How to write an Abstract PDF

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Formal lab report info...

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How to write an Abstract First, we must discuss what is an abstract? An abstract is a brief summary of a larger piece of work such as a research project, thesis, dissertation, etc. It usually contains about 150 – 250 words total. Abstracts will vary from discipline to discipline. We are going to focus generally on how scientists would write abstracts. Again, remember, abstracts will differ from discipline to discipline. There are different parts to an abstract: 1) Statement about the main objective/purpose/rationale of the project. a. This part should only be 1-2 sentences, typically. On occasion, longer may be required. b. Basically, in your own words you must state the objective/goal of the project. c. a subpart to this may include a hypothesis statement 2) Statement about the methods used to accomplish the goals. a. This section describes what techniques and methods were used for you to complete the project. b. It should be no more than 1-2 sentences long. 3) Statements describing important results (not all results need to be reported). a. By important, I mean results that would make it worthwhile for someone to read your report. Was there something discovered in your data that no one else has described previously? For us, describe results that go hand – in – hand with the experiment we are completing. b. This will be the longest part of your abstract, 2-3 sentences, sometimes more (depends on what is allowed). 4) Statements describing the conclusions made from the project. a. This is the part of where you describe what you learned from the project. b. Did you accomplish your goals or not? c. What could be done differently? d. This should be 1 maybe 2 sentences long. Final Comments: 

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When should you write the abstract? o You should write it after you have written the report. Doing this will make it easier to write up the different sections. Be concise! o Don’t be wordy! Get straight to the point. o Use this resource to help in writing clear, concise sentences: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/ClearConciseSentences.html USE PAST TENSE!! o You already completed the project. You are just describing what you did to the audience. Active or Passive Voice? o You should use the Passive Voice when writing. Check out the following resource to help you: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/CCS_activevoice.html Citations? o NEVER refer to references, figures, tables, graphs, charts, quotes, etc. That is what the formal report is for!...