Bit #19 – Writing a Good Abstract
What characteristics of scholarly work make you enjoy reading them? Do you like an article because it is engaging, clearly articulated, concise, supportive? We often think about what makes an article well written, but how often do we reflect on the value of an abstract?
If you are like me, you might often put writing the abstract off until the very end (or rush through it when submitting one for a conference), paying little attention to how engaging, clear, concise, or just good the abstract is. Paul Silvia (writing extraordinaire) says, “Most people who come across your article will see only the title and abstract, so make them good” (2007, p. 81).
So, how do you write a good abstract?
In her book Stylish Academic Writing, Helen Sword (my writing hero/academic crush) says, The purpose of a scholarly abstract is not merely to summarize an article’s content but to persuade one’s discipline-based peers that the research is important, and the article is, therefore, worth reading.”
To write a good abstract, I recommend the following strategies:
- Reverse Outlining (the Top-Down Approach)
- The 5 Rhetorical Moves
- The 6 Question Approach
See the attached PowerPoint (with collaborative advice from myself and Dr. Erin McTique, the Positive Academic) to learn about each approach.
Next time you need to write an abstract, give one of these strategies a try and let me know how it goes. 🙂
