The abstract of a research paper carries great significance. After the paper title, the paper abstract is the most attention-grabbing for the reader/reviewer.
1. Writing a Research Paper
Abstract 101
Rafey Iqbal Rahman
Gold Medal Recipient, 33rd IEEEP Multi-Topic International Symposium 2018
2. How your Abstract Should Be?
A good abstract has the following ingredients:
● A keyword in the first half of the first sentence.
● The first sentence depicting the current, problematic scenario, hinting towards a better solution.
● Followed by providing an overview of the research work and the findings.
Information courtesy: English for Writing Research Papers by A. Wallwork, https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319260921
13. Busting a Myth (Because Why Not?)
You may have heard from your course instructor of the Academic Writing class or from your research
supervisor (in case you are undergoing a research) that an abstract should be written at last.
However, sorry to break this to you but there is no such hard and fast rule in the first place. I’ll bust this
myth by quoting excerpts from 02 books. Both books encourage to begin with an abstract.
● Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success, W.L. Belcher
● English for Writing Research Papers, A. Wallwork
14. Busting a Myth (Because Why Not?)
Excerpt from English for Writing Research Papers:
“In reality, it is best to start with the Abstract as this will help you to focus / orient your ideas on what are the key aspects of your research. In any
case, if you are going to present your work at a conference, the organizers will ask you to submit an abstract before you write the related paper –
you can still change the Abstract when you have finished writing the actual paper.”
Excerpt from Writing Your Research Paper in 12 Weeks:
“One of the best ways to get started on a revision of your journal article is to write an abstract—something that describes your article’s topic and
argument. Unfortunately, many scholars see writing an abstract as the last step to publication.”
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