Overview of the assessment task:
In 2024, a search of the PubMed database reveals that over 2.01 million journal articles have been published with “immunology” as a key word. At large scientific meetings there can be more than 5,000 delegates presenting more than 5,000 abstracts.
For most of you, this will be the first time you have ever read an immunology-based scientific article. Understanding these types of articles is difficult and requires you to read the article a number of times to fully grasp the experimental results and conclusions drawn from them. Your tutorials and this task are designed to help you learn how to interpret an immunology-based scientific article. They will also help you wade through the enormous body of immunology-related work that is in the public domain. You will learn about the processes and resources available to you so that you “find what you’re looking for”.
The most important tool that scientists rely on to help them determine whether a body of work is relevant and of interest to them is the description of the work. Two common tools are the title & abstract of the research. Indeed, a frequently performed tasks of a scientist is to write an abstract. Whether this is for a conference you are presenting at, a journal article or a grant proposal – the need to coherently summarise your work using only a limited number of words is essential.
With all this in mind, you will be provided with a recently published research journal article with the title and abstract hidden. Under no circumstances must you attempt to find the published title abstract online. Your job is to read the article as it is provided and then propose a title and write a 250-word abstract based on the contents of the article. Most conference, granting body and journal submission sites will not allow even one word over the limit. However, you will be allowed a 10% buffer (i.e., 225-275 words). You will also need to complete a series of online questions related to the article. These questions together with the marking scheme needed for your submission is available for download on eLearning.
To help guide you it is recommended that you seek out and read the titles and abstracts of other research journal articles that you find. Examples of High Distinction student performances will also be available on eLearning.
Your title & abstract should be aimed at a reader who is familiar with the field of research.
Objectives of the assessment task:
To expose you to cutting edge immunology research in the format of a research article.
You will need to use the skills learnt in your tutorials together with the theory content in order
to read and comprehend what will be a difficult body of work to understand
To read and comprehend a current research journal article that will be provided to you (this
may require you to read and re-read the article)
To teach you how to synthesise the key components of a body of scientific research into a
concise and informative 250-word abstract.
To highlight to you the importance of a good title that is:
– Informative, Interesting, and Intriguing
Learning Outcomes of the Title and Abstract Written assessment task:
After completing this assessment task, you will:
Have successfully read and understood an immunology-based scientific article.
Have gained valuable experience in writing a coherent and concise summary (abstract) of a
body of scientific work.
Understand what makes a title of a paper informative, Interesting, and intriguing
Grade Descriptors for the online questions that accompany the Title & Abstract Task:
HD (>15):
D (13-15):
Cr (11-13):
P (9-11):
F (<9):
Excellent responses. The student has clearly understood every aspect of the article. They have thought deeply about the results and the implications for human health. The short title was highly appropriate and very informative.
Very good responses. The student appears to have understood almost every aspect of the article. They have given some careful thought to the results and the implications for human health. The short title was appropriate and informative.
Good responses. The student appears to have understood most, but not all aspects of the article. They have given some thought to the results and the implications for human health. The short title was appropriate but may not have been particularly informative.
Average responses. The student appears to have understood some, but clearly not all aspects of the article (at least not the important ones). They have given some thought to the results and the implications for human health although it appears they may have “missed the point” or didn’t understand the “big picture”. The short title was mostly appropriate but may have lacked sufficient information to be useful.
Poor to Very poor responses. The student has clearly missed or not understood the important aspects of the article. They have given little thought to the results and the implications for human health. They have “missed the point” or didn’t understand the “big picture”. The short title was absent or not appropriate or lacked sufficient information to be useful.
Submission details for your title and abstract written assessment task:
You are required and will be assessed on how well you adhere to the following formatting and submission guidelines (adopted & modified from a (real) conference abstract submission website):
Title: Bold, 14-point Times New Roman, single spaced, left justified
Leave one line between the title and abstract
Abstract: Regular, 12-point Times New Roman, single spaced, left justified Abstract Word Count: 250 words
Submission Procedure:
Submit your assignment via Turnitin – available through the UoS Canvas site
