How to write an Abstract:Tips

An abstract is a short summary of your completed research.If done well,it makes the reader want to learn more about your research.

These are the basic components of an abstract in any discipline:

1)Motivation/problem statement:Why do we care about the problem?what practical,scientific,theoretical or artistic gap is your research filling?
2)methods/procedure/approach:What did you actually do to get your results?
(e.g.analyzed 3 novels,completed a series of 5 oil painting,interviewed 17 students)
3)Results/findings/product:As a result of completing the above procedure ,what did you learn/invent/create?
4)Conclusion/implications:What art the larger implications of your findings.

However,it's important to note that the weight accorded to the different components can vary by discipline.For models,try to find abstracts of research that is similar to your research.especially for the problem/gap identified in step 1?

Here are a few more tips on abstract writing:

1)First,write your paper.While the abstract wil be at the beginning of your paper,it should be the last section that you write.Once you have completed the final draft of your paper,use it as a guide for writing your abstract.

2)Begin your abstract on  a new page and place your running head and the page number 2 in the  top right hand corner.You should also center the word Abstract at the top of the page.

3)Keep it short.According to the APA style manual,an abstract should be between 150 to 250 words.Exact word counts can vary from journal to journal.If you are writing your paper for a psychology course,your professor may have specific word requirements so be sure to ask.the abstract should also be written as only one paragraph with no indentation.In order to succinctly descrbe your entire paper,you will need to determine which elements are the most important.

4)Structure the abstract in the same order as your paper.Begin with a brief summary of the introduction,and then continue on with a summary of the Method,Results and Discussion sections of our paper.

5)Look at abstracts in professional journals for examples of how to summarize your paper.Notice the main points that the authors chose to mention in the abstract.See these examples as a guide when choosing the main ideas in your own paper.

6)Write a rough draft of your abstract.While you should aim for brevity,be careful not to make your summary too short.Try to write one to two sentences summarizing each section of your paper.Once you have a rough draft,you can edit for length and clarity.

TIPS:

1.Look in academic psychology journals for examples of abstracts.
2.Keep on hand a copy of a style guide published by the American Psychological Association,such as the Concise Rules Of APA Style for reference.
3.If possible,take your paper to your school's writing lab for assistance.


Remember when you are writing your abstract to always ask your lecturer what style you should use. Guidelines change from institution to institution.