Chapter 7: Writing Abstracts
Goals of an Abstract
As noted in previous sections, abstracts serve many purposes. Abstracts may be used to apply for conferences or to scaffold the presentation of theses/dissertations, but the particular type we will focus on in this book is the informative abstract, which appears at the beginning of a research article and serves to provide “a miniature version, or microcosm, of the manuscript” [1]. Because publication of research article manuscripts is highly competitive, and because acceptance of the manuscript is often predicated on the reading of the abstract alone[2], the function of an abstract is extremely important in the life of an academic. The American Psychological Association[3] notes the significance of abstracts by claiming, “A well-prepared abstract can be the most important single paragraph in an article” (p. 26).So, what exactly are the purposes of an abstract? How do they function to meet the needs of readers?Based on reviews of several sources[4][5][6] that specifically outline the functions of abstracts, we would like to highlight four main purposes that coincide with the goals of this textbook:
- To serve as stand-alone miniature versions of an article, summarizing the topic, motivation, methodology, and main results;
- To act as screening devices, aiding choices about reading an article (or not);
- To preview and contribute to a reader’s navigation of the whole article;
- To give reviewers a roadmap of the paper that they are reviewing.
That’s a big job for such a small amount of text! However, there are a few helpful and specific goals and some guiding questions[7] that can help you to get started.[8] These goals/strategies coincide with each section (IMRD/C) of the article, so you may also want to review the various goals/strategies in chapters 3-6.
| Goal | Guiding Question(s) |
| Goal 1: Introduce the topic by providing background information and briefly motivating the study. | What is already known about the topic? Why is the topic important? |
| Goal 2: Present the purpose/goals of the research. | What is this study about? |
| Goal 3: Explain the methods, materials, participants, and techniques used in the study. | How was the study carried out? |
| Goal 4: Highlight the most important results. | What was discovered as a result? |
| Goal 5: Provide an overview of your conclusions by pointing out any implications or recommendations. | What do the findings mean? |
Swales & Feak (2009) claim that Goals 2 and 4 are the most common and note that Goal 5 is the least likely to appear in an abstract. This is probably because many researchers write abstracts prior to completing their studies; consequently, it’s difficult to explain what the findings mean if the abstract is written ahead of the study’s completion.
- Gladon, R. J., Graves, W. R., & Kelly, J. M. (2011). Getting published in the life sciences. John Wiley & Sons. ↵
- Swales, J., & Feak, C. (2009). Abstracts and the writing of abstracts / John M. Swales, Christine B. Feak. (Michigan Series in English for Academic & Professional Purposes). ↵
- American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American psychological association (6th ed.). https://www. apa.org/pubs/books/4200066 ↵
- Bordage, G., & McCaghie. W. C. (2001). Title, authors, and abstracts. Academic Medicine, 76(9), 945-947. ↵
- Huckin, T. N. (2001). Abstracting from abstracts. In M. Hewings (Ed.), Academic writing in context, Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham Press. ↵
- Swales, J., & Feak, C. (2009). Abstracts and the writing of abstracts / John M. Swales, Christine B. Feak. (Michigan Series in English for Academic & Professional Purposes). ↵
- Swales, J., & Feak, C. (2009). Abstracts and the writing of abstracts / John M. Swales, Christine B. Feak. (Michigan Series in English for Academic & Professional Purposes). ↵
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