Questions to Consider When Writing an Abstract

• Use these questions as you read through your own draft, or ask a friend or Writing Center consultant to use these questions to guide their feedback. 

  • Where does the abstract address each of the five categories included in the guidelines (Motivation, Problem, Approach, Results, Implications), and is it within the word count (150 to 250 words)?
  • How much of my abstract is original thinking about the work I am doing through my research? When I reference other works or research, how does it support my research?
  • What do readers take-away from the first sentence of the abstract? 
  • Sentence by sentence, what new information does the abstract provide to readers? 
  • Where could the writing be more clear and concise, so that every word is doing important work? Where does jargon or discipline-specific language prevent clarity, and how could that language be revised for a more general audience?
  • Where does the abstract include keywords, and how are the keywords sign-posting  main ideas to my readers?

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