abstract

(noun)

The overall summary of a scientific paper, usually fewer than 250 words.

Related Terms

  • General
  • General words
  • specific words
  • background
  • General words cover a broader spectrum with a single word than specific words
  • general words
  • thesis statement
  • introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusions
  • Background
  • connotation
  • register

(noun)

An abstract is a brief summary of a research article that is used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose.

Related Terms

  • General
  • General words
  • specific words
  • background
  • General words cover a broader spectrum with a single word than specific words
  • general words
  • thesis statement
  • introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusions
  • Background
  • connotation
  • register

(noun)

A brief summary of a paper.

Related Terms

  • General
  • General words
  • specific words
  • background
  • General words cover a broader spectrum with a single word than specific words
  • general words
  • thesis statement
  • introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusions
  • Background
  • connotation
  • register

Examples of abstract in the following topics:

  • Abstract

  • MLA: Abstract

  • APA: Abstract

  • MLA: Abstract

  • Chicago/Turabian: Abstract

  • Chicago/Turabian: Abstract

  • APA: Abstract

    • An APA abstract should summarize your entire paper and should be formatted according to the APA style guide.
    • Your abstract should appear by itself on page 2 of your paper.
    • Your abstract should be no more than 250 words and should summarize your entire paper, from literature review to discussion.
    • The abstract itself should start on the following line.
    • This is an example of an abstract properly formatted in APA style.
  • Abstract

    • The abstract of a scientific paper is often the only part that the reader sees.
    • A well-written abstract encapsulates the content and tone of the entire paper.
    • Since abstracts are brief (generally 300–500 words), they do not always allow for the full IMRAD structure.
    • A specialized audience may read further if they are interested, and the abstract is your opportunity to convince them to read the rest.
    • Hence abstracts should be written with a non-specialized audience (or a very busy specialized audience) in mind.
  • Saying Why It Matters

    • There are two main places where you will set up the stakes of your argument: the abstract and the introduction.
    • Most scientific journals require abstracts, and publish them at the beginning of the paper.
    • Many more people will read a paper's abstract than the paper itself, so make sure your summary is compelling in its own right .
    • If the abstract has convinced a reader that your paper is worth his or her time, you need to keep their interest by expanding the claims you introduced in the abstract.
    • When others search for your paper, the first thing they will read is your abstract.
  • Precision

    • You can increase the clarity of your writing by using concrete, specific words rather than abstract, general ones.
Subjects
  • Accounting
  • Algebra
  • Art History
  • Biology
  • Business
  • Calculus
  • Chemistry
  • Communications
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Microbiology
  • Physics
  • Physiology
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Statistics
  • U.S. History
  • World History
  • Writing

Except where noted, content and user contributions on this site are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 with attribution required.