Grade 11 Practical Research 2 FINALS

Lesson 2 The Abstract

The written abstract is used in making selections for presentations at scientific meetings. Writing a good abstract
is a formidable undertaking and many novice researchers wonder how it is possible to condense months of work into 300
to 400 words. Nevertheless, creating a well-written abstract is a skill that can be learned and mastering the skill will
increase the probability that your research will be selected for presentation.
The first rule of writing abstracts is to know the rules. Organizers of scientific meetings set explicit limits on the
length abstracts.
Authors must pay close attention to the published details of the meeting including deadlines and suggested format. Since
reviewers have many abstracts to read and rank; those that don't conform to the stated rules are simply discarded.
An abstract usually acts as a summary of work already completed and is used by prospective readers to decide
whether or not to read the entire text.  Abstracts are usually found immediately preceding a research document (such as a
thesis or dissertation), and/or in professional journals and abstract indexes (both online and in hard copy).   An abstract
should represent as much as is possible the quantitative and qualitative information in the document, and also reflect its
reasoning. Social science disciplines that use APA (American Psychological Association) style require abstracts to precede
the larger paper (see the most recent edition of the APA style guide, Section 1.07, for more information), whereas
humanities disciplines often do not require abstracts.  Conference abstracts are used to propose paper topics/panel
sessions at professional conferences in your disciplines and require slightly different rhetorical methods.
Typically, an informative abstract answers these questions in 100-250 words:
o Why did you do this study or project?
o What did you do and how?
o What did you find?
o What do your findings mean?
If your paper is about a new method or apparatus, the last two questions might be changed to:
o What are the advantages (of the method or apparatus)?
o How well does it work?
Some points to keep in mind while writing abstracts:
o While drafting your abstract:  look over your subject to see what disciplinary assumptions are challenged;
question the significance of your ideas; emphasize the important results and address limitations in a realistic
manner.
o An abstract will nearly always be read along with the title, so do not repeat or rephrase your title.  It will likely be
read without the rest of the document, however, so make it complete enough to stand on its own.
o Your readers expect you to summarize your conclusions in an abstract, as well as your purposes, methods and
main findings.  Emphasize the different points of your study in proportion to the emphasis they receive in the
body of the document.
o DO NOT refer in the abstract to information that is not in the document.  This is very important and is a little like
"truth in advertising." You do not want to give your reader the impression that your study covers information it
does not actually contain.
o Avoid using the first person "I" or "we."  In addition, whenever possible, choose active verbs instead of passive
ones (ex:  use "the study tested" instead of "it was tested by the study" or "I tested in the study").
o Avoid, if possible, using trade names, acronyms, abbreviations or symbols in your abstract.  You would have to
explain these names which would take up valuable room/words.
o Use non-evaluative language in your abstract; report instead of comment upon your findings.
o Use key words from the document to help indexers more accurately index your document for future research.
o Ease your readers/audience into your topic.  Or, in other words, be sensitive to the needs and knowledge of your
audience.  What might seem perfectly obvious to you after working on a longer writing or research project will
often be brand-new to your audience.
o Don't procrastinate!  It is best to write the abstract immediately after you finish your project while the ideas are
still fresh in your mind.  
o Helpful hint:  Some writing instructors and experienced writers suggest writing an abstract for all of your writing
projects since it makes you focus on what is important in your paper/project.  It also provides a powerful way of
reevaluating your logic and in defining your purpose. An abstract can be extremely helpful in your writing
process if you are stuck or blocked.
Remember, a well written abstract often can ensure wide publication since many computerized databases and printed
indexes reprint abstracts so scholars can keep up with each other's work, and  associations and corporations often publish
abstracts in given fields and mail them to appropriate researchers and scholars, etc.  Thus, if you want to ensure that your
work has an impact on your field, you should work as hard as possible in presenting a precise and engaging abstract.  
A conference abstract is an abstract that you submit for consideration to present a paper at a professional conference.  It is
usually much longer than a summary abstract and functions independently from the paper it is based on (since the
conference review committee will see it and not your actual paper).  Thus, your primary audience for the conference
abstract is the conference review committee. The conference participants -- to whom you will actually deliver your paper
-- are your secondary audience.  In addition to impressing the conference reviewing committee, your purpose in writing a
conference abstract is to create a "research space" from which to write/present and to appeal to as large an audience as
possible.

Some other tips to get you started

o Look closely at departmental specifications (about timing, scope, length, readers, etc.). Remember, standards for
abstracts vary widely from discipline to discipline, journal to journal, conference to conference, and rhetorical
situation to rhetorical situation.  
o Ask other students (undergraduate as well as graduate) in your department about their experiences with this
type of writing; look at past abstracts for examples.
o Show why your research idea is interesting within your research field by discussion of what other
scholars/writers have done and not done with your topic in your field.
o Show that you can carry out your project by sketching your methodology.
o Limit your promises/scope:  exclude topics and methods that you will not address and outline those that you will
use.
o Gain your reader's interest early by using active language and enthusiasm in your topic! 
o Don't confuse verb tenses:  use present tense to describe results with continuing applicability or conclusions
drawn; use the past tense to describe specific variables manipulated or tests applied; and future tense to project
research and predict findings.  Avoid "boilerplate sentences" which take up room and provide no real information
(ex:  "Policy implications are discussed" or "It is concluded that," etc.).
o ALWAYS USE FULL SENTENCES and avoid negatives like "cannot," "never," etc.  Avoid abbreviations, jargon,
symbols and other language shortcuts that might lead to confusion.
o Above all, don't procrastinate!!!  Delay just isolates you and drains your energies.