A research paper abstract is often an integral part of a research paper writing assignments. Not all students will need to write abstracts; however, when a professor assigns a research paper abstract, students need to know how to write one effectively and succinctly. A research paper abstract is basically a recap of the content of a research paper. An abstract is usually one paragraph (depending on the size of the paper) that says what the paper is about in very clear terms.
Many people write abstracts in order to help readers to decide whether or not they want to read the research paper. Because research paper abstracts are summaries of a research paper, students need to write the research paper before they can create the abstract. The research paper needs to have a very clear focus and direction in order for a student to be able to properly summarize the paper. For example, if the student does not really know what the point of the research paper is, the student would have a hard time summarizing the paper.
All research paper abstracts should be written only after the student has completed the paper and drawn his or her own conclusions. The abstract does not necessarily recap the conclusion, though. Instead, the abstract tells readers what they will be reading, but not necessarily what they will learn from the paper. In many cases, the research paper abstract will appear before the introduction of the research paper and after the cover page.
However, some professors prefer that students put the abstract on the cover of the research paper. For this reason, students need to be sure that they read the project assignment requirements thoroughly before submitting their final work. In order to write a research paper abstract, students can review their research paper outline to get a better idea of the key points that he or she expressed in the paper. These key points should be addressed in the abstract, but they do not necessarily have to be explained.
A research paper abstract is very similar to other parts of a research paper, such as an introduction. An introduction also tells readers more about what they are going to learn from the research paper. However, the difference between introductions and research paper abstracts is that introductions provide background information and introduce the topic of the research paper. Abstracts give a general overview of the paper, but may not include any background information.
