Language/Writing Tip 33

A few notes on abstracts.
– avoid footnotes (they get very ugly very fast, especially if the abstract appears in two or more language – three harmless-looking footnotes become six)
– try to pack everything init to a single paragraph; more than two is ugly
– talk about the PAPER not the research that preceded it
– say what the paper is actually about
– pay at least passing attention to the possibility of coming within range of the word limit
– follow the rules for citing titles: quotation marks for small things, italics for books, etc.
– avoid copy-pasting from your introduction or elsewhere in your paper – i.e. show that you are capable of writing different sentences
– if you cite an original title, look for the official translation; do not provide an ad hoc translation of your own for an already-translated work – Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” should not become “Dež in veter!”
– if the work you are considering has NOT been translated, do not italicize the title (think of it as advertising: no italics means “Don’t bother trying to buy it from Amazon”).