Abstracts

Function

Abstracts serve different functions for different readerships:

• For ordinary readers, they summarize the text, allowing readers to decide whether to read the entire piece and organizing their comprehension by providing a “road map.”
• For journal editors and reviewers, they offer a ready-to-hand reference for evaluating a text for publication.
• For indexers, professional abstract writers, and information management professionals, they offer guidance for classifying and sorting a text.
• For conference organizers, editorial boards, and funding agencies, they “advertise” and “sell” a research project or paper.

Most abstracts can be described as informative, indicative, or critical. An informative abstract presents research findings directly; an indicative abstract describes the text’s discussion of a topic. Whereas an informative abstract might say, “we conclude that peer support networks can improve teachers’ motivation,” and an indicative abstract would simply say, “implications for teachers are discussed.” Critical abstracts function like executive summaries, addressing strengths, and weaknesses of a text.

Length

The form of an abstract varies from field to field and even from journal to journal (guidelines are often included in a journal’s instructions to authors). At variance is often the length: While traditional abstracts are typically about 150 words long, structured abstracts can be anywhere from 250 to 400 words, and abstracts for short communications, such as conference proceedings or technical notes, can be as short as 50 words.

Abstracts are typically written retrospectively, toward the end of the composing process, to represent completed work. But abstracts can also be prospective; when scholars apply for conference [Page 15]presentations or grant funding, they often submit abstracts for work yet to be done. In these cases, the abstract functions as a proposal or research trajectory. Such prospective abstracts can be 500 words or longer, depending upon guidelines provided.

Structure

Despite their different lengths, most abstracts attempt to make five rhetorical “moves”:

• 1.
  introduce the topic, its context, and its importance;
• 2.
  present the research question or purpose;
• 3.
  describe methods and materials used;
• 4.
  present key results and findings; and
• 5.
  discuss the significance of the findings for relevant audiences.

Abstracts for short communications will emphasize moves 3 through 5. A structured abstract, by contrast, will separate each move into its own paragraph with a subheading. Because structured abstracts tend to be longer, they provide more information to readers and are considered to be more useful. Structured abstracts have only been in use since the 1980s but are becoming increasingly common.