How to Write a Research Paper Abstract

A research paper extract plays a crucial role in your study. It is used to quickly explain the study to prompt the readers into going further. In other words, a good abstract will sell your work since it touches on all the other parts of your study. It mainly highlights the gist of your work so that your reader will know what they should be looking for in your paper. Writing a compelling abstract therefore becomes very crucial for your work to attract the readers’ attention and keep them interested. Below are the simple steps of writing a proper research paper abstract:

  1. Purpose and motivation identification

Start by briefly stating why you decided on the kind of study you are doing. The motivation and purpose of the same since your reader would like to know. The significance of your study is what will drive you into doing the rest of the work hence it comes first in your abstract. Give your reader a reason to go through your entire work by pulling them over to your study intentions.

  1. State the problem

This means that you help the reader to see what the missing puzzle in your study is. People do not just wake up one day and decide to study a matter. There must be one or two things that they would like to find out. This part is more like the first except that here you let the reader know what problem you are trying to solve.

  1. Discuss the study approach

This refers to the methods and materials you are planning to use in your study. Your approach must match your kind of study so that you get the most accurate findings. This section includes the size of samples you took if any, the tools you used, and so forth. Your reader will need to know your variables and the extent of your work. This helps them to gauge the validity of your case even before they get into the main study.

  1. Give a summary of the results

In giving the overview of your outcomes, avoid overusing vague qualitative terms. Your reader will be more interested in quantitative facts since this is what research is all about. They would like to see how accurate your methods of study were and what you got out of it. Give them something worth following up so that their journey does not end at the abstract.

  1. Stating your conclusion

After all, is said and done, you as the researcher should have something to say about the study outcomes and everything in between. Your conclusion should be compelling enough for the reader to buy the rest of the details. Connect this to your actual results and not the general part of the study.

Final Remarks

Even though the abstract does not give all the details of the study, it should at least highlight the major points. As explained here, make it as compelling as possible to convince the reader that your study is worth their time and attention.

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