Informative Abstracts
communicate specific information from the report, article, or paper.
include the purpose, methods, and scope of the report, article, or paper.
provide the report, article, or paper's results, and conclusions.
are short - from a paragraph to a page or two, depending upon the length of the original work being abstracted. Usually informative abstracts are 10% or less of the length of the original piece (from 150 to a maximum of 200 words).
allow readers to decide whether they want to read the report, article, or paper.
Proceed in the following way:
Summarize your paper. The summary should be thorough, but brief.
Start by making a list of all the information the reader should know just by reading the abstract.
Tell why someone should care about your research. What you were trying to find and why it matters is a good place to start. What hole is your research filling?
Explain the nature of the work performed, especially if it was a scientific experiment. The details of your apparatus, materials, or experiment may go in your main paper, but explain enough of the basics that someone would need to know to understand what you have done.
Outline any hypotheses or theories advanced in the paper.
Leave out any tables, complicated explanations, etc. The reader can find those in the paper.
Include the findings, results, or conclusions of your paper. This is not a murder mystery, so there is no need to reserve the conclusions for the end.
What are the larger implications of your findings?
Proofread your abstract and have somebody else proofread it for you. Does it make sense? Is everything clearly stated? Is it thorough but concise? Is it in an appropriate style?
IV. Structure of a Typical Abstract
Almost all scientists agree that an informative abstract should have the following five parts:
Introduction. This is where you describe the purpose for writing your paper or doing research. The abstract begins by stating the main objective of the experiment/report in one or two sentences. Why should anyone care about the work you did? You have to tell them why. If you made an invention or developed a new procedure how is it better, faster, or cheaper than what is already out there? Motivate the reader to finish the abstract and read the entire paper.
Problem Statement. Identify the problem you solved or the hypothesis you investigated.
Procedures. The name of the methods used to complete the work is cited. Specifics about the materials used or set-up details are not included in the abstract. In most cases, one to three sentences should be sufficient for describing the methods. What was your approach for investigating the problem? Don't go into detail about materials unless they were critical to your success. Do describe the most important variables if you have room.
Results. The experimental findings are reported next, in the most concise and direct manner possible. The length of this section of the abstract varies depending on the nature of the experiment. What answer did you obtain? Be specific and use numbers to describe your results. Do not use vague terms like "most" or "some."
Conclusions. The conclusion section is a concise analysis and interpretation of the results of the work. This section should make an impact on the reader so that it is clear what the outcome of the scientific work is and what it means. State what your science project or invention contributes to the area you worked in. Did you meet your objectives?