Writing the Abstract

Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. Sir Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626)

Goals of Academic Writing

  • Orderly presentation through the logical organization of material
  • Maximum clarity and brevity to a specific readership
  • Maintain objectivity of scientific approach
  • Be specific and quantify data as far as possible
  • Be convincing; support arguments with statistics and other data

An Abstract

  • A condensed version of the manuscript which:
  • highlights the major points covered concisely
  • describes its content and scope, and reviews its material in an abbreviated form
  • “A short summary of your complete research”

Significance

  • Ø         The first section of the article
  • Ø         Sets the tone of article for reviewer/reader
  • Ø         Improves chances of acceptance
  • Ø         Encourages people to read it
  • Ø         Improves the impact
  • Ø         On-line databases contain only abstracts
  • Ø         Similar to “enactive summary” in a business context
  • Ø         includes keywords ----- hence easier to search and to be assigned to the right reviewer

Parts of an Abstract

  • Motivation ----- Significance
  • Problem Statement ----- Objectives
  • Approach ----- Methodology
  • Results
  • Conclusions

General Considerations

•Must be self-contained / complete

•Stick to recommended length / word count

•Choose 5 to 6 search phrases or key words and include them in the abstract

•Include subject area in the search phrases / key words, if you are publishing in a journal covering many disciplines

•Follow “guidelines for the authors”

•Omit background information, literature review and detailed description of methods

•Remove unnecessary words or phrases

•Get it reviewed by a friend or colleague

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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