What is an Abstract?

• A self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a

larger work
• A short, objective description of an intellectual resource, usually a
written document
• Consists of 150- to 500-word paragraph that
provides readers with a quick overview of your
essay, research or report and its organization
• A short document that is intended to capture
the interest of a potential reader of your paper
What is an Abstract?
• A brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference
proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject and is
often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose
• An abstract is not a review, nor does it
evaluate the work being abstracted.
• Abstracts allow readers who may be
interested in a longer work to quickly
decide whether it is worth their time to
read it.
 Functions and Purposes of Abstract
▪ To describe, not to evaluate or defend, the paper
▪ To succinctly communicate complex research among
academic literature
▪ Used by many organizations as the basis for selecting research that is
proposed for presentation in the form of a poster, platform/oral
presentation or workshop presentation at an academic conference
▪ Allows readers to quickly decide whether the research discussed is
relevant to their own interests
▪ Allows you to elaborate upon each major aspect of the paper and helps
readers decide whether they want to read the rest of the paper
 Types of Abstracts
A descriptive abstract briefly describes the longer work.
✓ It makes no judgments about the work, nor does it provide results
or conclusions of the research.
✓ It does incorporate key words found in the text and may include
the purpose, methods, and scope of the research. Essentially,
the descriptive abstract describes the work being abstracted.
✓ Some people consider it an outline of the work, rather than a
summary.
✓ Descriptive abstracts are usually very short - 100 words or less.
Types of Abstracts
An informative abstract includes the information that can be found in a
descriptive abstract (purpose, methods, scope) but also includes the results
and conclusions of the research and the recommendations of the author.
✓ The majority of abstracts are informative.
✓ A good informative abstract acts as a surrogate for the work itself.
That is, the writer presents and explains all the main arguments
and the important results and evidence in the complete
article/paper/book.
✓ The length varies according to discipline, but an informative
abstract is rarely more than 10% of the length of the entire work.
In the case of a longer work, it may be much less.
 Types of Abstracts
Descriptive Abstract is Informative Abstract is
generally made up of made up of four parts:
three parts: ✓ Purpose
✓ Scope ✓ Methodology
✓ Arguments Used ✓ Results
✓ Conclusions ✓ Conclusions
Which type should I use?
Your best bet in this case is to ask your instructor or refer to the instructions
provided by the publisher. You can also make a guess based on the length allowed;
i.e., 100-120 words = descriptive; 250+ words = informative.
 Writing the Abstract
✓ The format of your abstract will depend on
the work being abstracted. An abstract of a
scientific research paper will contain
elements not found in an abstract of a
literature article and vice versa.
✓ Although it is the first section of your
paper, the abstract should be written last
since it will summarize the contents of
your entire paper.
Writing the Abstract
✓ A good strategy to begin composing your
abstract is to take whole sentences or key
phrases from each section of the paper and
put them in a sequence that summarizes the
contents. Then revise or add connecting
phrases or words to make the narrative flow
clearly and smoothly. Note that statistical
findings should be reported parenthetically
[i.e.,written in parentheses].
 Writing the Abstract
✓ Use the active voice when possible,
Example:
but note that much of your
abstract may require passive
sentence constructions.
Regardless, write your abstract
using concise, but complete
sentences. Get to the point quickly (Active)

and always use the past tense (Passive)

