Abstract writing is very important for a research article. Its importance lies in the fact that it summarizes your fundamental research, and the reader can understand the area of focus in your research article. Abstract also decides whether the reader would like to go ahead and read your whole paper or stop there.
What a reader gets through the abstract of a manuscript:
- The reader gets a gist of what he can expect in the paper
- It also prepares the readers to follow the detailed analysis given in the paper
- The readers know the key points of the paper through the abstract.
What is the length of an Abstract: An abstract, in most cases, has 200 to 250 words. This word length is sufficient for the reader to understand the whole idea of the manuscripts. Therefore a good research paper, it is important to tell the readers the focus area of your research and what aspects of the research area you have handled. The reader should get to the crux of the matter without going to the main text.
How to start writing an abstract:
Background and the context:
The author needs to have a fair idea of the context and the background of the research. The writers should avoid referring to the main points of the manuscript in the starting lines. They should build a context and a background to the main focus area of their research. The writer should mention the main objectives he has for the research paper. Details are not required to be given here.
The central point:
After Writing the background, the next thing that the researcher should do is write the central points of his paper. This should be in summary form, and the goals of the research paper should be mentioned. The researcher can use phrases like “the key objectives of the paper” and other similar phrases to write the central point of the paper.
The Abstract should mention the methodology:
The researcher should also mention the methodology adopted for the research, and it tells the readers about the credibility of the findings of the research paper. The data should be revealed, like the number of samples collected and the methods used to work on the sample data.
Findings of the research:
The paper’s abstract should also mention the findings, and the findings should come in the last few lines of the abstract. The researcher should also tell how his research findings have added value to the existing research in the area of his research.
Significance and the implication of the research paper:
The significance and the implication of the research paper should also be mentioned in the paper to highlight the importance of your paper.
The abstract is important for Google Search and other search engines.
It’s also worth noting that the search engines use the information in the abstract to index the published paper. Therefore, the title and the abstract are important elements for indexing, and that is how other researchers and readers can find your articles.