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Sample Abstract

At the beginning of the dissertation it is necessary to give an abstract to provide a gist of the entire study. Similarly the last chapter of the dissertation entitled Conclusion should again give the gist fo the whole study.

A sample abstract of a study is presented here.

Topic:  Development of Communicative Techniques and Materials to Teach and Test Written English at the Secondary Level.

There has been a considerable increase in the amount of effort put into improve the teaching-learning process in different parts of the world.  Teachers often find it difficult to keep in touch with the new developments, which could be useful to improve their teaching.  Though a lot of work is done by researchers to make the teaching and testing of English more effective, teachers find it difficult to select and use appropriate techniques and materials that are best suited to their needs.

This study traces the historical perspectives of ELT in Gujarat and analyses the present-day learners needs for developing their written expression. It is pointed out that most of the teaching in the regular classroom situation focuses on preparing the learners for examinations which are mainly written examinations. But hardly any special effort is put into improve the learners proficiency in writing. 

Having established the need for devising better techniques and materials to teach and test writing, an attempt is made to understand what writing actually involves, what factors affect written communication, how writing has been taught from ancient days to the present, what types of tests are available to test written communication, and which are most suitable from the point of view of validity, reliability, practicality and instructional value.  The review of related literature, which forms the second chapter, covers the material in print, relevant to the above mentioned aspects.  This helps in drawing the implications for the present study, for the teaching and testing of writing.  With the help of the implications drawn, new techniques are devised which involve group and pair-work activities and materials are prepared using the language content suggested in the learners course book.

The aim of this study is to prepare and try out a set strategies and materials to make the teaching and testing of Written English effective and efficient. The investigator devises strategies, which create an urge on the part of the learners to communicate through writing.  The investigator also designs materials with elements of information gap, guessing and open-endedness.  The techniques and materials increase opportunities for interaction among the learners.  The materials involve pair and group work, thereby promoting language use.  This process also makes the writing activity genuine and realistic. 

To try-out these new techniques and materials, four representative schools in Gujarat are randomly selected. In each school, two comparable groups are identified, out of which one is exposed to the new techniques. Tests are administered to both the controlled and experimental groups, in all the four schools, before and after the try out. The results are compared to find out the effectiveness of the new techniques and materials. The experiment is reported in detail in chapter three, while the analysis and interpretation of data are provided in chapter four. The experiment was tired out by the investigator at S. D. Desai High School in Bakrol, and to validate the results, the same experiment was repeated in three other schools.  The results obtained from Bakrol prove that the new techniques and materials are far more effective than the conventional techniques. The experimental group has obtained 4.92 in ‘t’ test which is significant at .01 level. The controlled group has got only .77 which is insignificant.  When the difference between the pre-test and post test values of the controlled group is compared with that of the experimental group, we get the Z value as 3.29 which is significant at .01 level.  These statistical analysis prove the effectiveness of the new techniques and materials.

The experiment was repeated in three other schools and the statistical analysis has provided evidence to reject the null hypotheses, which state that 'there is no significant difference between the conventional and experimental techniques and the achievement level of the learners in the experimental groups will be no better then that of controlled group'. It is established that they have significant positive effect on the learners ability to communicate in writing.   In addition the qualitative analysis of the classroom procedures prove that the techniques and materials promoted learners confidence by taking them one step ahead of their present level and motivate them to enjoy the learning experience and move ahead to attempt more and more difficult tasks.  Apart from statistical analysis, the observation of classroom interactions are reported in the chapters three and four further validate the effectiveness of the new techniques and materials to develop learners competence in written communication.  A number of implications are drawn for the teaching and testing of written English and some suggestions are offered to teachers, syllabus makers and others involved in ELT,  in chapter five. Suggestions for further research are also offered.