abstract
(noun)
The overall summary of a scientific paper, usually fewer than 250 words.
(noun)
A brief summary of a paper.
Examples of abstract in the following topics:
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Abstract
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MLA: Abstract
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APA: Abstract
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MLA: Abstract
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Chicago/Turabian: Abstract
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Chicago/Turabian: Abstract
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APA: Abstract
- An APA abstract should summarize your entire paper and should be formatted according to the APA style guide.
- Your abstract should appear by itself on page 2 of your paper.
- Your abstract should be no more than 250 words and should summarize your entire paper, from literature review to discussion.
- The abstract itself should start on the following line.
- This is an example of an abstract properly formatted in APA style.
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Abstract
- The abstract of a scientific paper is often the only part that the reader sees.
- A well-written abstract encapsulates the content and tone of the entire paper.
- Since abstracts are brief (generally 300–500 words), they do not always allow for the full IMRAD structure.
- A specialized audience may read further if they are interested, and the abstract is your opportunity to convince them to read the rest.
- Hence abstracts should be written with a non-specialized audience (or a very busy specialized audience) in mind.
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Saying Why It Matters
- There are two main places where you will set up the stakes of your argument: the abstract and the introduction.
- Most scientific journals require abstracts, and publish them at the beginning of the paper.
- Many more people will read a paper's abstract than the paper itself, so make sure your summary is compelling in its own right .
- If the abstract has convinced a reader that your paper is worth his or her time, you need to keep their interest by expanding the claims you introduced in the abstract.
- When others search for your paper, the first thing they will read is your abstract.
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Precision
- You can increase the clarity of your writing by using concrete, specific words rather than abstract, general ones.