In an academic paper, the abstract is one of the important sections that briefly summarize what the entire paper or essay is all about. Like other sections, the abstract should also be crafted carefully. Do you know how to write an abstract? In case, you have no idea, have a look at this blog post. From here, you will get to know the definition of an abstract and the tips for writing an abstract.
Let’s get started.
What is an Abstract?
An abstract is a summary of an essay that is either a literary analysis or a scientific experiment. It mainly explains the different components included in the essay. The primary objective of an abstract is to help the readers understand the real purpose of the essay. Moreover, it also gives a hint to the readers whether the essay is worth reading or not.
In general, abstract writing is simple. Mostly, writers work on the abstract section only after completing the entire essay. If you want to write a brilliant abstract, then consider the following points.
- Firstly, to keep the reader informed, make sure to mention the essay’s goals.
- Secondly, mention the issues that you are about to discuss in your essay.
- Thirdly, identify the essay’s conclusion as well as its outcome.
- Finally, ensure that the essay is formatted correctly.
3 Types of Abstract
The following are the three important types of abstracts.
- Descriptive
- Critical
- Informative
Tips To Write an Excellent Abstract
If you have doubts about how to write an abstract, perhaps go through the following points and find fruitful ideas.
1. Pen down the corresponding essay first
Since an abstract is the summary of an essay or a research paper, you ought to write it at the end. Also, an abstract needs to include the summary of each paragraph of your essay, perhaps, consider writing your essay first.
2. Analyze the requirements and sketch an essay outline
Certainly, consider analyzing your requirements first, understand them, and then write your essay outline or research paper. Perhaps, only then may write your abstract, so that you cover every significant point in it.
3. Know the target audience and draft an abstract accordingly
Since an abstract is written to help the readers search for specific works, hence, the audience’s interest needs consideration.
- Perhaps, an abstract helps the readers to understand if their essay or research paper meets their interests or not.
- Certainly, this makes it vital for the writers to keep their audience in mind while drafting an abstract.
4. Identify the type of abstract
Before you write an abstract, you need to identify the type of abstract you ought to write. Besides, abstract writing has a common objective, wherein it describes an essay, research paper, or even a scientific journal.
- Perhaps, an informative abstract is a compact form of research papers, essays as well and scientific journals. Also, it offers an overview of the elements that are included in your research work, alongside the results. Rather, an informative abstract is bigger than a descriptive abstract, as it presents the summary of the entire paper.
- On the other hand, a descriptive abstract elucidates the purpose, goals, and research methods used in a paper. However, a descriptive abstract doesn’t include a result section and ranges between 100 to 200 words.
- Alternatively, a critical abstract is not that widely used, however, it has the same goals as its counterparts. Moreover, it presents the study that the researchers might have used in their work. Also, it might critically analyze the research methods or even techniques used in the paper.
5. Find out the motive for creating a research paper
If you have decided to write a research paper, perhaps you want to learn why research work is important. Also, the readers might want to understand the purpose of your research, as this might interest them to read further. Hence, a descriptive abstract might serve as an ideal choice for you, if you want to discuss your research purpose.
6. Elucidate the research problem
Generally, an abstract depicts the problem statement on which you have based your research paper.
7. Explain the research methodologies
Perhaps, while drafting your abstract or your research paper, you ought to adhere to the following:
- Firstly, be sure to discuss the research variables that you have used in the research paper.
- Secondly, consider explaining the evidence that you might have used to support the arguments made in the paper.
- Finally, make sure that you have written an overview of the sources that you might have used in the paper.
8. Explain the research results
Consider writing an informative abstract as you ought to explain your research results. Besides, an informative abstract may generally include the following:
- Certainly, including the answers, you may have obtained through your research work.
- Subsequently, discuss the debate or even the hypothesis that is included in your paper.
- Alternatively, mention the general finding that you might have drawn from your research.
9. Prepare an excellent conclusion for the abstract
Since an abstract serves as the summary of your research work, it needs an appropriate end to sound clear. Also, writing a conclusion is common in both informative as well as descriptive abstracts, so might not eliminate it. Yet, an informative abstract still seems lengthy, because the writers ought to answer several questions.
10. Maintain the right format
Certainly, formatting plays a vital role when you write an abstract for your research paper. Hence, to emerge successfully, consider the following points given below.
- Firstly, you might want to ensure that your abstract is limited to specific queries only.
- Secondly, make sure that you provide all the answers in an orderly manner.
- Thirdly, ensure to format the abstract in the same way as that of your essay. Hence, include the introduction, body, and conclusion in your abstract, as you include in your essay.
- Lastly, several journals follow a different formatted style, hence you ought to format your abstract accordingly.
11. Offer useful information
Subsequently, an abstract provides useful information to the readers, based on specific research work. Hence, if you want to write a good abstract, perhaps you have to adhere to the following.
- Possibly, you need to avoid using abbreviations as well as direct acronyms in an abstract.
- Besides, be sure to write a precise abstract, otherwise, you might fall short of space in writing your research paper.
- Perhaps, if you have focused on a person or a place in your research work, make sure to cite a reference for each.
- Alternatively, you may avoid including any tables, figures, or even long quotes in your abstract.
- Finally, ensure to accumulate relevant notions only as you might want to deliver a good research paper.
12. Begin from the scratch
Finally, consider writing an abstract from scratch, as you might want to differentiate it from your research paper.
Conclusion
By now, you would have gained an idea of how to write an abstract. If you want your abstract to be more attractive, then strictly follow the tips shared in this blog post. Once you complete writing the abstract make sure to proofread it thoroughly because readers may lose interest in reading your essay if the abstract contains a lot of mistakes. In case, you still have any doubts about abstract writing or if you are struggling to write an outstanding abstract, contact us immediately .
