Creating Simple and Informative Research Paper Abstract

Abstract is the most important part of a research paper but is often ignored by the students. They do not realize the importance of the abstract in a research paper. 95 percent of the readers will form an opinion about your paper by merely reading the abstract you wrote. It should therefore be very well-written and organized. Try to stay as relevant as possible and include only informative content. Do not drag sentences to meet the word count. Students must understand that the abstract is not an introduction nor it is a table of contents of your research paper. They both are different things and have a separate portion for them. The abstract is aimed at the research. It should help the reader in understanding what was the research about? What were the research methodologies and findings? Do not go on including all the findings of your research only give an overall idea to the reader.

Contents of the abstract

A well written abstract must have the following

  • The background- an opening sentence that shows the context of the subject. It may be more than a sentence depending upon the student’s writing style.
  • Aim- it should show the purpose of the research to the reader. It can be one or two sentences long
  • Method- one or two sentences about the research methodology that was used by you.
  • Results- do not include all the findings of your research work.
  • Conclusion- it is the extract of your abstract. It should be one sentence long and you have to clearly state the conclusion of your research work. It should not be vague at all and must give a clear message to the reader.

      • Tips on writing an informative research paper abstract

      If you are giving annotation in your research paper it will be mentioned on the page at which information related to it is written in the paragraph and if you are giving endnotes in your research paper, they would be mentioned in the end one by one before writing the bibliography.

      Annotation and endnotes are written in different patterns. There are more than one format to write them in the research paper.

      In the end the bibliography is written. Bibliography is basically the catalog of the findings or the information that you have written in your paper from different sources. It is the catalog of the sources from where data is taken. This is mostly in alphabetical arrangement.