名人教英文：资料的简介 abstract and synopsis
in school, at college or at work, we are often asked to give a gist (要点) of something or write a short report on a specific subject. three words immediately come to mind, namely : précis (撮要), abstract (摘要) and synopsis (简介).
how to write a précis was discussed some weeks ago. today, we focus on the essential elements of an abstract or a synopsis.
an abstract 引言/摘要
an abstract can be as short as a paragraph or as long as a chapter. the aim of an abstract is to give a general view of a detailed report such as an important speech, a research paper or a scientific document. an abstract can be informative or descriptive and it has the following essential features:
a. it gives the background.
b. it states the purpose.
c. it provides the focus.
d. it highlights the main points.
e. the abstracts of some academic, scientific and research papers are generally informative and may - depending on the nature of each abstract - draw up a summary of the methods used and the conclusions reached in the paper.
the aim of writing an abstract is, therefore, to enable any reader to get the gist of a lengthy document even without reading the full text itself.
a synopsis 简介/大纲
a synopsis makes a summary, or gives a brief outline of a report, a book, or an event. the ability to design a synopsis is particularly important in certain jobs and professions. to mention just a few: in advertising, publication, multi-media industries, staff are required to write synopses to advertise, promote and publicise certain products or events. book-jacket blurbs (1) are typical examples of how synopses are put to use.
unlike writing an abstract, the designer of a synopsis provides the essence, without describing the methods used or giving the summary of conclusions. what's more, a synopsis may choose not to give away too much, so as to keep their readers / clients on tenterhooks (2). thus, in a few lines, or in a few "sound-bites", a synopsis gives a comprehensive view of what is being introduced; it states the purpose; it provides the focus and highlights the essential points. however, it may keep the best part of the story unsaid so as not to reveal too much and yet be sufficiently interesting to urge people to buy the product or attend the event and so on.
the key to a good synopsis is summarised as follows:
a. to be brief and to the point.
b. to highlight the essentials without necessarily revealing all.
c. tautology must be avoided. (3)
d. verbosity must be avoided. (4)
thus, a well-designed synopsis, like a good abstract, provides a gist which is at once coherent and concise, informative and interesting.
passage of the week﹕golden rule
poet laureate (桂冠诗人) edmund blunden once told me:
"the only golden rule of the english language is that there is no golden rule."
this means for every rule, there are exceptions to the rule (5). take for example the rule that to change a noun ending with an "f" into its plural form, we need to change the "f" into a "v", followed by an "es". based on the above rule, the word "wife" becomes "wives" and "knife" becomes "knives".
ah surprise! surprise! the plural for "chief" is "chiefs"! similarly, the plural for "chef" is "chefs". so there!
footnotes
1. book-jacket blurbs 封面介绍作者的宣传简介
2. to keep readers/clients on tenterhooks. 令读者/顾客感到紧张及吊起他们的口味。
3. tautology must be avoided. 避免无谓重复。
4. verbosity must be avoided. 不要啰嗦。
5. for every rule, there are exceptions to the rule. 每条规则皆有例外。