OCEAN 220 Abstract writing assignment What is an abstract? The abstract provides a summary of the entire manuscript. Following the style guide of the Journal Limnology and Oceanography, the length of your abstract should not exceed 250 words. Usually in an abstract, the authors explain why they conduct the research by providing the context or specific hypothesis of the study in the first couple of sentences. Then, briefly describe their methods/approach, and move onto a succinct summary of the results. Abstracts are concluded with the significance and relevance of the research, in other words explaining what the results mean, tying them to a broader context. What are you supposed to do? In a nut shell, you are going to read a paper entitled “Nekton distribution and midwater hypoxia: A seasonal, diel prey refuge?” and write an abstract for this paper in your own words. You are also required to take part in a peer review. Bring three copies of your abstract to the meeting on Mar 22, 2012 (Thur.) and be prepared to give critical and constructive feedback to your classmates based on the rubric below. You can print out your work from the computer lab. Rubric Content of the abstract

Grammar, Spelling and Style

Poor Fair Good Excellent Significance/Scientific Merit (Why do this research?)

Cursory discussion of significance

Significance discussed, but lacking some key points

Clear discussion of study’s importance, but lacking depth or not clear what hypothesis to test

Insightful discussion of your study’s importance and a clear transition to the objective of the study

Approach (How did you test your hypothesis?)

Not clear how proposed approach addresses the scientific question(s)

Proposed approach addresses questions listed but is not clearly described

Presented clearly the tests of hypothesis, but includes too much methodological details

Clearly articulated how proposed study will address the hypothesis

Results (What did you find?)

Insufficient summary of the result such that readers could not arrive at the same conclusion as the writer

Summarized only part of the results. Or listed all the results without any attempt to summarize

Summarized all key results but not clear how they are connected to each other and the hypothesis

Succinct summary of key findings with clear, logical transition

Conclusion (What are the implications of your results?)

Cursory discussion of the relevance of the project to the broader scientific community

Conclusion stated, but logical transition was not clear based on the results described

Conclusion stated and is easy to follow from the result described but lack boarder implications

Logical and clear conclusion based on the results described and tie the study to the boarder context

Organization Well-organized: Easy to read and follow argument. Concise and clear statements. Grammar/Spelling Proper grammar, spelling, and sentence structure Format Font size and type, Margin and spacing settings are in accordance with the L & O style

guide (found at http://www.aslo.org/lo/instructions/authors.html).

Citing Sources Within Your Paper

Whenever you quote, paraphrase, summarize, or otherwise refer to the work of another, you are required to cite its source, either by parenthetical documentation or a footnote.

When to cite

When do facts you present in your paper need to be documented with a citation?

• Facts that are considered 'common knowledge‘– those that a reasonably well-educated person could be expected to know – do not need to be documented with a citation in your paper.

• Facts or statistics that are more obscure or pertain directly to your argument do need to be documented with a citation.

When to cite

Everyone knows that the earth orbits the sun, that Roosevelt was president during World War II, and that Hawaii was the 50th state.

But does everyone know the number of orcas that are resident in Puget Sound? That Washington State produces 40% of the national Dungeness crab harvest? That juvenile Chinook prey on crab larvae?

Puget Sound is made up of 4 connected basins.

The circulation is slowest in Hood Canal.

The residence time of water in Hood Canal is ~ 90 days.

Chlorophyll is a pigment produced by phytoplankton.

Chlorophyll concentrations are typically higher in Hood Canal than the Main Basin.

Which statements need citations?

How to use a citation:

Chlorophyll concentrations are typically higher in Hood Canal than the Main Basin (Frost and Smith, 1995).

Frost and Smith showed that chlorophyll concentrations are typically higher in Hood Canal than the Main Basin (Frost and Smith, 1995).

In a study by Frost and Smith they found that chlorophyll concentrations are typically higher in Hood Canal than the Main Basin (Frost and Smith, 1995).

Plagiarism

One of the most common forms of cheating is plagiarism, using another's words or ideas without proper citation. The seven most common types of plagiarism are:

1. Borrowing all or part of another student's paper or using someone else's outline to write your own paper.2. Using a paper writing "service" or having a friend write the paper for you. Regardless of whether you pay a stranger or have a friend do it, it is a breach of academic honesty to hand in work that is not your own or to use parts of another student's paper.3. Using another writer's words without proper citation. 4. Using another writer's ideas without proper citation. 5. Citing your source but reproducing the exact words of a printed source without quotation marks. 6. Borrowing the structure of another author's phrases or sentences without crediting the author from whom it came. 7. In computer programming classes, borrowing computer code from another student and presenting it as your own. When original computer code is a requirement for a class, it is a violation of the University's policy if students submit work they themselves did not create.

From http://courses.washington.edu/coutu102/cheat.html

Acknowledging another author's work will NOT lower your grade!

In some unusual cases, your instructor may indicated that you must write your paper without reading additional material.

But, as you progress in your studies, you will be expected to show that you are familiar with important work in your field and can use this work to further your own thinking. Your professors write this kind of paper all the time. The key to avoiding plagiarism is that you show clearly where your own thinking ends and someone else's begins.

From http://courses.washington.edu/coutu102/cheat.html

For more information and for the official UW policies see:

http://courses.washington.edu/coutu102/cheat.html

6. Borrowing the structure of another author's phrases or sentences without crediting the author from whom it came. This kind of plagiarism usually occurs out of laziness: it is easier to replicate another writer's style than to think about what you have read and then put it in your own words.

The following example is from A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker (New York, 1989, p. 171):

* Original: If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviorists.

From http://courses.washington.edu/coutu102/cheat.html

An ape who knew sign language unsettled linguists and startled animal behaviorists.

If the presence of a sign-language-using chimp was disturbing for scientists studying language, it was also surprising to scientists studying animal behavior.

When they learned of an ape's ability to use sign language, both linguists and animal behaviorists were taken by surprise

When to cite

• Dabob Bay is a fjord off Puget Sound in Washington State.

When to cite

• Dabob Bay is a fjord off Puget Sound in Washington State.

• In Dabob Bay, there is a resident population of the copepod Calanus pacificus, which annually progresses through three generations from February to September.

When to cite

• Dabob Bay is a fjord off Puget Sound in Washington State.

• In Dabob Bay, there is a resident population of the copepod Calanus pacificus, which annually progresses through three generations from February to September (Osgood and Frost 1994).

How to cite

• Footnotes when directly quoting another authors words.

• Parenthetically when referencing ideas.