How to write an abstract

What is an abstract? A complete but concise description of your work –Brief overview of: introduction, methods & results, discussion, conclusion It is supposed to `sell´ your work Convice the reader / reviewer that it is interesting

Parts of an abstract Motivation Statement of Purpose General methodological approach Major results Conclusion

Motivation One or two sentences Why do we care to investigate the particular problem –importance of your work – difficulty of the area –impact it might have

Purpose of study Examples: –The purpose of the study was... –The aim of this study was to... –This study attempted to answer the following questions to test the hypothesis... –This study focused on the....

General methodological approach One or two sentences How did you go about solving the problem? –Major techniques you used to find the results –Do not explain the ´how´ but rather the ´what´

Major results Summarized in one or two sentences What´s the answer? Do not provide details

Conclusion It should conclude with 1-2 sentences What are the implications of your answer ? These sentences should connect the findings with one or more of the larger ideas stated in the opening two sentences

Common problems too long (it will be rejected) too short too much detail failure to provide important information

General tips The abstract must make sense in itself Meet the word count limitation Major limitations on the results should be stated (use of words such as ´might´, ´seem´, ´could´, etc.)