If you need to write an abstract for an academic or scientific essay, don't panic. It is simply a summary of the work or article that readers can use to get a general overview of the content. It will help them understand what you're talking about, then get an idea of the work to decide if it fits their needs without reading it all. In short, an abstract is simply a summary of the essay you have already written, so making it shouldn't give you much trouble!
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Start Writing the Abstract
Step 1. First, write the essay
Of course, the abstract should be located at the beginning of the work, but it aims to summarize the entire article. Instead of presenting the topic, it should provide a general overview of everything you have talked about in the text
- The thesis and the abstract are two completely different elements. The thesis of an essay introduces the main idea or question, while the abstract has the task of summarizing the whole essay, methods and results included.
- Even if you think you know the subject of the essay, always postpone the drafting of the abstract to the last one. You will be able to offer a much more accurate summary by doing this: you will have to summarize what you have already written.
Step 2. Try to review and understand all the requisites necessary for drafting the abstract
The essay you are writing has probably been assigned to you, you did not decide to write it of your own free will, so it boils down to a specific task for school or work. As a result, they certainly gave you very specific guidelines for both the essay in general and the abstract. Before you start writing, refer to this list of requirements that has been provided to you to identify the most important issues to keep in mind.
- Do you have to respect a minimum or maximum length?
- Are there any style requirements?
- Was the job assigned to you by a teacher or magazine?
Step 3. Consider the reader the essay is for
Abstracts are written to help readers find your work. In scientific publications, for example, abstracts allow readers to decide at a glance whether the research discussed is relevant to their interests. Abstracts also help readers get to the main argument quickly. Always consider the needs of the reader when writing an abstract.
- Will it be read by other academics in your field?
- Will it be accessible to any reader and people from another industry?
Step 4. Determine the type of abstract you need to write
While all of these summaries essentially have the same goal, there are two main styles: descriptive and informative. They can assign you a specific one, but if they haven't given you directions, you need to determine which one is right for you. In general, informative abstracts are used for much longer and more technical research, while descriptive abstracts are better for shorter essays.
- Descriptive abstracts explain the purpose, goal and methods of the research, but exclude the results section. Generally, they consist of only 100-200 words.
- The informative abstracts are a sort of condensed version of the essay and offer a general overview of the research content, including the results. They are much more extensive than the descriptive ones; the length can be variable, going from a single paragraph to an entire page.
- The basic information included in both types of abstracts are the same, with one substantial difference: the results are included only in the informative one, much longer than the descriptive one.
- Critical abstracts are not used often, but may be required in some courses. Such an abstract has the same function as the others, but will also make links between the study or work discussed and the writer's personal research. He could propose a critique of research methods or its design.
Part 2 of 3: Writing the Abstract
Step 1. Identify the purpose
You have been asked to address the link between lack of school meals and low student achievement. So what? Why is it important to talk about it? The reader wants to know the purpose of the research and why it is important. Begin the descriptive essay by answering one (or all) of the following questions:
- Why did you decide to do this research?
- How did you conduct it?
- What did you find out?
- Why is this research important?
- Why would anyone read the entire essay?
Step 2. Explain the problem you will be dealing with
At this point, the reader knows why you wrote the essay and why you think the topic is important, but now they need to know the main theme you will be addressing in the text. Sometimes you can combine the problem with the motivation, but it's best to be clear and separate them.
- What problem do you want to try to better understand or solve with research?
- What is the purpose of your study: a general problem or something specific?
- What is your main claim or argument?
Step 3. Explain the analysis methods
At this point, your motivation and problem is known. And the methods? In this part, you need to offer a general overview of how you completed the study. If you did it yourself, please include a description of the observations. If, on the other hand, you have studied other people's works, you can explain them in a few words.
- Discuss your research including the variables considered and the approach.
- Describe the evidence you have to support the argument.
- Offer a general overview of your main sources.
