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Writing Report Abstracts

Types Of Abstracts

There are two types of abstracts: informational and descriptive.

Informational Abstracts

• communicate contents of reports
• include purpose, methods, scope, results, conclusions, and recommendations
• highlight essential points
• are short—from a paragraph to a page or two, depending upon the length of the report (10% or less of the report)
• allow readers to decide whether they want to read the report

Descriptive Abstracts

• tell what the report contains
• include purpose, methods, scope, but NOT results, conclusions, and recommendations
• are always very short— usually under 100 words
• introduce subject to readers, who must then read the report to learn study results

Qualities Of A Good Abstract

An effective abstract

• uses one or more well-developed paragraphs, which are unified, coherent, concise, and able to stand alone
• uses an introduction-body-conclusion structure in which the parts of the report are discussed in order: purpose, findings, conclusions, recommendations
• follows strictly the chronology of the report
• provides logical connections between material included
• adds no new information but simply summarizes the report
• is intelligible to a wide audience

Steps For Writing Effective Report Abstracts

To write an effective report abstract, follow these four steps:

1. Reread your report with the purpose of abstracting in mind. Look specifically for these main parts: purpose, methods, scope, results, conclusions, and recommendations.
2. After you have finished rereading your report, write a rough draft WITHOUT LOOKING BACK AT YOUR REPORT. Consider the main parts of the abstract listed in step #1. Do not merely copy key sentences from your report. You will put in too much or too little information. Do not summarize information in a new way.
3. Revise your rough draft to
   • correct weaknesses in organization and coherence,
   • drop superfluous information,
   • add important information originally left out,
   • eliminate wordiness, and
   • correct errors in grammar and mechanics.
4. Carefully proofread your final copy.

Reports, Proposals, and Technical Papers