Tips for writing abstracts for conference papers

Tips for writing abstracts for conference papers

The difficulty here is that you will probably be writing the abstract as a preamble to the actual paper, rather than subsequent to it. Here are some points to remember:

1. Clarify in your own mind what is the purpose of the paper: what it is that you are going to do.
   
2. Look carefully at the themes of the conference: note those that apply and frame your paper accordingly.
   
3. Very often, the submission procedure will dictate the format and the number of words of the abstract. For example:
   
   
   • Title
   • Name of presenter, contact details
   • Category of presentation (e.g. workshop, research paper, short paper, poster etc.)
   • Conference themes addressed.
   • Key words that will help people deciding whether or not to participate to understand its focus.
   • Objectives/intended outcomes and activities for participants
   • The abstract.
4. Stick closely to the length given. You will often have no choice in this matter, because if you submit electronically you will find yourself cut off in mid sentence as you reach the required limit.
   
5. When writing the abstract, ask yourself the following questions:
   
   
   • What is the purpose of my paper? This should, as with any abstract, be a general definition statement about the objectives of your paper.
   • What approach am I using? I.e. am I reviewing the literature, describing a case study, supporting a research hypothesis, and if the latter, what is my research design and research methodology?
   • What are my findings?
   • What is the import of my findings?
6. Choose your keywords carefully, making sure that they match the themes of the conference.