Impressive Abstract Writing Guide | Yeni Sav Consultancy

24 October 2023 Academic Editor Academic Writing

Your Academic Showcase: How to Write an Impressive Abstract?

When scanning the literature, a researcher only sees the title and abstract of your article. Therefore, the abstract should be a “mini copy” of the article and entice the reader to download the full text.

A good synopsis is like a movie trailer: It doesn't shy away from "spoilers" (it tells the outcome), but it also piques the curiosity to watch the whole movie.

A standard article summary usually150-250 words* between. In this narrow space, you need to dissolve the entire IMRAD (Introduction-Method-Finding-Discussion) structure. The most practical way to do this *5 Sentence FormulaStop:

graph TD A["1. Motivasyon/Problem Neden bu konu?"] --> B["2. Amaç Hedef ne?"] B --> C["3. Yöntem Nasıl yapıldı?"] C --> D["4. Bulgular Ne bulundu? (En Önemli)"] D --> E["5. Sonuç/Önerme Ne anlama geliyor?"] style D fill:#fff9c4,stroke:#fbc02d,stroke-width:2px

Figure 1: 5 Sentence Rules in Summary Writing

Motivation/Problem (1 Sentence):Why did you study this topic? What gap are you filling?*Example:"The impact of inflation on income distribution is a controversial issue for developing countries."
Purpose (1 Sentence):What is the specific goal of this study?*Example:"The purpose of this study is to test this relationship for the period 2000-2023 in the example of Türkiye."
Method (1-2 Sentences):How did you do it? (Data set, analysis method).*Example:"VAR analysis was used in the study with quarterly data obtained from the CBRT database."
Findings (1-2 Sentences - THE MOST IMPORTANT PART):What did you find? (Concrete result).*Example:"The analysis results show that inflation distorts the income distribution by X% and this effect lasts for 3 periods."
Conclusion/Proposition (1 Sentence):What does this mean?*Example:"The findings suggest that price stability is also critical for social justice."

2. Types of Summary: Structured vs. Not configured

Disipline ve dergiye göre özet formatı değişir.

Unstructured Summary:It is common in social sciences. We write the above 5 steps in a single paragraph, without using a heading.

Structured Summary:It is common in medicine and science. The journal is from you *Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion başlıklarını ayrı ayrı doldurmanızı ister.

3. Differences Between Abstracts: Article and. Thesis and. Declaration

Her akademik ürünün özeti aynı değildir. Hedef kitleye ve amaca göre tonlama değişir.

Feature	Article Summary	Thesis Summary (MS/PhD)	Congress Abstract Summary
Length	Very short (150-250 words).	Longer (300-500 words).	Variable (Sometimes 500-1000 words).
Focus	It is findings oriented.It gives the most striking results immediately.	It is process oriented.Explains the scope and method in more detail.	It is idea oriented.Sometimes it talks about “expected results” because it was written before the research was completed.
Dil	Very clear, definitive judgments ("Found").	More descriptive ("Examined, discussed").	Open to discussion ("To be discussed").

Critical Tip: Tez özetinizi makaleye dönüştürürken kopyala-yapıştır yapmayın. Tez özetindeki "Bu tezde X, Y, Z konularına değinilmiştir" gibi genel ifadeleri atıp, doğrudan "X yöntemiyle Y sonucu bulunmuştur" formatına geçin.

4. Fatal Mistakes While Writing a Summary

Editörlerin en sevmediği hatalar şunlardır:

Citing:Bibliography (Reference) is not used in the abstract! (With very rare exceptions).
Using Abbreviations:Do not use abbreviations without defining them in the text (except well-known ones such as CBRT, WHO).
Ambiguous Statements:* *Sentences such as "The results will be discussed"* or *"Important findings have been obtained"* are prohibited. That finding *what is itYou have to write.
Mixing with Introduction:Do not write the summary as the first paragraph of the "Introduction" section of the article. The abstract is a miniature of the entire work.

5. Hidden Hero: "Keywords"

Özetin hemen altına yazdığınız 3-5 anahtar kelime, makalenizin Google Scholar ve veritabanlarında bulunmasını sağlayan etiketlerdir.

Strategically:Do not repeat the same words as in the title. If there is "Inflation" in the title, put "CPI" or "Price Increase" in the keyword so that you can find it in different searches.
From General to Specific:Choose one general (Economy), one specific (Inflation Targeting) and one methodological (Panel Data) word.

Conclusion

İyi bir özet, okuyucuya zaman kazandıran bir nezaket göstergesidir. Makalenizi bitirdikten sonra (evet, özet en son yazılır!) kendinize şu soruyu sorun: “Can someone fully understand what I did and what I found just by reading this paragraph?” Cevabınız evet ise, vitrininiz hazır demektir.

Guide to Writing an Impressive Abstract