching of music.