14 



can be put comfortably under a single para- 

 graph title. In the samples above, for instance, 

 all the properties of K. S. magnet steel are 

 put in a single paragraph, and the data regard- 

 ing the preparation, purification and decom]X)- 

 sition of iodine pentoxide by heat are grouped 

 together. But " the preparation of pure 

 iodine " could not conveniently be combined 

 with " atomic weight of iodine," at least with- 

 out blurring the emphasis on the main con- 

 tribution of the paper ; and for similar reasons 

 I have separated " the effect of nutrition on 

 the growth of the albino rat " from " the effects 

 of inbreeding on the growth of the albino rat." 

 The tendency of beginners seems to be to make 

 too many groups and thus to chop up the ab- 

 stract unnecessarily. However, the number of 

 groups is of minor importance provided all the 

 new results are included in one or other. 



As to the length of the abstract, brevity is 

 important, and useless words and unimportant 

 details should be rigorously pruned. The ab- 

 stracts in the Asirophysical Journal contain 

 on the average one twentieth as many words 

 as the article abstracted. Usually the propor- 

 tion is greater for short articles and less for 

 longer, but of course it depends on the type 

 of article. 



4. ChecMng the Abstract. — Finally I re-read 

 the article in order to check the abstract and 

 to correct any omissions or mistakes; I read 

 the underscored subtitles by themselves to see 

 whether they properly index the information; 

 and I read the abstract through to see whether 

 I can not gain in brevity without losing in 

 clearness or improve the English withovit add- 

 ing too much to the length. By combining or 

 rearranging sentences, it is frequently possible 

 to make a series of condensed statements less 

 disjointed. 



An examination of the series of abstracts 

 in the Asirophysical Journal will give a much 



