What Is An Abstract

An abstract is a very concise statement of the major elements of your research project. It states the purpose, methods, and findings of your research project.

Abstracts for experimental research projects should include: A specific and detailed title. A brief introduction to the topic-providing context or background. A statement of the study's objectives--what is the research question? A summary of results. A statement of conclusions (or hypothesized conclusions). Possibly some discussion of the relevance of the conclusions. Possibly some call for future research

Abstracts for research projects that are primarily text-based should include: A specific and detailed title. A brief introduction to the topic-providing context or background. A statement of the study's objectives--what is the research question? A summary of the key subtopics explored—what argument are you proposing about the topic? A brief reference to the nature of the source material and methodology (if relevant)—library research? analysis of fictional texts? interviews or observations? A statement of conclusions (or hypothesized conclusions). Possibly some discussion of the implications of the conclusions.

Some things to avoid: Including too much introductory material Using too much jargon Not using complete sentences: Not giving the reader sufficient context and completeness

What types of abstracts are typically used? Descriptive Abstracts tell readers what information the report, article, or paper contains. include the purpose, methods, and scope of the report, article, or paper. do not provide results, conclusions, or recommendations. are always very short, usually under 100 words. introduce the subject to readers, who must then read the report, article, or paper to find out the author's results, conclusions, or recommendations.

Informative Abstracts communicate specific information from the report, article, or paper. include the purpose, methods, and scope of the report, article, or paper. provide the report, article, or paper's results, conclusions, and recommendations. are short -- from a paragraph to a page or two, depending upon the length of the original work being abstracted. Usually informative abstracts are 10% or less of the length of the original piece. allow readers to decide whether they want to read the report, article, or paper.

Steps for Writing Effective Abstracts Reread the article, paper, or report with the goal of abstracting in mind. Look specifically for these main parts of the article, paper, or report: purpose, methods, scope, results, conclusions, and recommendation. Use the headings, outline heads, and table of contents as a guide to writing your abstract. If you're writing an abstract about another person's article, paper, or report, the introduction and the summary are good places to begin. These areas generally cover what the article emphasizes.

After you've finished rereading the article, paper, or report, write a rough draft without looking back at what you're abstracting. Don't merely copy key sentences from the article, paper, or report: you'll put in too much or too little information. Don't rely on the way material was phrased in the article, paper, or report: summarize information in a new way.

Revise your rough draft to correct weaknesses in organization. improve transitions from point to point. drop unnecessary information. add important information you left out. eliminate wordiness. fix errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Print your final copy and read it again to catch any glitches that you find

Transitions help readers connect the ideas in a piece of writing; they're the glue that shows how pieces of your text fit together. Often all you'll need is a word or phrase to lead readers through your text.

lead forward lead through a sequence lead through cause and effect relationships compare and contrast clarify or emphasize lead to concessions, reservations, dismissals, or conditions. lead to conclusions

Cues that lead readers forward from information they've already read to new information. Old Information Transition NewInformation ADDITION Actually, Further, Additionally, Furthermore, Again, Incidentally, Also, Indeed, And In fact, Besides Lastly, Equally important, Moreover, Finally, Not only this, but this as well First, Second, Third, etc. What's more,

To move readers into specific examples Generalization Transition Examples EXAMPLES As an illustration, Namely, Especially, Notably, For example, Particularly, For instance, Specifically, Including To demonstrate, In particular, To illustrate,

Cues that lead readers through a sequence To move readers from one time-frame to another Onetime Transition Another time TIME After a few hours, Immediately following, Afterwards, Initially, At last In the end, At the same time, In the future, Before In the meantime, Before this ,In the meanwhile, Currently, Last, Last but not least, Lastly, During Later, Eventually, Meanwhile, Finally, Next, Soon after, First, Second, Third, etc. Previously, First of all, Simultaneously, Formerly Subsequently, Immediately before, Then,

To draw readers' attention to a particular location or place One place Transition Another place PLACE Adjacent, In the background, Alongside, In the distance, At the side, In the front, Here/There In the foreground In the back, Nearby,

To let readers know that a digression is about to begin or end Digression Transition back to Main point Main point Transition begin Digression DIGRESSION/RESUMPTION Anyhow, Incidentally, Anyway, To change the subject, As I was saying, To get back to the point, At any rate, To return to the subject, By the way, To resume,

What Is An Abstract

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