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Advice on how to write the Abstract

Abstract
Writing the
 Introduction

The very last part which you write for your Thesis is the
ABSTRACT. The Abstract is one single paragraph of usually
less than 300 words, written in the past tense, which
summarises your whole research project, from beginning to
end. The Abstract is designed to be a quick way for other
researchers to get an overview of your work and decide
whether they want to read further. The Abstract is not
included in the word count for your thesis and should appear
on the title page.

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 For whom are You Writing it?
Why Write an Abstract?
For this research paper you are asked to include an
Abstract, or general summary of your work. The Abstract
allows you to refer to each major aspect of the paper
and helps readers decide whether they want to read the
rest of the paper. Enough key information (e.g., summary
results, observations, trends, etc.) must be included to
make the Abstract useful to someone who may be
interested in your topic and work. The Abstract should
present sufficient information to enable another
researcher decide whether they should look at your
publication in more depth because it is relevant to their
own studies.

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 How do I Know if my Abstract is OK? Ask yourself this: does your Abstract present
sufficient information to enable another
researcher decide whether they should look at
your publication in more depth because it is
relevant to their own studies? If your Abstract
was the only part of the paper you could access,
would you be happy with the amount of
information presented there? Does it tell the
whole story about your study? If the answer is
"no" then the Abstract likely needs to be revised.

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 Types of Abstract

There are four main types of Abstract:

Critical Abstract
Descriptive Abstract
Highlight Abstract
Informative Abstract – this is what your Abstract is

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 Informative Abstract

The majority of Abstracts are informative. While they do not

critique or evaluate a work, they do more than simply describe
it. A good informative Abstract acts as a summary for the
whole work itself. The author presents and explains all the
main arguments and the important results and evidence in the
paper. An informative Abstract includes purpose, methods,
scope and it also includes the results and conclusions of the
research, and the recommendations of the author. An
informative Abstract is usually no more than 300 words in
length.

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 About the Abstract

Although it is the first section of your research publication,

the Abstract should be written last since it will summarize
the contents of your entire paper.
If the Abstract appears alone on one page, do not number
that page.
Your Abstract is not included in the word count for your
thesis.

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 Structure of the Abstract An Abstract summarizes, usually in one single paragraph of 300 words
or less, the major aspects of the entire research paper in a prescribed
order:
1. the overall purpose of the study and the research problem(s) you
investigated;
2. the basic design of the study;
3. the major results and the findings or trends found as a result of
your analysis of your results;
4. a brief summary of your interpretations and conclusions, and any
recommendation(s) for future research.

Get to the point quickly and always use the past tense because you
are summarising a study that has been completed.

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 The Abstract should NOT contain:
What NOT to Write

-Lengthy background or contextual information

-Redundant phrases, unnecessary adverbs and
adjectives, and repetitive information
-Acronyms or abbreviations
-References to other literature
-Incomplete sentences
-Jargon or terms that may be confusing to the
reader
-Citations to other works
-Any sort of image, illustration, figure, or table, or
references to them.
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Example – Tim Caro’s abstract
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Abstract
Averting attack by biting flies is increasingly regarded as the evolutionary driver of zebra
stripes, although the precise mechanism by which stripes ameliorate attack by ectoparasites
is unknown. We examined the behaviour of tabanids (horse flies) in the vicinity of captive
plains zebras and uniformly coloured domestic horses living on a horse farm in Britain.
Observations showed that fewer tabanids landed on zebras than on horses per unit time,
although rates of tabanid circling around or briefly touching zebra and horse pelage did not
differ. In an experiment in which horses sequentially wore cloth coats of different colours,
those wearing a striped pattern suffered far lower rates of tabanid touching and landing on
coats than the same horses wearing black or white, yet there were no differences in attack
rates to their naked heads. In separate, detailed video analyses, tabanids approached zebras
faster and failed to decelerate before contacting zebras, and proportionately more tabanids
simply touched rather than landed on zebra pelage in comparison to horses. Taken together,
these findings indicate that, up close, striped surfaces prevented flies from making a
controlled landing but did not influence tabanid behaviour at a distance. To counteract
flies, zebras swished their tails and ran away from fly nuisance whereas horses showed
higher rates of skin twitching. As a consequence of zebras’ striping, very few tabanids
successfully landed on zebras and, as a result of zebras’ changeable behaviour, few stayed a
long time, or probed for blood.
(There are 243 words in this Abstract.)