because you are reporting on a
study that has been completed.
 Formatting
▪ The abstract page immediately follows the title page. Do not
number the page.
▪ Abstracts should be formatted as a single paragraph in a block
format and with no paragraph indentations.
▪ Rules set forth in writing manual vary but, in general, you should
center the word "Abstract" at the top of the page with double
spacing between the heading and the abstract.
▪ The final sentences of an abstract concisely summarize your
study’s conclusions, implications, or applications to practice and,
if appropriate, can be followed by a statement about the need for
additional research revealed from the findings.
The abstract should not contain any of the following:
• Lengthy background or contextual information
• Acronyms or abbreviations
• Redundant phrases, unnecessary adverbs and
adjectives, and repetitive information
• References to other literature [say something like, "current research
shows that..." or "studies have indicated..."]
• Using ellipticals [i.e., ending with "..."] or incomplete sentences
• Jargons or terms that may be confusing to the reader
• Citations to other works
• Any sort of image, illustration, figure, or table, or references to them
 Writing an Abstract for an IMRaD Paper
Many papers in the social sciences,
Abstracts usually spend:
natural sciences, and engineering
✓ 25% of their space on the purpose
sciences follow IMRaD structure with
and importance of the research
the following main sections:
(Introduction)
Introduction
✓ 25% of their space on what you
Methods
did (Methods)
Results
✓ 35% of their space on what you
Discussion/Implications
found (Results)
Typically, an abstract for an IMRaD
✓ 15% of their space on the
paper or presentation is one or two
implications of the research
paragraphs long (120-500 words).
 Writing an Abstract for an IMRaD Paper
Introduction: Focus on the reason for writing. To write the
introduction, answer the following questions:
o What is the importance of the Example:
research? This study explored the pattern of video
o Why would a reader be interested game usage and video game addiction
in the larger work? among male college students and
o What problem does this work examined how video game addiction
attempt to solve? was related to expectations of college
o What is the scope of the project? engagement, college grade point
o What is the main average (GPA), and on-campus drug
argument/thesis/claim? and alcohol violations.
 Writing an Abstract for an IMRaD Paper
Methodology: An abstract of a scientific work may include specific
models or approaches used in the larger study. Other abstracts may
describe the types of evidence used in the research.
Example:
Participants were 477 male, first year students at a liberal arts
college. In the week before the start of classes, participants
were given two surveys: one of expected college engagement,
and the second of video game usage, including a measure of
video game addiction.
 Writing an Abstract for an IMRaD Paper
Results: An abstract of a scientific work may include specific data that
indicates the results of the project. Other abstracts may discuss the
findings in a more general way.
Example:
Results suggested that video game addiction is (a) negatively
correlated with expected college engagement, (b) negatively
correlated with college GPA, even when controlling for high school
GPA, and (c) negatively correlated with drug and alcohol violations
that occurred during the first year in college.
 Writing an Abstract for an IMRaD Paper
Discussions/Implications: May be written answering the following
questions:
o What changes should be Example:
implemented as a result Results are discussed in terms of
of the findings of the implications for male students'
work? engagement and success in
o How does this work add college and in terms of the
to the body of construct validity of video game
knowledge on the topic? addiction.
Sample full abstract:
Video Game Addiction and College Performance among Males: Results from a 1 year
Longitudinal Study

This study explored the pattern of video game usage and video game addiction among male
college students and examined how video game addiction was related to expectations of college
engagement, college grade point average (GPA), and on-campus drug and alcohol violations.
Participants were 477 male, first year students at a liberal arts college. In the week before the
start of classes, participants were given two surveys: one of expected college engagement, and
the second of video game usage, including a measure of video game addiction. Results
suggested that video game addiction is (a) negatively correlated with expected college
engagement, (b) negatively correlated with college GPA, even when controlling for high school
GPA, and (c) negatively correlated with drug and alcohol violations that occurred during the first
year in college. Results are discussed in terms of implications for male students' engagement
and success in college and in terms of the construct validity of video game addiction.
 Additional sample abstract:
Social Comparisons on Social Media: The Impact of Facebook on Young
Women’s Body Image Concerns and Mood

The present study experimentally investigated the effect of Facebook usage on women’s mood and body
image, whether these effects differ from an online fashion magazine, and whether appearance
comparison tendency moderates any of these effects. Female participants (N=112) were randomly
assigned to spend 10 minutes browsing their Facebook account, a magazine website, or an appearance-
neutral control website before completing state measures of mood, body dissatisfaction, and
appearance discrepancies (weight-related, and face, hair, and skin-related). Participants also completed
a trait measure of appearance comparison tendency. Participants who spent time on Facebook reported
being in a more negative mood than those who spent time on the control website. Furthermore, women
high in appearance comparison tendency reported more facial, hair, and skin-related discrepancies after
Facebook exposure than exposure to the control website. Given its popularity, more research is needed
to better understand the impact that Facebook has on appearance concerns.
Sources:
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25584728/
• https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/guides/writing-an-abstract
• https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-
tools/abstracts/#:~:text=An%20abstract%20is%20a%20self,that%20describes
%20a%20larger%20work.&text=An%20abstract%20of%20a%20social,conclusi
on%20of%20the%20larger%20work
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S174014451400148X