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The Writing Process

What is an abstract?

An abstract briefly summarizes each part of your research paper.  They are about a paragraph long and should be able to stand on their own.  A good abstract is accurate, self-contained, nonevaluative, and coherent. 

Abstracts are generally used:

  • when submitting articles to journals, especially online journals
  • when applying for research grants
  • when writing a book proposal
  • when completing the Ph.D. dissertation or M.A. thesis
  • when writing a proposal for a conference paper
  • when writing a proposal for a book chapter

There are two types of abstracts: Descriptive and Informative.

Types of abstracts

Descriptive abstract

  • provides a description of the subject
  • briefly reviews the contents of the study
  • does not discuss the findings
  • is shorter than the informative abstract (under 120 words)

Informative abstract:

  • highlights the key points of the study
  • summarizes the most important information in each section
  • presents and explains all the main points and the important findings
  • discusses the findings
  • includes the results, implications, or recommendations of the study
  • is typically longer than the descriptive abstract (could be more than 250 words)

Executive summary

An executive summary provides an overview of the report. It:

  • briefly covers all the main parts of the report (summary of research in the field, research methods, research results, discussion, recommendations, and conclusion)
  • provides a concise statement of the findings and recommendations based on those findings
  • appears on a separate page and is able to stand on its own
  • is no more than one or two pages long
  • is written for the non-expert audience who may not have the time to read the whole report