Writing Tips: Getting Started with Abstracts
Think before you write.
Consider what kind of abstract you need.
- An informative abstract is an abbreviated version of the entire paper.
- A descriptive abstract outlines the topics covered, like a table of contents in paragraph form. Unlike informative abstracts, descriptive abstracts cannot capture the entire study, because they do not detail any specifics. Descriptive abstracts are, therefore, increasingly uncommon in academic literature. A descriptive abstract may be appropriate for very long review articles or monographs, but otherwise, write an informative abstract.
Consider the purpose of your abstract.
- Abstracts have at least three important purposes:
- To make your work visible to searchable online databases.
- To enable readers identify the substance of your work and decide its relevance to their own interests.
- To interest readers in your work so they will obtain, read, and cite the full article.
Many readers will find your abstract in a searchable database, separate from the rest of the paper. Abstracts are also printed in reference books without the whole article. Either way, the abstract may be the only part of your work that readers can obtain without ordering a full copy. Writing an excellent abstract is therefore vital to encourage readers to obtain the full paper. Be sure to include enough key information (summary results, observations, trends) to make the abstract useful.
Read before you write.
Abstracts in all fields have common elements. Read enough abstracts in your field to know their specific details. One way to improve your writing is to read others’ abstracts in journals and abstract databases in your field. Compare them with the tips in this module. Notice what works and what doesn’t, and try to figure out why you prefer certain abstracts to others.
Use an outline.
The more familiar you are with an article, the easier it is to abstract. Of course, it’s easiest when you write the article, but professional abstract writers often write abstracts of articles they didn’t write, and you can, too, using an outline.
The first step is to make an outline that follows the organization of an article or paper.
- Identify the major point or points of the article.
- Then cut and paste these points from the article into the outline.
- Next, determine what information readers need to understand those points. For example, you might have to include details about Methods if they are new or unusual.
- Continue through the study, cutting and pasting into the outline. Include everything that you think the reader will need to make sense of the abstract and article.
Turn your outline into a paragraph.
- Start by writing a summary that includes whatever you think is important, then gradually trim it by removing unnecessary words.
- Work back and forth between writing, restating, and re-reading the paper to be sure the main idea is stated accurately and clearly.
- Make it as short as you can while still retaining the important information.
Identify your abstract.
Because abstracts are often available separately from the complete article, readers need a way to find the article. Identify the abstract clearly so that readers can locate the report using the information provided in the abstract.
Abstracts need different kinds of identifying information, depending on where associated documents are printed and stored:
- Bibliographic citations: If your writing will be printed and distributed as a book, part of a book, or an article in a journal or magazine, provide a full bibliographic citation. Include all publication information, so that readers can obtain print copies of the article even if they find the abstract in an unrelated database.
- Organizational identifiers: If your abstract is part of a corporate or government document that will not be available outside the organization, include only your name, the title of the document, its completion date, a project name (if any), and an authorization or organizational number (if any).
- Internet citations: If you publish your own work on the internet, or your writing is online as part of a full-text electronic database, cite the internet address for the full text article. Include both print publication information and the URL or digital object identifier (DOI).
Revise your abstract.
Writing an abstract is difficult. Most writers don’t do a perfect job on the first draft, so revision is very important. But abstracts are also tricky to revise, particularly if you need a low word count.
- Give yourself time to revise: Be ready to revise more than once. If possible, put your abstract aside for a day before revising.
- Be concise: When you pick up the draft again, try to read it as if you were reading it for the first time.
- Cutting and pasting parts of your paper into your outline will inevitably include words and phrases that clarify meaning in the paper but simply add extra words to the abstract. Read your drafts carefully and cut these unnecessary words.
- Stay organized: Organization involves more than just using IMRAD format.
- After you remove the extra words, be sure that each sentence leads smoothly into the next. You may need to add or change transitional words and phrases or repeat key words. Try combining sentences to make sure that the connections between ideas are logically clear.
- Be accurate: An abstract that doesn’t reflect the content of the article accurately serves neither your readers nor yourself. Ensure that you haven’t transferred numbers inaccurately and that your summary of the Results reflects the findings faithfully, without distortion.
- Assure coherence: Don’t try to shorten a long abstract by simply cutting connecting words, articles, and so on. A highly condensed style can make an abstract so dense that it’s incoherent. Don’t cut articles (a, an, the) or connecting words that show relationships among ideas. Even the shortest abstracts must be readable and coherent.
- Get a second set of eyes on your abstract. Let colleagues read it. If they don’t understand the study from reading the abstract, rewrite it.