Introduction

Abstract is the total summary of the article written in one paragraph. It is around 210-250 words and sometimes upto 300 but never exceed more than that.

Order of Abstract

Following are the format which you need to keep in mind to prepare a good abstract.

a) Overall Purpose of the study and research problems investigated.

b) Basic design of the study.

c) Major findings of the research.

d) Brief summary of interpretations.

e) Future Plans or conclusions.

But for doing that, you need to consider certain facts. Here are some of the things that you need to avoid to make a better abstract.

a) lengthy background

b) Redundant phrases and repetitive information

c) Acronyms or abbreviations

d) Reference to other literature.

e) Using ellipses (…..)

f) Jargons or confusing terms.

g) Citations to other work

h) Image, Graph, Illustrations, tables, etc.

Organizing Your Abstract

An abstract summarizes, usually in one paragraph of 300 words or less, the major aspects of the entire paper in a prescribed sequence that includes:

1) the overall purpose of the study and the research problem(s) you investigated;

2) the basic design of the study;

3) major findings or trends found as a result of your analysis; and,

4) a brief summary of your interpretations and conclusions.

Importance of a Good Abstract

The abstract allows you to elaborate upon each major aspect of the paper and helps readers decide whether they want to read the rest of the paper. Therefore, enough key information [e.g., summary results, observations, trends, etc.] must be included to make the abstract useful to someone who may want to examine your work.

How do you know when you have enough information in your abstract?

A simple rule-of-thumb is to imagine that you are another researcher doing a similar study. Then ask yourself: if your abstract was the only part of the paper you could access, would you be happy with the amount of information presented there? Does it tell the whole story about your study? If the answer is “no” then the abstract likely needs to be revised.