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What is an abstract and how to write one.
Learn how to write research abstracts and format them correctly.
What is an abstract?
What is the abstract of a paper, and what can you find in it? Just as the trailer for a film gives the viewer an idea of what they can expect to see, an abstract at the beginning of a paper serves as a “preview” of what lies within a bigger document. The bigger document, in this case, is most often a complicated text, such as a scientific or academic research paper.
Because research papers are often lengthy, the purpose of an abstract is to help you, as a reader, determine if a particular document contains the information you need. By preventing you from having to skim through hundreds of pages when looking for specific information, it saves you valuable time.
It’s also not uncommon for academic and research journals to charge a fee for accessing a document. The abstract is also useful here as it helps you determine if the document will be relevant to your needs before you make a purchase.
The abstract should be a summary of your research paper and make sense on its own. An abstract will not do any of the following:
- Provide specific details from the research paper (the information should be more general).
- Reveal the research findings (it should focus on what the paper will explore or ask).
- Serve as a proposal for what you intend to study (it should summarize your paper).
- Evaluate or defend the paper (the abstract should describe your research paper).
Your abstract should be concise and provide the reader with enough information to understand what your research is about. Too much detail defeats the purpose of an abstract that readers should be able to quickly glance at for an understanding of your paper.
Types of abstracts in a paper.
You can write your abstract in a couple of ways, depending on the content of your research paper. We’ll explore the two types of abstracts you can use to keep your reader informed and interested in your work.
If you search what is an abstract, you'll find that most of the time, these summaries include the context or background information for the research. The two most common types of abstracts are descriptive and informative.
- Descriptive abstract. This type describes the work without any judgment, results, or conclusions. It typically provides the purpose, method, and scope of the research.
- Informative abstract. This type is more detailed. It also describes the purpose, method, and scope of research but takes it even further by explaining the results, drawing conclusions, and making final recommendations. Most abstracts are, by their very nature, informative.
How to write an abstract in 4 steps (with examples).
Abstracts can be broken up into several parts, which is surprising considering that they’re relatively short compared to the rest of what you’re writing. Make sure to hit all the important points so people will be more likely to read your full paper. Your word limit depends on where your abstract will be published, but as a general rule, it should usually run 250 to 500 words. Check with your publication, professor, or advisor for length guidelines, and bear in mind that you may only have a few short sentences to explain each of the sections below.
1. Describe the background, question, and goals.
These three pieces of information form the backbone of your research project. In four to five sentences, give the background for your research, state the question you’re trying to answer with that research, and then define the goal of your study.
Here’s an example:
Everyone has had the experience of getting caught in the rain. But why does it rain? By analyzing barometer data, I will be able to determine the likelihood that it will rain on any given day.
This simple example makes it easy to see the critical details: There’s background (rain), a question (why?), and a goal (figuring out the likelihood of rain).
2. Define your methodology.
Methods come next — this is where you detail in brief the research methods. In the example above, the person writing the paper is going to use a barometer to try to predict the likelihood of rain. Go into additional detail about exactly how you intend to use your methodology to collect data.
3. Summarize your findings.
Write out your main findings in your abstract in one to two sentences. This part is simple: Summarize what you found with your research project. In the rain example, you simply say whether there was any correlation between the occurrence of rain and the barometric pressure.
4. Explain the significance.
This section is where you tell your audience why your research matters. This is the moneymaker, where you illustrate why your findings are important and why people should read your full paper.
An example of significance might be:
We can measure the likelihood of rainfall based on barometric pressure.
Now you have all the tools you need to write an abstract for your research paper. Read on to learn how to make your hard work look as professional as possible.
Quick tips on how to write an abstract.
While an abstract is placed at the beginning of your paper to summarize everything that follows, you should only write it after your paper is complete. Here are a few tips to maximize the impact of your abstract.
- To start an abstract, first read through your completed paper.
- Identify the key elements a reader needs to understand before committing to reading the full paper.
- Think of a compelling hook to grab the reader at the beginning of your abstract.
- Make sure to check and follow the college’s formatting instructions.
- Stay focused on the story you want to tell.
- Reflect on your experience and what it means to you.
Maximize the professionalism of your research paper.
Clean and professional-looking documents lend credibility to your abstract and work when writing a research paper and help you put your best foot forward.
Preserve formatting.
In addition to a well-written abstract, a well-formatted research paper encourages people to read it. Make sure to submit a document that prints cleanly and works on any platform so your research isn’t warped or distorted by poor formatting. Remove any gaps, get rid of extra spaces, and extract PDF pages that are unnecessary to keep your document length reasonable.
Add charts and imagery.
Sometimes you need to include charts, imagery, and other visual elements in a research paper, and you want that information to look good. With tools like Acrobat Pro, you can add whatever elements you need and be sure they’ll show up for the reader exactly how you want. Plus, you can add a page to a PDF quickly, so it’s no trouble to add anything new right where you want it.
Compress and share.
Finally, use the Compress PDF tool to shrink the file size of image-heavy papers so you can more easily download and share them. Your professors or collaborators can also add PDF annotations and comments, without accidentally affecting the layout of your document.
Abstract FAQs.
What’s the purpose of an abstract?
What is something to avoid in an abstract?
What’s a literature review and how does it differ from an abstract?
Where can I find the abstract of a paper?
You can usually find abstracts at the beginning of the work. Most abstracts are 100–250 words and broken down into a paragraph or two. With advanced scientific research, don’t be surprised if you find an abstract that stretches out more than 250 words.
Keep in mind that not all papers will have abstracts. Here are common instances where you can expect to find one:
- Online journals, particularly scientific or academic
- A master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation
- A conference paper
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