TOP-8 Useful Tips for Crafting an Impressive Abstract
- June 8, 2024
- Posted by: Yury Subachev, PhD
- Categories: For young scientists, Paper writing, Scientific translation, Useful skills
The abstract is precisely the part of the work that will be scrutinized by the editorial board to conclude on accepting the entire submitted manuscript. It is also the initial segment seen by readers, so it is worth focusing on. Moreover, in most cases, it is the only subsection of the work that will be accessible, since databases mostly contain abstracts, while whole papers are not always available.
So, the abstract is a key tool enabling one to concisely outline the submitted work’s contributions. Here are a few tips for writing an abstract in a way to arouse the greatest interest in the article.
Some scientists believe the abstract must be compiled after the whole research work is over. At the same time, the work often takes months, and it is not always easy to recall the study details. Thus, it is reasonable to write the main text of the article first: thus, you will be able to revise all the nuances of the work when it is necessary. The ready manuscript might serve as a laconic summary to be guided by when compiling the abstract. If it is not easy to make up your mind what to start with, a good recommendation would be to reexamine the article and distinguish the key concepts in each part, which can shape the basis for your abstract. Not forget to thoroughly examine the guidelines of the scientific periodical to which the article will be submitted. It is frequently specified that the abstract must have a certain structure, split up into subsections. Besides, in many cases, it is stipulated that the number of words in it shall stay within a certain limit.
2. Give general information regarding the study objective
One of the tips for writing abstracts is to concentrate on the initial sentences, informing the reader of what was the goal of the work. The introductory phrase should simultaneously delineate the major subject of the research and dwell on the current problems in the area. For instance, “The relevance of exploring hard-to-recover oil reserves has become evident in recent decades, while being complicated by lack of corresponding technologies”. This sentence simultaneously formulates the subject (exploring hard-to-recover reserves) and states the problem (lack of corresponding technologies). Such formulation instantly attracts a reader’s attention. The following sentences may reveal some specific aspects of the problem. It is good if the abstract explains what is unique in the way your work deals with the outlined issue. Here one can use phrases like “In this study, we aimed to…” or “It is shown that” indicating the key aim pursued by the study.
3. Outline the methodology employed in the work
Another portion of abstract writing tips is related to the methodological part, which contains a laconic overview of the basic methods and tools applied in the work, without going into superfluous detail. If the paper deals with biology, the abstract is expected to mention a certain genus or population concerned in the research. If some clinical investigation is concerned, one must specify the number of participating patients, the composition of groups, the trial duration, etc. Here is an example where such essential information is briefly explained in one phrase: “Fifty female patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus took part in a trial to receive either low-dose insulin or oral antidiabetic therapy for 24 weeks”.
4. Formulate the main findings
The “Results” subsection is supposedly the key segment of the abstract. One should understand that most readers examine the abstract to discover what results you have obtained. Thus, try to avoid here general phrases like “There were notable differences in the root and shoot length of plants from Groups 1 and 2”. The formulations should be as specific as possible, for instance: “The average shoot length in Group 1 exceeded that of plants in Group 2 by 35%”.
5. Briefly formulate the conclusion
Let us give some recommendations regarding the issue of how to conclude an abstract.
The closing pair of phrases must formulate the essence of the conducted research. In particular, it is advisable to use formulations like “The study found that…” or “We can conclude that…” Afterward, the most essential result of the submitted study can be outlined. If there are any secondary, less important study findings, they also can be included here. In the end, one can add a phrase formulating the relevance of the completed work and its contributions to the study area. As previously stated, there will be a lot of readers not having full access to the work text and only having a possibility to familiarize themselves with the abstract. So, your conclusions are to be formulated in a maximally concise and intelligible way for readers to rightly realize the fundamental idea of the study.
6. What to avoid
The abstract, summing up your study, as a rule, must be confined to a certain word limit. It can be a challenge to convey the essential ideas of the work employing just about two hundred words. Nevertheless, this goal can be achieved a bit easier if you understand what should be excluded. In particular, there is no necessity to include the following:
– Extensive background data (the aim is to outline the authors’ present work, there is no need to discuss other scientists’ contributions);
– Detailed description of the procedures used;
– Citations;
– Abbreviations that have no definition (some editors recommend avoiding them altogether in this part of the paper, while others suggest a list of frequent abbreviations acceptable without definition);
– Findings not specified in the main body of the article;
– Details of the methods, etc. (if this is not the primary focus).
After compiling the entire abstract, reexamine that the data contained in it fully correspond to those in the main body of the article. After the long-lasting work on the paper, one is not always able to easily figure out if the abstract is completely understandable. This is especially true since a researcher is supposed to be well aware of conventions existing within a certain study field. So, it is advisable to ask someone dealing with another discipline or study area to glance over the abstract and give feedback if the study essence is quite clear from it. A detached view will help to realize which parts must be revised to make them more intelligible or to stress the principal findings.
7. Formulate the key terms
Appropriate keywords, aiming to outline the research scope, are pivotal for readers to be able to find your abstract, as well as the paper as a whole, in databases
8. Choose the right type of abstract
Abstract types vary contingent on the editorial boards’ requirements. Look through the corresponding guidelines to select the type correctly. In particular, descriptive or informative subtypes are distinguished. The former contain a laconic overview of the research essence, as well as its basic findings. Most often, such an abstract is limited to only one brief paragraph, the number of words in which does not exceed one hundred. On the contrary, an informative abstract implies furnishing more detailed information and putting together the basic results of the study.
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