Abstract Writing Tips and Tricks for Young Researchers

Your conference abstract is like a teaser or trailer of a movie. Both essentially serve the same purpose: to offer a concise summary of the actual work. A well-written abstract prompts readers to explore the complete research work presented by a researcher. Now, saying that abstracts are mere summaries of research papers would be an understatement. It’s a lot more than that. It doesn’t just provide insights into the research paper, but into the researcher as well.

Writing an abstract is a tedious process, as it is, and if you’re submitting it to conferences, that makes the process ten times harder, especially for early-career researchers. More often, even experienced researchers may face abstract rejection if it doesn’t meet the conference’s standards. 

So, if you’re eager to present your papers at conferences but need a little guidance on writing an effective abstract, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s take you through these tips and tricks to ensure your abstract gets past multiple rounds of reviews at conferences. 

Begin with an Appealing Introduction 

Consider the purpose of your research. What theoretical or practical problem does the research address, or what research question do you plan to answer? Include context on the social or academic relevance of your research topic, but don’t go into extensive background details. If your abstract uses phrases or terms that may be new to the average academic reader, present a clear definition. 

After describing the problem, mention the objective of your research. Use verbs like test, analyze, and investigate to write down exactly what you set out to do. 

Write this part of the abstract in the present or past simple tense, but you should never refer to the future. 

Discuss the Methods Briefly

Include the research methods you have used to answer your specific research question. It should be a clear description of what you did in a couple of sentences. It is written in the past simple tense, as it refers to actions that are already completed. 

At this stage, you’re not required to validate your research. The idea is to present an account to give readers a quick overview of the overall approach and processes used. 

Explain the Background of Your Research 

Using the resource materials and keywords from your paper, write 1-3 introductory sentences that explain the research topic, purpose of the research, and research questions. The first sentence should be interesting and should draw the reader into your research. 

As the shortest part of the abstract, the background should address what is already known about the subject and how it connects with your research paper. This part of the abstract also describes what we don’t know about the subject yet and what your study presents. This section of your abstract should answer questions such as: 

• • What did you study? 
  • What was already established in your field of study before your own research? 
  • Why is my research question important? 
  • How will this research help in your field?  

Check for Accuracy in Your Abstract 

Read your abstract aloud and maintain the accuracy of the abstract. The abstract should be concise, but it should also flow smoothly. There should be proper transitions from sentence to sentence. Add words like ‘furthermore’ or ‘moreover’. Fix any incorrect sentences that describe your findings the wrong way or are unclear in their meaning. 

Read the abstract like you were another researcher deciding whether to read your research paper. Do you find the abstract presents the right details to help you decide whether to read further or not? If not, then ask yourself what’s missing. 

Proofread for Correct Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation

Get a printout of your abstract and edit it with a pencil or pen. Having your work in print helps you catch additional errors as opposed to a computer screen. It allows you to envision how your abstract will appear in printed media. Since your writing style impacts readers’ perception of your work, effective style and accurate grammar are important elements of a successful abstract. Here’s a quick grammar checklist for you to remember: 

• • Make sure to add commas and periods within quotation marks. 
  • Don’t end sentences with prepositions. 
  • Use different verbs and nouns from sentence to sentence and check the thesaurus 
  • Avoid vague filler adverbs or adjectives such as “very, “many.” Quantify your findings with numbers and present comparisons. For example, “Subject B’s performance was 35% percent better than Subject E’s performance.”  
  • Years mentioned in the abstract should not have apostrophes. 

Use Key Phrases and Words 

If there’s a possibility that your abstract will be published in a journal, you need to make it easy for other researchers to find it. To do so, readers will search for certain queries on online databases in hopes that research papers, like yours, will show up.

For instance, if you’re writing a paper on the cultural differences in perceptions of mental health issues, you must use words like “mental health”, “cross-cultural”, “mental wellbeing.” These can be the search terms people use when looking for a paper on your topic. 

Never Be Too Specific 

An abstract is essentially a summary, and it should not refer to specific points of your research other than possibly locations or names. You don’t need to define or explain any terms in your abstract; a reference is all that’s required. Try not to be too explicit in your summary and stick to a general overview of your work. 

Don’t use jargons unnecessarily. The general readers may not be able to understand what you’re trying to convey and can lead to confusion. 

Conclude the Abstract Appropriately

This part should provide closure to the overall summary that you’ve presented. While writing the conclusion for your abstract, address the meaning of your findings and the significance of your overall research paper. The conclusion is often necessary for both informative and descriptive abstracts. However, in the case of informative abstracts, you may have to answer the following questions: 

• • Are your results general or quite specific? 
  • What are the possible effects of your research work? 

Ask for Feedback on your Abstract from Someone 

When you let someone else read it, you get better clarity on whether you have summarized your research well. You should ask someone who doesn’t know everything about your research topic. Tell him or her to read and let them tell you what he or she understood from it. This allows you to know whether you’ve accurately conveyed your major points in a clear manner. 

Consulting with a mentor or a colleague in your field is a great idea. Asking for help also allows you to find out about any conventions in your field. For instance, it’s quite common to use the passive voice in a scientific abstract. However, the active voice is essentially used in the humanities. 

To Sum Up

As researchers, you will agree with us when we say that there’s no greater high than being applauded by an auditorium full of people for the paper you presented. And writing a great abstract is the first step to accomplish that. The process may feel overwhelming, but with these ideas and steps mentioned above, it gets a little easier. 

Moreover, most new-age conferences today employ advanced abstract management tools such as Dryfta. These platforms make submitting the abstracts, tracking the progress of abstract reviews, and receiving feedback much simpler. Schedule a demo to find out what Dryfta’s abstract management system is capable of.