How to Write an Abstract: The Difficulty of Being Both Human and Scientific

What is the purpose of the abstract?

Imagine that you are going on a date. You are dying to make the best first impression you can. By presenting your abstract, you are "dating" your jury. You cannot be very extravagant, neither can you be conservative. You are simply presenting your individual, well-measured freshness. Your abstract format is your appearance, your abstract's style is your "mint fresh breath," your abstract's content is your mind, and your abstract's conclusion is your soul.

Points to remember:

• Write your name, department, and the college or university you attend on the abstract.

• Provide the title of the paper for which you have written the abstract.

• Identify the areas that will be covered in your paper. Note, your scientific "freshness must become visible here.
  
  

Why can writing an abstract be difficult?

Sometimes writing a good abstract is more complicated than writing a research paper. In a way, the abstract is the opposite of the research paper: In the abstract you are trying to condense your thoughts and in the paper you "stretch" them. The abstract is normally written after the paper is completed, whereas it is reviewed prior to the paper's submission. Writing both well is a mental challenge. A good abstract is like a good commercial: you use colors, music, text (and subtext) to make a good commercial, and you use your expertise, ideas, and precise language to make a good abstract. By submitting your abstract, you are trying to persuade your readers in three to five minutes that you are going to present something unique and valuable.

Points to remember:

• Follow strictly the format requirements (250-300 words, double-spaced, 12 point font).

• Find simple ways to explain complicated ideas. Avoid wordiness and emphasize your key concepts.

• Your abstract must be logically structured and provide an accurate picture of your paper.
  
  

How should you think of the reader?

The abstract serves a broader audience than the research paper. It must be comprehensible to specialists and non-specialists alike. Just in case, think of your readers as very old nerds who are running out of time. Your abstract must "shake them up," have them rub their eyes, and read the abstract until the end. Your virtual readers might be very skeptical or conservative and you have to convince them.

Points to remember:

• Your thesis must balance between your scientific knowledge (for professionals) and common sense (for non-professionals).

• Limit the scientific terminology to that which is accepted by the specialists but still understood by the non-specialists. An exception to this rule would be clearly technical abstracts.

• To make your abstract lucid, test yourself: "Will the readers who have not been acquainted with my research area and/or point of view understand the abstract?" Make sure it seems logical even to the most unengaged readers.
  
  

How much time do you need to write a good abstract?

Writing abstracts is a more time-consuming and complicated activity than it looks. There is an old joke about the person who wrote to his friend, "I have no time to write you a short letter. That's why I will write you a long one." If you risk writing your "short letter" in a short time, you can be easily disqualified.

Points to remember:

• If your paper is already written, you might read it again before writing the abstract to ensure that you will include all substantial points in the abstract.

• It is normal that writing and shaping your abstract takes hours.

• Make sure you have read and proofread the abstract several times.

• Give it to a colleague or friend to read. Usually they find something you have omitted or overlooked.
  
  

What should your abstract contain?

If you assume that it is an introduction to your paper, you are wrong.

If you assume that it is a description of your paper, you are wrong.

If you assume that it is your contribution to everything written and discovered in the field before, you are wrong.

If you assume that it is the conclusion of what you have done, you are wrong.

The abstract's content is the balance and incorporation of all of the above.

Points to remember:

• The title must contain immediate information on your scientific area so your judges know that your domain fits the symposium's parameters.

• The content consists of statements of objectives, methods, results, and conclusions. You have between 250 and 300 words to express yourself, so this allows you to sue only a few sentences in each statement.

• Search for key words that will imprint onto the memory of the readers.

• Envisioned as a "mini essay," the abstract must include paragraphs that are "cohesive in miniature." The transition between them has to be distinct and smooth.

• The ratio between the statements can be slightly adapted in favor of your main point. If your uniqueness is in the methods, you might add an extra sentence there after you have cut it from another sphere.
  
  

What to avoid in an abstract?

In your abstract, you have to remove the "flesh" and the "blood" from the paper and provide only the "skeleton" of it. Do not hesitate to get rid of words that are not conducive to the sense and the elegance of your phrases.

Points to remember:

• Avoid categorical and eccentric statements.

• Avoid frequent usage of acronyms and abbreviations. If it is necessary, always provide the full name before resorting to them.

• Do not include general introductory matters and historical background.

• Do not insert tables and charts, unless this is a crucial part of your thesis.

• Do not include citations, unless you have to refer to a source on which your thesis is built.
  
  

Research and Reference Guides

There are many online resources to assist you in preparing your paper for submission to the symposium. Please note that references must be cited in MLA format.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison 's Writing Center has a page dedicated to the MLA style of documentation and a section on writing a research paper. These are part of the Writer's Handbook, available by clicking here.

Click here for Purdue University's Online Writing Lab, offering a guide for Using MLA format.

In addition, the MLA Handbook is available in print at most libraries and bookstores.

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This page was last updated 5/11/11 .

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