Abstract Writing

Abstract! An abstract is a self-contained, short,

and powerful statement that
describes a larger work.

An abstract is sort of pre-introductory

paragraph which provide information
about whole research work in strong
sentences.
 The abstract is an An abstract is not a
original document review, nor does it
rather than an excerpted evaluate the work being
passage(passage taken abstracted. While it
from book, document contains key words found
etc.). in the larger work
 Writers of Abstracts

Authors Professional writers

 Writers of Abstracts
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 Purpose

 To introduce journal articles

 To inform readers about the article’s content
 To help readers decide whether or not to read article
 To overview conference programs, abstract collections, and book
chapters
 WHY DO PEOPLE WRITE
ABSTRACT ?

When submitting articles to journals, especially online journals

 When applying for research grants
 When writing a book proposal
 When completing the Ph.D. dissertation or M.A. thesis
 When writing a proposal for a conference paper
 Explanatory Parts
Problem statement

Actuality

Problem solution

Used techniques and

methods
Conclusion
 To put it simple
WHAT you did?
WHY you did it?
HOW you did it?
WHAT you found?
WHAT it means?
 Importance
Helps you present complex information
Helps you read abstracts more effectively
Helps you conduct research
Helps you write abstracts for future publications
Helps you condense report information into a short format
• Same-field professionals (e.g.
linguists, psychologists, biologists)
looking for further information.

Teachers having to evaluate future

specialists’ achievements.

Students charting research in a given

area.
Components
of an abstract

Title

Author

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions
Title

It is the first view of your paper

It helps reader to find your paper

It must be small

It develops the reader’s attention

Author

An author is the one who did the research

The advisor is also the author

The additional people who have worked maybe

the authors

The author’s name must appear at the

beginning
Objective

The purpose for which you did the project

The practical, or artistical, gap your project is filling

It is the motivation

It catches the people attention

Method

Procedure

The steps you took to carry out the research

The way to get the data

The way of getting the required results

Results

What was found or created?

Typically does not include actual data

Distinguish between fact and conjecture

NEVER predict your results!!!

Conclusions

Tells the importance of the research performed

Implication of your research

Helpful for future

researchers
Keep in mind

 Use limited number of sentences

 The result should be stated by restrictions
such as "might", "could", "may“.
 Use of keywords and phrases
 Use of topic area
 Show your main claim
Consider your
audience
Read your paper in its entirety
Starting your abstract

 Underline key points

 An abstract usually contain ; topic, method, research questions and results

 Create your abstract step-by-step

 Step by step process

 1-2 introduction sentences

 1-2 sentences describing your research methods

 1-2 sentences describing the results

 1-2 sentences containing your conclusions

Title
Author’s name Sample
Purpose or objective of project / experiment:
An introductory statement of the reason for investigating the topic of the project.
A statement of the problem or hypothesis being studied.

Summarize procedures, emphasizing the key points or steps:

A summarization of the key points and an overview of how the investigation was conducted.
Omit details about the materials used unless it greatly influenced the procedure or had to be
developed to do the investigation.
An abstract should only include procedures done by the student. Work done by a mentor (such
as surgical procedures) or work done prior to student involvement must not be included.

Detail observations/data/results:
This section should provide key results that lead directly to the conclusions you have drawn.
It should not give too many details about the results nor include charts or graphs.

State conclusions/applications.
Types of Abstract Writing
 Types
1
• Descriptive
Abstracts
2
• Informative
Abstracts
3
• Structured
Abstracts
4
• Graphical
Abstracts
Descriptive Abstracts
Very short (100
words)
It is an outline of the
work, rather than a
summary.
Not very useful to
prospective readers.
What the text is
about.
The issues or
problems explored.
 Descriptive Abstracts
It makes no judgments about the work, nor does it provide results or
conclusions of the research.

It does incorporate key words found in the text and may include the purpose,
methods, and scope of the research.

A descriptive abstract indicates the type of information found in the work.

Descriptive abstracts are much easier to write

They require the least thought, effort and specifics!

 They are not very useful to prospective readers.

Example
 Informative Abstracts
More than 10% of the length of the entire work.
In a good informative
State briefly the content of the paper. abstract, the writer
presents and explains all
the main arguments,
important results and
Follow the sequence of the article evidence in the complete
article/paper/book.

Intro, Method, Results, Discussion

Also possibly Background, Conclusions, Implications

Represent each section of the paper

Example
Comparison
 Structured Abstracts
1
It includes brief summary of all main distinct sections.

2
It lists the section titles.

3 In 250 words or less words.

4
More informative abstract.

5
Its order is background, aim, method, results and conclusions.
 The graphical abstract is
one single‐panel image

It gives readers an
immediate understanding
Graphic
of message of the paper al
The maximum dimensions Abstract
are 11 × 5 cm (4.3 × 2.0
in.) s
Effective use of color can
enhance the graphical
abstract
Example
HOW DO I WRITE AN ABSTRACT?
When preparing to your abstract, keep the following key process elements in
mind:

Reason for writing:

 What is the importance of the research?
 Why would a reader be interested in the larger work?

Problem:
 What problem does this work attempt to solve?
 What is the scope of the project? What is the main argument/thesis/claim?
HOW DO I WRITE AN ABSTRACT?
Methodology:

How did you go about your findings

What steps were taken to carry out the project
Abstracts may describe the types of evidence used in the research.

Results:
 Include specific data that indicate the result of the project
 Enough detail to make it clear
Other abstracts may discuss the findings in a more general way.
HOW DO I WRITE AN ABSTRACT?

Implications:
 What changes should be implemented as a result of the findings of the work?
 How does this work add to the body of knowledge on the topic?
 Include these implications into your very last sentence
 Tips and Hints
General tips

Easy to read

Things to Avoid

Phrases
General Tips
Identify the Problem and Research Solution
Stick to the Word Count

Include Information on Methods and Results

Mention the Implications of Your Research
Overview of the contents of the progress report
Look at examples of abstracts
Don’t add any information that is not in your report or
paper
Reveal what's in the article

Review and Update the Abstract

 Making the abstract easy to read
• Do not use abbreviations without first defining them.
• Don't omit articles or other little words in an effort to save space.
• Avoid jargon.
• Write in the third person singular.
• Use active verbs rather than passive verbs.
• Use short sentences.
• Use complete sentences.
 Things to Avoid
• Avoid unnecessary phrases
• If possible, do not use acronyms
• Avoid rephrasing or restating the title
• Information not in the original work
• References to other work
• Quotations from the original work
• Lengthy explanations of words and concepts
• Tables and maps
• Don’t repeat information or go into too much detail.

• Don’t just cut and paste sentences from one’s research paper into one’s abstract
Phrases

The paper
presents…
The article deals
with…
The paper is
concerned with
It should be noted
about…
It is spoken in
detail about
It is reported that
…
Revising and Overview
REVISE, REVISE, REVISE
• No matter what type of abstract you are writing, the most important
step in writing an abstract is to revise early and often.
• When revising, delete all extraneous words and incorporate
meaningful and powerful words.
• The idea is to be as clear and complete as possible in the shortest
possible amount of space.
• The Word Count feature of Microsoft Word can help you keep track of
how long your abstract is and help you hit your target length.
 Limitations of Abstracts
• The limitations of the study are those
characteristics of design or methodology that
impacted or influenced the interpretation of the
findings from your research.
• Always acknowledge a study's limitations.
• Always discuss the limitations of your article.
Bad Abstract
Good Example