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How to Write an Abstract

What is an Abstract?

An abstract is a concise summary of a larger body of work. Your abstract should be a succinct outline of your research project, with a maximum of 250 words. It should not evaluate the work or offer personal judgments. While it contains key words found in the larger work, your abstract should stand alone and be intelligible without outside reference.

Abstract Guidelines:


    (1) present the principal objective and scope of your project 

    (2) describe the methodology;

    (3) summarize the results;

    (4) state the principal conclusions

Be sure to include key words and phrases that quickly identify the content and focus of the work and use clear and concise language.

What to avoid:

  • Do not add information not contained in the original work
  • Do not define terms
  • Do not use abbreviations, jargon, or specialized words
  • Do not cite references

Examples:

Your team's abstract will be included in the SCEC Annual Meeting Proceedings and Abstracts Volume. To read the abstracts interns submitted last year, read the 2011 Annual Meeting Proceedings and Abstracts.