Abstract writing tips
What is Abstract
Abstract generally means presenting something concisely. So, an abstract presents the whole paper concisely or condensed in a nice flow that is easily understandable.
Abstracts must be able to present the central theme of your work, and readers should get a good idea of what they are going to get after completely going through the book.
Are abstracts important?
Yes, they are. They are an integral part of a business paper or an academic paper. Their importance arises from the fact that a reader wants to have a good idea of what he is going to get while he goes through the paper. This also means that the abstract is a very important part of the whole paper considering that the reader will not go inside the paper in case he thinks that the abstract is not interesting enough.
Your paper may be of very good quality, but if the abstract is not able to be presented concisely, then there is a chance that most readers will not attempt to read the whole paper. That’s why abstracts are such an important part of your writing.
Tips to write an abstract
You can write abstracts in many ways, and it may differ from author to author as some authors may have naturally presented the central theme of their paper in a concise manner; however, it may not be the case with other writers. Therefore, it is important to have a structural approach when writing an abstract.
Steps to write an abstract
- First, read your entire paper and try to give an overview of it.
- Now read your paper section to section; simultaneously, keep on summarizing the sections in a maximum of 1 to 2 sentences.
- While writing these 1-2 sentences, you need to ensure that you have covered the key points of the section.
- Once you have written the 1-2 sentences for all the important sections of your paper, the next step is to edit it for flow or expressions.
- If needed, restructure the sentences and overall flow.
- Edit and proofread, and your abstract is ready.
Format of the abstract:
- First, write the background
- Then, write the purpose and aim
- Then, write the methods used
- Then, write the results
- Last will be the conclusion
How to make your abstract good
While following the above steps, you need to ensure that the abstract is coherent so that the ideas presented in the abstract are easily grasped by the reader. At the same time, the abstract must contain all the important points and should not contain anything which is not available in the paper.
What should the language of the abstract paper be?
It is recommended to use simple language so that a wider audience understands the paper. Do not make it full of jargon in the beginning, as many readers are likely to disassociate from your paper.
How long an abstract should be:
It should be 150 to 250 words, but there can be exceptions depending on where you publish your paper.
What is the difference between an abstract and an introduction?
An abstract and an introduction might look similar, so at times, the writer gets confused between the abstract and the introduction. Both include background, purpose, and aim. However, an introduction presents the points of view plus the scope of the work, which is not included in the abstract. Basically, the introduction part is aimed at giving a broad introduction to the paper, while an abstract is a sort of condensed summary of the paper.
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