Analysis of Writing Strategies on English Abstract of Medical Academic Paper

Abstract

English abstracts of medical literature influence international communication of medical information. Problems in English abstracts of domestic papers have seriously prevented domestic medical achievements from being recognized and identified internationally. In order to figure out features of sentence structure and textual organization of medical English abstract, the paper firstly analyzed, in term of textual function, some sample abstracts—English abstracts of international distinguished medical academic papers. The textual analysis conducted quantitatively and qualitatively from the following aspects: thematic structure and thematic progression pattern. And then, based on the analytic results, writing strategies and guidelines were proposed in detail in order to help medical college students write high-quality English abstracts which can meet the international standard. The study suggests a simple theme, simple structure and constant theme progression pattern are dominantly employed in medical academic writing. Keywords—writing strategies; English abstract writing; medical academic paper; textual function