Writing an Abstract

1. Writing an Abstract

2. What is an abstract? • An abstract is a short summary of the most important points that you make in your paper. • It is a highly condensed and concise version of the paper itself. • If done well, it makes the reader want to learn more about your paper. • An abstract is NOT your introduction.

3. Requirements • According to APA style, an abstract must: • Be between 150-250 words • Be written in one paragraph • Be on its own page, the second page of your essay

4. Writing a rough draft of an abstract • Re-examine the work you have done, • Highlight your arguments, reasons, and conclusions • After re-examining your work, write a rough draft of your abstract without looking back at your paper • This will help you make sure you are condensing ideas into abstract form rather than simply cutting and pasting sentences that contain too much or too little information • In your rough draft, don’t worry about making your abstract “flow;” instead, first just get your main ideas down

5. Revising an abstract • Be straightforward • Don’t include an introduction or conclusion or explain a lot of background information; instead, focus on your main arguments • Be concise • Don’t use three words where you can communicate the same idea in one; don’t repeat information or go into too much detail; don’t just cut and paste sentences from your research paper into your abstract • Use short, direct sentences • Vary your sentence structure to avoid choppiness; then, read your abstract out loud to check for “fluidity” • Avoid jargon • Jargon is the specialized, technical vocabulary that is used for communicating within a specific field and is not effective for communicating ideas to a broader, less specialized audience

6. How can you tell if what you wrote is an abstract? • Ask yourself the following questions: • Does my abstract summarize all the most important points in my paper? • If someone reads my abstract will they get all the main points that I want to make in the paper? • Does my abstract stand alone?

7. References • http://employees.oneonta.edu/ebertjr/what_is_an_abstract.htm • http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/presentations_abstracts.html • Examples: • http://www.ser.org/sernw/pdf/2007_conf_example_abstracts.pdf • http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/presentations_abstracts_examples.html