Writing a Great Abstract
Abstracts make and break manuscripts.
Written well, they engage audiences and reviewers, inspiring them to read on. But bad abstracts send manuscripts to the rejection pile – no matter how strong the methodology or how salient the findings.
An abstract is an article’s roadmap, and should convey all key aspects of a study. It’s well organized, succinct, and packed with information — yet easy to read.
Your abstract should clearly communicate the following:
Why the research topic matters
What the study investigated
How data were collected and analyzed
The major findings
The research implications
Those areas precisely correspond with the major components of the abstract and the manuscript: the introduction, methods, results, and conclusions.
Ready to boil down months of research into one paragraph? Here are five steps you can take now to improve your abstract.
1) Check your target journal’s requirements for abstracts – and follow them. If the word limit is 250, it’s 250. If the abstract should have bolded headers (objectives/methods/results/conclusions), include them.
2) Peruse 2-3 relevant recent abstracts from your target journal. Make sure they match the type of article you’re seeking to publish (original research, review article, etc). Notice the language used, the writing style, keywords. Aim for your abstract to echo the tone and organization of these abstracts while still representing totally original work.
3) Rough out the entire abstract – on computer or by hand, whatever suits your style. Whether or not the journal wants bolded headers, use them at this stage to organize your thoughts. Don’t worry about the word count yet, or the exact language you’ll use in the final draft. Just get everything down on paper (or screen).
4) Edit the draft for content (don’t worry yet about style or language). Does this abstract include all highlights of the study’s objectives, methods, results, and conclusions? Does it say everything it should?
5) Now cut words. Whenever possible, opt for the active versus passive voice and verbs instead of nouns (“The study investigated,” not “the study was an investigation of”). Use acronyms sparingly and when it makes sense to do so (always define on first use). Consider using “we” if the journal permits – you’ll save more words.
You’re hardly alone if you find writing abstracts a struggle. Writing a solid draft of an abstract represents a major chunk of a manuscript project. But keep in mind that you our abstract is a recipe for the full paper and can serve as your compass as you sift through piles of data and references.
