An abstract is a condensed version of a longer piece of writing that highlights the major points covered, concisely describes the content and scope of the writing, and reviews the writing's contents in abbreviated form.
Two types of abstracts are typically used:
Descriptive Abstracts
· tell readers what information the report, article, or paper contains.
· include the purpose, methods, and scope of the report, article, or paper.
· do not provide results, conclusions, or recommendations.
· are always very short, usually under 100 words.
· introduce the subject to readers, who must then read the report, article, or paper to find out the author's results, conclusions, or recommendations.
Informative Abstracts
· communicate specific information from the report, article, or paper.
· include the purpose, methods, and scope of the report, article, or paper.
· provide the report, article, or paper's results, conclusions, and recommendations.
· are short – from a paragraph to a page or two, depending upon the length of the original work being abstracted. Usually informative abstracts are 10% or less of the length of the original piece.
· allow readers to decide whether they want to read the report, article, or paper.
The practice of using key words in an abstract is vital because of today's electronic information retrieval systems. Titles and abstracts are filed electronically, and key words are put in electronic storage. When people search for information, they enter key words related to the subject, and the computer prints out the titles of articles, papers, and reports containing those key words.