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Table of Contents

  1. Aims and introduction
    1. Abstract 1
    2. Abstract 2

Abstract 2

Read through the abstract below and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses using the checklist provided to guide you. Enter your thoughts into the answer box or into the Word document, then click on the 'Check your answer' button to see a suggested answer.

Under conditions of pRb (retinoblastoma protein) loss, the p53-dependant apoptotic pathway is invariably activated, removing the pRb-deficient cell and limiting tumour formation. However, in human retinoblastomas, tumours develop in the absence of pRb and in the presence of wild-type p53 and a fully functional apoptotic pathway. This suggests that retinal cells can overcome sensitivity to apoptosis. To assess whether retinoblastoma cells can be protected from p53-mediated apoptosis by the presence of survival factors, the retinoblastoma cell line, Y79, was grown in varying concentrations of serum singly or in combination with low oxygen. By measuring cell viability, p53 and p21 expression it was shown that p53 levels increase in response to a reduction in serum and/or oxygen (but not when cells are grown in serum-free medium) and this is accompanied by apoptotic cell death which does not depend on p21 expression. This suggests that tumour progression in retinoblastomas may be dependant upon survival factor availability.

Checklist for reviewing an abstract

  • Does the abstract conform to the length limit stipulated by the guidelines (assume for the purpose of this activity that the word limit is 200 words)?
  • Does the abstract include the four elements: aims, methodology, results and conclusions?
  • Is the content of the abstract ordered in the prescribed sequence (i.e. aims, methodology, results and conclusions)?
  • Is the abstract free from references, illustrations and unnecessary abbreviations?
  • If abbreviations are used have they been defined?
  • Are there any parts of the abstract that can be edited to make it more concise? (e.g. is all the information necessary, is there repetition of material, are there any long sentences that can be re-written to make them more concise?).
  • Is the abstract free from spelling mistakes, grammatical and punctuation errors?
  • Can the abstract be understood without reference to any further information?

1
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of abstract 2.

[If you would like to save a record of your answer, please type it into this Word document]

This abstract is much better than the previous abstract. The key observations are:
On the positive side:

  • There are no references cited and the abstract is free from illustrations, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
  • The abstract includes the four elements: aims, methodology, results, and conclusions ordered in the prescribed sequence.
  • The abstract begins by presenting a clear rationale for the study undertaken.
  • The key results are presented clearly and concisely.

Suggestions for improvement are:

  • An overview of the methods is presented. However, this could be improved upon by including some specific details, e.g. expression levels were assessed using western blot analysis.
  • The abstract ends with a conclusion. However, the conclusion is a little vague and could be stated much more clearly: for example, "the results suggest that retinal cells are protected from p53-dependent apoptotic cell death by the presence of survival factors contained within the serum".
  • This abstract is longer than the previous abstract, but the word count is still below the limit of 200. Again, the author has scope to expand on the abstract and improve the clarity of the information presented.
  • The abstract is written with a passive voice. It would be much easier and enjoyable to read if it used the active voice, such as "we grew" instead of "was grown".
Check your answer