An article is composed of
different part. The title, the abstract, the introduction, the literature
review, the methodology, the results, the discussion, and the
conclusion. So what is an abstract?
The abstract is
really essential to your paper, as people are often going to read just
this one section. The chief editor is probably going to focus on that
part. One, he's going read briefly, your article, before he agrees
or not, to send it to reviewers. And your peers in the scientific
community will read that part and will decide if it is worth
reading.
They are going to evaluate
your paper by looking at the abstract. It should be possible simply by
reading your abstract to know the so-what of your paper. And it
should be possible for a reader not familiar with the specific subject to
understand it.
This is not very
easy. Depending on the journal you send your article to, the abstract
length can vary a lot. Usually it's lengths range between 100 and 200
words. Better also some papers with very tiny abstract, 40 words, or even
no abstract.
So you will have to adapt
to the type of journal you want to publish in. And here again, I advise
you to look carefully at the abstract of journals you want to publish in to
imitate the style and understand the constriction.
The abstract is a key
component of an article. It is a preface, it sums up everything you are
going to write about after. You can write your at abstract first, it
might seem inadequate because it looks like nothing you want to write, but
writing it will help you write your whole article.
The idea is that you will
use your abstract as a map for what you will talk about later on.
You are going to use your abstract as a construction map in order to
build-up your article. It will define and answer the principle questions your
article will be about. And then after writing the whole paper down, you
should always come back to your abstract and make sure that what you
wrote was exactly what you wanted to write about in the beginning. And
that you focused on the things that really matters.
If needed, you should then
make changes so that abstract really fits the paper. To help you build the
abstract, The idea is to answer specific type of questions that are
relevant for the structure of your paper. And more importantly, for
the structure of your abstract. You can help yourself with a set of
questions.
Who are the intended readers?
What did you do?
Why did you do it?
What happened when you did
that?
What do your results mean
in practice and in theory?
What are the key benefits
for the readers?
What remains
unsolved?
These questions will
definitively help you build your article, but more importantly,
they're going to help you
define, first motivation of your article,
then the results,
contribution and the implication of your own research.
A preliminary question is
the first one. Knowing the intended readers is important as depending on
the journal, the abstract is going to be more or less specific. If
you write for science, your abstract is not going to be specific at all,
but very general, not going too deep in details. On the other hand,
if you write for a specific journal, let's say the Journal of Organic
Chemistry, you are going to write a more specific abstract, with a more
explicit result and exemplification. Then, you just need to answer all the
questions with a short answer. One to two sentences, and compile
everything into a tiny paragraph, and the abstract is done.
Easy, isn't it?
You need to talk at first
of the motivation and
the so-what of your
article. That will make people consider reading your article in the first
place. Then, you need to describe a little bit more precisely your
subject. Defining how your research has done something important.
In other word, defining the
methodology you are going to apply to the specific question raised before.
Next, you need to discuss briefly of your results. And finally, you need
to put your result in the context and explain why they were
important. Again, look at the questions and answer them carefully, they
will help you.
The last question
concerning the unsolved issues, might as well appear on your abstract,
depending on your field. And as well, depending on the journal you send
the article to. You may want to put some concerning your work or the
future development possible for your work. All of this is pretty easy, but
you have to be careful to answer very clearly and very simply, every question.
Every one of them is important. And most importantly, you should always
consider the question, when writing your paper, what are the key benefits
for the readers?
This question is a central
theme to all your paper, as it will be the leading point that drives your
writing.
Remember that you are
publishing something, and by doing so, you want to appeal to your
readers. Look just at the title and some abstract of papers in your
field.
Do you feel attracted to
these papers?
What should they improve
about the abstract?
It is by looking at other
abstracts that you will be more and
more capable of writing a
good abstract.
Thank you for reading at
this section about the abstract, and
0 Comments