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Writing Skills

Abstracts
The brevity of an abstract is inversely proportional to its importance. Distilling an entire paper, its background, purpose, methods and conclusions, into 100-300 words serves the busy reader and increases your impact by persuading colleagues to read further. What do you want to convey if this is the only part of your work your reader reads? Or, if someone commits to read your entire paper, what do you want remembered long after the rest of your paper is forgotten?

What is an Abstract? An abstract is a succinct, accurate summary or guide that can stand alone.
  • Informative Abstract 100-250 words (For a longer paper: no more than 10% of the length of the paper). It summarizes the important information and facts from the paper.
  • Descriptive Abstract 100-350 words. It provides a guide or overview of the components and organization of the paper.
When Do You Use An Abstract?
  • To decide if you want to read more
  • To summarize or to introduce a research article, journal or proposal
  • As a library reference tool
  • For presentations at scientific meetings
  • As part of a dissertations & or paper
  • To solicit input from colleagues on your ideas
The Fundamental Parts of an Abstract
Background or Problem Statement
  • A simple opening sentence or two placing the work in context.
    • What is the problem?
    • What has happened to date in this field?
Aims or Purposes
  • One or two sentences giving the purpose of the work.
    • WHY is this important?
    • WHY should the reader care?
Methods or Approaches
  • One or two sentences explaining what was done. (Described at length only if it is unusual)
    • WHAT did you do?
    • HOW did you do it?
Results
  • One or two sentences indicating the main findings. (Absolutely essential)
    • WHAT did you find?
Conclusions
  • One sentence giving the most important consequence of the work.
    • What does this mean?
    • What are the advantages of your method or apparatus?
What Makes a Good Abstract?
  • The paragraphs are well developed, concise and able to stand alone.
  • It meets the word count limitation
  • It gives a clear understanding of the nature of the work.
  • It follows the same chronology as the paper or article.
  • It is understandable to a wide audience and is jargon-free.
Things to Avoid
  • Don’t include citations.
  • Don’t just copy phrases from the paper.
  • Don’t introduce new information.
  • Don’t tell them what you are going to tell them — Just tell them. Eg. Don’t say: “This abstract presents..."
How to Write an Abstract
  • Reread the paper looking for the main parts and purpose
  • Write a rough draft without looking back at the paper
    • This helps ensure you understand the key points
    • This prevents merely copying from the paper
  • Think about what kinds of key words or phrases someone might use to search for your work. Be sure to include those words or phrases.
  • Reread and edit until removing a single word will change the meaning of the sentence.
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