How to Write an Abstract for a Scientific Paper

How to Write an Abstract for a Scientific Paper If youre preparing a research paper or grant proposal, youll need to know how to write an abstract. Heres a look at what an abstract is and how to write one. Abstract An abstract is a concise summary of an experiment or research project. It should be brief typically under 200 words. The purpose of the abstract is to summarize the research paper by stating the purpose of the research, the experimental method, the findings, and the conclusions. How to Write an Abstract The format youll use for the abstract depends on its purpose. If youre writing for a specific publication or a class assignment, youll probably need to follow specific guidelines. If there isnt a required format, youll need to choose from one of two possible types of abstracts. Informational Abstracts An informational abstract is a type of abstract used to communicate an experiment or lab report. An informational abstract is like a mini-paper. Its length ranges from a paragraph to 1 to 2 pages, depending on the scope of the report. Aim for less than 10% the length of the full report.Summarize all aspects of the report, including purpose, method, results, conclusions, and recommendations. There are no graphs, charts, tables, or images in an abstract. Similarly, an abstract does not include a bibliography or references.Highlight important discoveries or anomalies. Its okay if the experiment did not go as planned and necessary to state the outcome in the abstract. Here is a good format to follow, in order, when writing an informational abstract. Each section is a sentence or two long: Motivation or Purpose: State why the subject is important or why anyone should care about the experiment and its results.Problem: State the hypothesis of the experiment or describe the problem you are trying to solve.Method: How did you test the hypothesis or try to solve the problem?Results: What was the outcome of the study? Did you support or reject a hypothesis? Did you solve a problem? How close were the results to what you expected? State-specific numbers.Conclusions: What is the significance of your findings? Do the results lead to an increase in knowledge, a solution that may be applied to other problems, etc.? Need examples? The abstracts at PubMed.gov (National Institutes of Health database) are informational abstracts. A random example is this abstract on the effect of coffee consumption on Acute Coronary Syndrome. Descriptive Abstracts A descriptive abstract is an extremely brief description of the contents of a report. Its purpose is to tell the reader what to expect from the full paper. A descriptive abstract is very short, typically less than 100 words.Tells the reader what the report contains, but doesnt go into detail.It briefly summarizes the purpose and experimental method, but not the results or conclusions. Basically, say why and how the study was made, but dont go into findings.   Tips for Writing a Good Abstract Write the paper before writing the abstract. You might be tempted to start with the abstract since it comes between the title page and the paper, but its much easier to summarize a paper or report after it has been completed.Write in the third person. Replace phrases like I found or we examined with phrases like it was determined or this paper provides or the investigators found.Write the abstract and then pare it down to meet the word limit. In some cases, a long abstract will result in automatic rejection for publication or a grade!Think of keywords and phrases a person looking for your work might use or enter into a search engine. Include those words in your abstract. Even if the paper wont be published, this is a good habit to develop.All information in the abstract must be covered in the body of the paper. Dont put a fact in the abstract that isnt described in the report.Proof-read the abstract for typos, spelling mistakes, and punctuation errors.