Detailed Backwards Outline
Because
informative abstracts need more detail, the regular backwards outline
may not be as useful a strategy for this type of abstract. Instead,
do a backwards outline on the left-hand side of a piece of paper.
Then, on the right-hand side, answer the question "what does
this paragraph say?"
for each paragraph in the paper. Then complete the steps below:
Take your first column and generalize down to 4-5
sentences about what the paper does
Use these sentences as topic sentences for the paragraphs in your
abstract.
Now, go to your second column and choose appropriate content for
each section you outlined in #2. In other words, use the right-hand
column to fill in details about what your paper says on each point
outlined in #2.
8
