WHAT IS ABSTRACT?
•
a brief, accurate, and comprehensive summary of the contents of the article without added interpretation or
criticism.
• a shortened version of the first draft of
a paper
FUNCTIONS OF ABSTRACT
• It helps readers to know the brief content of the article, thus saving
them time to read through the whole paper
• It is used for information services to
index and retrieve articles
PARTS OF ABSTRACT
1. Title
2. Authors
3. Main Text
4. Keywords
TITLE
It should explain as much as possible about the context and the aims of the study.
Ideally, the title should be about 10–12 words long,
and should include the scope of the investigation,
the study design and the goal.
AUTHOR
Can be one or more than one
The author who will present the abstract
should be listed first
MAIN TEXT
1. BACKGROUND - "Why did you start?"
2. OBJECTIVES - "What did you try to do?"
3. METHODS - "What did you do?"
4. RESULTS - "What did you find?"
5. CONCLUSIONS - "What does it mean?"
One abstract is different from others in the main text.
- Background and objectives can be in one paragraph or they can be separated
- Methods and result can be in one paragraph or they can be separated
- An abstract can also have only objectives but no background.
- Main text can be formed in some paragraphs or can be only one paragraph (for all parts)
depending on the types of abstract.
GOOD ABSTRACT
• Not more than one page of paper
• Good abstract consists of at least 150-250 words
• No need to have longer abstract
• Make thesis/hypothesis/objectives stand out
• Avoid repeating information from the title
• If possible, avoid references
• Introduce specific terminology (e.g. definitions, scientific and chemical names)
Methods
• Mention novel techniques
• Be specific Results
• If many results, only present the most important
• Be specific Conclusions
• Just the major implications
• Relate back to your purpose and research question
Writing Style
• Clear and concise
• Remove or shorten any unnecessary words or phrases
Miscellaneous
• Avoid abbreviations, acronyms and jargon
• If necessary, define unfamiliar terms, introduce acronyms
• E.g. ...rapid eye movement (REM).
