Abstracts are important because they give a first impression of the document that follows, letting readers decide whether they want to continue reading and showing them what to look for if they do. Though some abstracts only list the contents of the document, the most useful abstracts tell the reader more. An abstract should represent as much as possible of the quantitative and qualitative information in the document, and also reflect its reasoning. Typically, an informative abstract answers these questions in about 100-250 words:

1.Why did you do this study or project? What did you do, and how?
2.What did you find?
3.What do your findings mean?

If the paper is about a new method or equipment the last two questions might be changed to

What are the advantages (of the method or equipment)? How well does it work?

Here are some other points to keep in mind about abstracts:

• An abstract will nearly always be read along with the title, so do not repeat or rephrase the title. However, it will likely be read without the rest of the document, so make it complete enough to stand on its own.
• Your readers expect you to summarize your conclusions as well as your purpose, methods, and main findings. Emphasize the different points in proportion to the emphasis they receive in the body of the document.
• Do not refer in the abstract to information that is not in the document.
• You may want to avoid using I or we, but choose active verbs instead of passive when possible (the study tested response rates rather than response rates were tested by the study).
• Avoid if possible using trade names, acronyms, abbreviations, or symbols. You would need to explain them, and that takes too much room.
• Use the most important terms and concepts from the document. Include the ones that will attract people to read your piece. (Indexers of published articles “mine” abstracts for keywords.)

                                                        SAMPLE SOLUTION

The inter-link between religion and culture has become very apparent. It has in fact been argued that religion is culture. An individual’s religious affiliation has a significant bearing on the sort of culture ascribed to. The purpose of this paper is to build on this correlation by studying the influence of religion on cultural change. The hypothesis herein is that variance in religious affiliation or beliefs results in cultural change. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods have been used to support this hypothesis. Particular focus is on individuals who have, at one point or another, shifted from one religion to another. Based on online survey results, results from individualized in-depth interviews and the study of focus groups, it is apparent that when individuals shift from one church to another (particularly if there is variation in the doctrines taught in the different churches), from Christianity to Islam, from Buddhism to Christianity, or from Atheism to Christianity (among other variances in religious affiliation), such variances are often accompanied by cultural change. The conclusion arrived at is that variance in religious affiliation or beliefs results in cultural change.