How To Write A Research Paper Abstract

Like many novices, I treated the abstract as an afterthought.

Tags: Word Assignments For StudentsThesis Vs ThemeAssign A Macro To A ButtonTransgender EssayNo Essay Scholarships To Apply ForEnglish Composition Essay SatThe Works Cited Page In An Mla-Style Research PaperScholarships That You Have To Write An Essay For

An abstract is a concise summary of an experiment or research project. The purpose of the abstract is to summarize the research paper by stating the purpose of the research, the experimental method, the findings, and the conclusions.

The format you'll use for the abstract depends on its purpose.

A final point is that some journals are now encouraging or requiring “enhanced abstracts” such as graphical abstracts or video abstracts.

Although such abstracts include additional visual components, the same basic guidelines I’ve covered in this post still apply. If you’ve not yet published a paper, this exercise will help you hone the skills necessary to write a concise and informative abstract. Mc Kee is a Scientist Emeritus (retired) with the U. Geological Survey and an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences at Louisiana State University. Geological Survey, she studied the effects of climate change, sea-level rise, and hurricanes on wetlands in the Mississippi River Delta (Louisiana, USA) as well as in other wetlands around the world.

If you follow this formula, your abstract will be well organized and will contain all the essential elements.

There are four main parts in which you need to answer the following questions: 1.

Some authors include citations or URLs in their abstracts, but many journals discourage or prohibit such additions.

Be sure to stay within the word limit, which most journals and conferences set for abstracts. Some journals or conferences provide a template that specifies four or five sections, e.g., Background or Aim, Question, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. If not, then the four-part structure provided below will serve as a basic guideline.

Only much later did I understand that the abstract is one of the most important components of a scientific paper. Well, because it is often the only section of a paper that is read and usually determines whether a reader downloads and reads the rest of the paper.

Or, in the case of a conference paper, the abstract will determine whether it is accepted or not for presentation to colleagues.