9/11/23, 4:01 PM Advice on writing an Abstract for a Research Paper - English Current

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Advice on Writing an Abstract for a Research Paper

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An abstract is a brief overview of a larger academic research paper. It is usually around 150 words and it
should contain the following details: Privacy
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Optional: Background information (+ justification for study)

Necessary: Purpose of the study (research question/problem)
Necessary: Methods (how the research was conducted)
Necessary: Results (the key findings)
Optional: Conclusion (and implications)
Optional: Keywords (a list of nouns related to the topic of the study)

Regarding optional content:

Background information: This can be optional as some topics do not require any introductory inform-
ation for the reader to understand the topic and justification (reason for) the research.
A conclusion statement is helpful to allow the reader to understand how the study answers the re-
search question. This section can also provide implications, i.e. what the consequences of the res-
ults should/may be for society, or what topics need to be further studied.
Keywords help the reader know which words (nouns) are closely related to the study.

Note: You'll notice that the ideas from the Discussion section of an academic article are
usually not included in an abstract.

Abstract Examples

Here is an example that was written by a student of mine (modified slightly for clarity):

Abstract

As technology develops, children spend more time using media which has increased their exposure
to advertising from the food industry. The purpose of this report is to investigate whether food ad-
vertisements affect the diet of children under 12. A face-to-face survey was conducted with 50 par-
ents who had children under 12. The results showed that more than half of the children (67%) had
asked for food in advertisements. The majority of parents felt that food advertisements were un-
healthy, though they did not report significant difficulty when they try to feed their children. These
findings suggest children's diet is influenced by food advertisements. Therefore, it is suggested that
parents continuously educate their children to create healthy eating habits.

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Keywords: food advertisements, children's diet, eating habit, media

Note the colors representing each section:

Background
Purpose of the study
Methods
Results
Conclusion & Implications
Keywords

The below abstract was taken from the free APA sample report entitled Running on Empty.

Abstract

This study examined the effects of short-term food deprivation on two cognitive abilities–concentra-
tion and perseverance. Undergraduate students (N-51) were tested on both a concentration task
and a perseverance task after one of three levels of food deprivation: none, 12 hours, or 24 hours.
We predicted that food deprivation would impair both concentration scores and perseverance time.
Food deprivation had no significant effect on concentration scores, which is consistent with recent
research on the effects of food deprivation (Green et al., 1995; Green et al., 1997). However, parti-
cipants in the 12-hour deprivation group spent significantly less time on the perseverance task than
those in both the control and 24-hour deprivation groups, suggesting that short-term deprivation
may affect some aspects of cognition and not others.

Keywords: food deprivation, concentration, perseverance, cognitive performance

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Note the colors representing each section:

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Purpose of the study

Methods
(Hypothesis - not necessary but helpful)
Results
Conclusion & Implications

Summary of Points

An abstract is a short overview of the key points of an academic research paper.

An abstract must contain the research purpose (or research question), methods, and results.

Is an Abstract a Summary?

Yes, it is a summary of the specific points (background, method, results, and conclusion). However, the ab-
stract should not summarize the following:

introductory information from secondary sources: Most academic papers begin with dozens of
pages of background information that describe other research. Generally, it is not necessary to in-
clude this information in your abstract. Instead, stick to describing the purpose of your own study.
the discussion section: The discussion section may involve speculation as to the causes of your
findings, an attempt to compare your results to other studies, or a description of the limitations of
your study. None of this information needs to be in the abstract.

In other words, an abstract does not equally summarize information from all parts of a research paper. It
focuses on key information from specific sections.

Writing Tips - Language for Abstracts

1. Be concise and clear: get to the point.

2. Use the past tense to describe the methods and results ("Forty people were interviewed... The res-
ults showed that...")
3. Write in academic style. This means avoiding personal language, among other things.
4. Don't use paragraphing. An abstract should be a big block of text.

Lastly, because the abstract is a summary of key parts of your research paper, you should write it after you
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write your research paper (although the abstract should be placed after your title page, at the beginning).

I hope this information has been useful for your academic writing. There is more to be said about ab-
stracts, but I feel these tips will be helpful. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.

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20 comments on “Advice on Writing an Abstract for a Research Paper”

Jasmeen kaur Sandhu (Posted on 8-4-2020 at 02:59)

It was really helpful, thx for posting it . It makes my learning easier.

Laura (Posted on 8-6-2020 at 16:21)

Very clear, concise and helpful. Thank you so much.

Karla L. (Posted on 8-7-2020 at 02:52)

Great examples, help to understand the topic

Sanamdeep Kaur - (Posted on 10-12-2020 at 20:52)

Really helpful to write an Abstract.

Karmveer Kaur - (Posted on 11-2-2020 at 11:16)

it is a clear abstract and very helpful for the midterm exam.

Satinder kaur (Posted on 1-16-2021 at 13:12)

thanks for posting it, it is really helpful for us.

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Ana Lorena Caso (Posted on 4-19-2021 at 23:18)

Very useful professor. Thanks!

Cinthya Cruz De Lara (Posted on 4-25-2021 at 21:26)

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Thanks it was very helpful!

chandan KUMAR (Posted on 7-17-2021 at 23:22)

really helpful for me.

chandan KUMAR (Posted on 7-17-2021 at 23:23)

Great ideas to write an abstract

Jorge Burgos (Posted on 8-10-2022 at 19:46)

As always, informative website. It has been a little over a year when I finished this course but I still
keep coming back for reference.

Anonymous (Posted on 1-20-2023 at 10:56)

Very helpful!

Madelyn Oyshi Biswas (section 5) (Posted on 1-20-2023 at 16:14)

It was so informative.

Junzy Marich Estillore (Posted on 1-24-2023 at 00:37)

Informative and useful. Thank you, Prof.

RAMANJOT BRAR (Posted on 1-24-2023 at 12:49)

Thank you prof it was very helpful

ROSE MARIE DUMLAO (ENGL102 section 4 (Posted on 1-24-2023 at 14:24)

This is very helpful. Thanks, Professor.

Djordje Jovanovic (section 3) (Posted on 1-24-2023 at 15:02)

Thank you for this concise explanation.

Patricia Nicole A. Baylon– ENGL102 section (05) (Posted on 1-25-2023 at 22:18)

Thank you, Prof!

Maricel Banguit Eng 102 - Section 4 (Posted on 2-6-2023 at 23:53)

Thank you, Professor. It was really helpful.

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Seyed (Posted on 4-26-2023 at 08:57)

Brilliant page! It helped me teach abstract writing much better and much more easily.

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