Writing an Abstract for an Article Proposal or Report What is an abstract An abstract is a condensed version of a longer piece of writing that highlights the major points covered concisely describes the content and scope of the writing and reviews the writing s contents in abbreviated form Abstracts are typically 100 to 250 words and follow set patterns Why is an abstract so important Help readers decide if they should read an entire article Help readers and researchers remember key findings on a topic Help readers understand the text by outlining key points prior to reading the full document Index articles for quick recovery and cross referencing What are the key elements that should be included Background A simple opening sentence or two placing the work in context Aims One or two sentences giving the purpose of the work Method s One or two sentences explaining what was or will be done Results One or two sentences indicating the main findings or what you hope to accomplish with Conclusions One sentence giving the most important consequence of the work what do the the project results mean How will they be used Questions an abstract should answer Why did you do this study or project Or why are you undertaking the project study What did you do and how What will you do How What did you find What do you expect to find What do the findings mean Helpful tips when writing an abstract Reread your article or proposal with the goal of abstracting in mind o Look specifically for these main parts of the article or proposal purpose methods scope results conclusions and recommendations o Use the headings and table of contents as a guide to writing your abstract After you ve finished rereading the article or proposal write a rough draft without looking back at what you re abstracting o Don t merely copy key sentences you ll put in too much or too little information o Don t rely on the way material was phrased summarize information in a new way Revise your rough draft to Improve transitions from point to point o Correct weaknesses in organization o o Drop unnecessary information o Make sure it is complete and accurate o Eliminate wordiness o Fix errors in grammar spelling and punctuation o Make sure it s written in the same voice as the paper