HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACT

1. HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACT

2. • An abstract is a short summary of any
completed research. If done well, it
makes the reader more eager or attracted to
read more about your research.
• These are the basic components of an abstract
in any discipline:

3. COMPONENTS OF AN ABSTRACT

4. • 1. Topic
• 2. A brief statement of what it is on
• 3. Scope of the research
• 4. Objective
• 5. Methods/ Methodology
• 6. Research problem (s) explored
• 7. Key questions investigated
• 8. Hypothes(i/e)s / key proposition
• 9. Key findings
• 10. (sometimes) Keywords

5. 1. Reason for writing:
• Motivation: Why do we care about the
problem? What practical, scientific or
theoretical gap is your research filling?
• What is the importance of the research? Why
would a reader be interested in the larger
work?

6. • 2) Problem:
What problem does this work attempt to
solve? What is the scope of the project? What
is the main argument, thesis or claim?

7. • 3) Methods/procedure/approach:
An abstract of a scientific work may include
specific models or approaches used in the
larger study. Other abstracts may describe the
types of evidence used in the research.
What did you actually do to get your results?
Results/findings/product: As a result of
completing the above procedure, what did
you learn/invent/create?

8. • 4) Results:
• An abstract of a scientific work may include
specific data that indicates the results of the
project. Other abstracts may discuss the
findings in a more general way.

9. • 5) Conclusion/implications:
How does this work add to the body of knowledge
on the topic? Are there any practical or theoretical
applications from your findings or implications for
future research?
What are the larger implications of your findings,
especially for the problem/gap?

10. CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE ABSTRACT

11. • While the content of an abstract may vary based on the
specific discipline for which it is written,
abstracts share several key features and should:
•between 100-200 words in length
•summarize the content or process of the paper; it is
not an introduction
•follow the organization of the paper
•be written after the paper is completed
•sometimes include keywords; while not all professors
require keywords in abstracts, keywords help readers to
identify the main points of the paper in order to find
additional articles and papers relevant to their research.

12. • Additionally, once the abstract is written, the
following questions will help the writer to
proofread and edit it:
• 1.) Is my abstract clear?
The abstract should be easily understood by a
wide audience without too much jargon or
technical language.
• 2.) Is my abstract concise?
The abstract should not be redundant or include
too much information.
• 3.) Is my abstract correct?

13. WHY WRITE AN ABSTRACT?

14. • Abstracts are important for both selection and indexing
purposes.
• Selection: Abstracts allow readers who may be
interested in the paper to quickly decide whether it is
relevant to their purposes and whether they need to
read the whole paper.
• Indexing: Most academic journal databases accessed
through the library enable you to search abstracts. This
allows for quick retrieval by users. Abstracts must
incorporate the key terms that a potential researcher
would use to search.