Step 4. Describe the results (only if it is an informative abstract)
This is where we begin to distinguish between descriptive and informative abstract. In the latter, you will be asked to provide the results of the study. What conclusions did you come to?
- What answers have you obtained thanks to your research or your study?
- Did your hypothesis or argument find the support of the facts?
- What did you find out in general?
Step 5. Write the conclusion
In this part you should end the summary and give a sense of closure to the abstract. Describe the meaning of what you discovered and the general importance of your essay. You can use such a conclusion in descriptive and informative abstracts, but you will need to answer the following questions only in informative ones.
- What are the implications of your work?
- Are the results general or very specific?
Part 3 of 3: Structuring the Abstract
Step 1. Make the text tidy
There are specific questions that the abstract needs to answer, so both the questions and the answers need to be sorted. In theory, the structure should mimic the general one of the essay, with a general introduction, a central paragraph, and a conclusion.
Many journals have specific guidelines for abstracts. If you have been given any rules or guidelines, follow them to the letter
Step 2. Offer useful information
Contrary to an essay paragraph, which can be intentionally vague, an abstract should provide a practical explanation of the article and research. Write it down so the reader knows exactly what you are talking about, without leaving any open aspects, such as references or ambiguous expressions.
- Avoid using acronyms or abbreviations in the abstract, as they must then be explained to the reader. Entering incomprehensible words unnecessarily takes up space to devote to something else, so don't do it.
- If the topic is rather well known, you can refer to the names of people or places that the essay focuses on.
- Do not include tables, images, sources or long citations in the abstract. They take up too much space and are usually not of interest to readers.
Step 3. Write from scratch
True, the abstract is a summary, but it should be written completely detached from the essay. Do not copy and paste parts of text and also avoid rephrasing sentences taken from other writings. The abstract should be elaborated using a completely new vocabulary and different expressions so that it is interesting and free from repetition.
Step 4. Use key words and expressions
If the abstract is going to be published in a journal, readers should be able to find it easily. To do this, they will search online databases in the hope that essays like yours will appear. In the summary, try to use 5-10 keywords or phrases that are important to your search.
For example, if you have written an essay on the different cultural manifestations of schizophrenia, be sure to use words like "schizophrenia", "intercultural", "cultural context", "mental illness" and "social acceptance". These are the terms people would use to do research in order to find an essay like yours on the subject
Step 5. Use real information
Since you want to attract readers, this is the element that will encourage them to continue reading the essay. However, do not refer to any ideas or studies that you did not include in the article. Mentioning materials that you haven't included in the work is misleading and, in essence, would only make your writing less popular.
Step 6. Avoid being too specific
An abstract is a summary and, as such, should not refer to specific research points other than names or places. You don't need to explain or define terms in the summary, just refer to what you're talking about. Don't go too far and stick to a very general overview of your work.
Make sure you avoid technical terms. Specialized lexicon may not be understood by readers and can cause confusion
Step 7. Make sure you do a basic review of the text
The abstract is a text that, like all others, should be revised before being completed. Check for grammar and spelling errors and make sure it is formatted correctly.
Step 8. Ask for someone's opinion
Having someone read your abstract is a great way to know if you've summarized your research well. Try to find someone who doesn't know your project perfectly. Ask him to read the abstract and then tell you what he understood. This way you will understand if you have adequately and clearly expressed the key points.
- Consulting with a professor, colleague in your field, tutor, or professional writer can be very helpful. If you have these resources at your disposal, use them!
- Asking for assistance can also allow you to learn about conventions in your field. It is very common, for example, to use the passive form ("experiments have been carried out") in science. In humanitarian matters, on the other hand, the active form is preferred.
Advice
- Abstracts usually consist of a couple of paragraphs and should not exceed 10% the length of the entire essay. Check out other summaries within similar publications to get an idea of how to make yours.
- Consider carefully how many technicalities the essay and abstract should contain. It is often reasonable to assume that readers can understand your field and the specific language it implies, but everything you can do to make it easier to read the abstract is good.
