This is a good counterpoint. After all, academic journals have abstracts for a reason--when people need to get something done, a synopsis quickly helps them mak

This is a good counterpoint. After all, academic journals have abstracts for a reason--when people need to get something done, a synopsis quickly helps them make a decision as to whether or not they actually found the appropriate resource. It goes both ways. I think this aspect of the craft is a bit more of an art than a science. At certain points it's appropriate to signal what you're about to discuss, at others, it's just noise. In general, anything that functions similarly to an academic abstract is probably useful (saves the reader from potentially wasting time, gives an overview of the general subject matter and idea without delving into details, takes about 1 minute maximum to read).