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Table of Contents
- What You Should Know About Writing Abstracts for Research Projects
- Key Features of a Well-Written Abstract
- How to Write an Abstract: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Step 1: Introduction
- Step 2: Method
- Step 3: Result
- Step 4: Discussion
- Sample of Abstract for Project Writing
- Using CoWriter for Your Abstract
- The Bottom Line
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Learn to write a compelling abstract step by step with structure, key elements, and real examples to guide your research writing.
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How to Write an Abstract in 4 Simple Steps (With Examples)
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A well-written abstract is crucial to engaging your reader in every aspect of your research work. And this is one aspect people often overlook. If you have no idea how to go about it, you’re in the right place.
This guide breaks it down. You'll learn:
- What an abstract is
- What to include (and what not to)
- A simple structure to follow
- How to write one step by step.
- Samples of well-written abstracts
To begin with, you can’t write a solid abstract of your research work if you don’t know the basic things it should contain.
What You Should Know About Writing Abstracts for Research Projects
An abstract is a concise summary of your research work. It allows your readers to get the main point of your work before reading the whole work.
It is a way of preparing your readers' minds before they delve into the detailed information in your chapter.
- An abstract showcases the key points of your work.
- It gives your reader/s a heads up about the full details of the paperwork.
- It also gives a short report about what your paper is all about, the purpose of it, the methods you’ve used, and the conclusion.
- It provides a concise overview of the key points, arguments, and findings of the work.
It also helps your readers quickly and easily understand your work and decide whether they would like to read the whole work. It describes your work without going into the full details.
Key Features of a Well-Written Abstract
An abstract consists of about 6 to 7 sentences that make up one paragraph. This summary typically ranges from 150 to 250 words, although some academic fields may have specific word count requirements.
It should contain a vivid and concise description of what you’ve studied and argued in your paperwork.
You do not need to cite any reference when writing an abstract.
It should also be clear, well-written, and free from jargon. It should flow smoothly from the introductory part to the last sentence.
The key purpose of an abstract is to describe, not argue or evaluate the paperwork. It gives an overview and highlights of your work. This leads your readers to your high-quality paperwork.
How to Write an Abstract: A Step-by-Step Guide
It’s important to write your abstract after you’ve written the complete paper and not before. This would help you write it better, as you would only be summarizing the whole work.
Here’s a step-by-step process for writing an engaging abstract using the IMRaD (Introduction-Method-Results-Discussion) structure.
Step 1: Introduction
This is the first step to writing a good abstract. You must begin with a compelling introduction that clearly states the problem and purpose of the study. What gap do you intend to fill? What is your work about, and why is it important?
You can use words like “investigate”, “examine”, “analyze”, “evaluate”, and so on to write a description of what you would like to do in the main paperwork. It can be written in either past tense or present tense, but not in future tense, because you’ve already completed the research work.
For instance, your abstract introduction can start like this:
“This study investigates the impact of…. “
Step 2: Method
This is the next step after the problem has been stated. You need to summarize how the research was carried out, i.e., the research methods.
This should be a straightforward and concise description of what you did in a few sentences.
You are expected to explain how the project was done. You can also describe the steps you took to get the result concisely.
This is mainly written in the past tense. The goal here is to provide your reader with a brief overview of the procedure you used—for example, a survey method or focused group discussion.
Step 3: Result
Next, present your findings concisely. You’re to present your research result in one or two sentences. You’re to inform your readers about the actions you took in your paperwork.
You’ll need to write what you discovered or the results or products of the steps you took. This can be in either the simple or the past tense.
Step 4: Discussion
Lastly, you’re to write your conclusion of the abstract. This section outlines how you addressed the research questions. It gives a clear understanding of the whole research work. It explains what your result means and how it relates to the real world.
Ensure you write this in the present tense. You should end your abstract by writing out a list of keywords you want your reader to take note of.
These keywords are essential elements or labels of the research work to help others easily find your work.
The word “Keywords” should be in italics, followed by a semicolon, and then a maximum of five keywords that are central to your project topic or operational terms.
Sample of Abstract for Project Writing
The abstract in the sample below was written for an academic research project on the topic “Skit Maker’s Influence on Youth Atititudes Towards Sport Betting.”
Using CoWriter for Your Abstract
It is easy to get stuck when writing an abstract.
Thankfully, the CoWriter AI tool helps you write an organized and well-written abstract that can keep your readers hooked. It enables you to write more efficiently and effectively.
You can use the free AI Writer to check your grammar, your sentence structure, and overall make your prose more interesting. Integrated seamlessly with any writing application, it acts as your personal writing assistant, editor, and critic, providing support directly within your favorite writing environment.
All you need to do is paste your whole research paper, and CoWriter will summarize it into a well-written abstract by identifying the key ideas, methods, and results.
It also provides suggestions and waits for your feedback.
For instance, if your abstract is too long or does not suit your preference, you can suggest how you would like it to be revised. You can also humanize the AI content as you desire.
The Bottom Line
A well-written abstract draws your reader into enjoying the entire paper. It must be clear, concise, and organized.
You should also read other abstracts to have a good idea of how to write yours, or you can use CoWriter to make your writing easy and perfect.
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