Re: What is the abstract of your project supposed to consist of?

Hi Rachel!

The abstract is supposed to be a quick summary of your research 
project, and it is generally a paragraph or two in length.  For research 
papers in scientific journals, abstracts are 400 words, at most.  For a 
school report, though, you would probably want to make it a little 
shorter.

A good abstract will provide the reader with enough information to 
understand the basic point of your paper, and prompt her to continue 
on.  So, it helps to include the following:

*A sentence or two explaining the context/significance of your project 
-- this can include background information, too.

* A really brief summary of what you did; your "materials and 
methods" in the body of the paper will offer the reader much more 
detail.

* Your results.  Again, the details will be in the body of the report.  A 
few sentences, at most, will suffice.

* Your interpretation of the results, and conclusion.  

A good way of writing an abstract is to begin with an outline for your 
paper.  If you develop topic sentences for the various parts of your 
paper, those can be combined to yield a basic abstract.  The key 
thing is to be brief and clear.  Expand on ideas in the paper, not in the 
abstract.

Good luck!  Hope this helps ...

Amanda Kahn
amandak@phy.ucsf.edu