How to Write a One-Page Abstract

THE ABSTRACTHow to prepare a one-page abstract for conference submission

Outline of key considerations

1. Language (use an editor)

2. Instructions from the conference

3. Clarity of writing

4. What makes your study unique and interesting

5. Convince the reader that your paper is a good one (authority)

6. Formatting

1. LANGUAGEIf the abstract must be written in English, hire a native speaker to edit it

2. INSTRUCTIONSMany conferences provide specific guidelines for the contents and format of the abstract (especially: word count)

3. CLARITYIdeas in the abstract must be expressed clearly and simply

Example 1

The primary feature of social media is conversation. There are social media conversation practices in Indonesia that hinder the formation of a public sphere that is characterized by free and deliberative discussion. One of the problems is the inappropriateness of conversation in the discussions. KASKUS as the largest online forum in Indonesia also faces the same problem. The inappropriateness in the form of flaming, spamming, and trolling become obstacles to foster a healthy and rational debates, especially in the context of political discussion.

(81 words)

Revised example 1

The primary feature of social media is conversation. Some social media conversation practices in Indonesia hinder the formation of a public sphere that is characterized by free and deliberative discussion. In online forums, inappropriate practices such as flaming, spamming, and trolling become obstacles to healthy and rational debates, especially in the context of political discussion.

(55 words: 26 fewer, a reduction of more than 25%)

Example 2

KASKUS, as the largest online forum in Indonesia, also faces the same problem. …

The objective of this paper is to map the relation between inappropriateness in the political discussions in the KASKUS online forum with the oral tradition by critically reviewing the concept of orality in the context of computer-mediated communication and using orality to analyze the texts of the political discussion in the KASKUS online forum.

(68 words)

Revised example 2

KASKUS is the largest online forum in Indonesia, which has a long and rich oral tradition. Using the concept of orality (Ong, 2002 [1982]) to analyze the texts of the political discussion in the KASKUS forum, this paper maps the relationship between inappropriateness in social media conversations and the oral tradition.

This paper also critically reviews the concept of orality in the context of computer-mediated communication.

(66 words; no significant reduction)

4. UNIQUENESSThe people who read your abstract must see that your study is interesting and offers something new

5. AUTHORITYThe abstract should indicate that the quality of the paper is very good, and that the author really understands the topic

Example 3: Authority

There is disagreement on whether computer-mediated communication represents secondary orality or residual orality (Soffer, 2010). Given that the KASKUS forum participants are writing texts and do not produce sounds, this paper argues that their interaction demonstrates residual orality, which is characterized by habits, thoughts, and expressions that have roots in the oral tradition. Their interaction does not constitute secondary orality, because ...

6. FORMATTINGTitle, author(s), institution(s), structure of the body of the text, references

Title of the abstract• First — at the top of the page• Upper- and lowercase letters (not all caps)• About 10 to 15 words — usually okay (maximum 20)• No more than 2 lines!• Clear and direct: Describe the study, not the results• Represent the contents of the paper honestly• Include the type of method in the title:

A case study A content analysis A survey

• Do not be “clever”; simple is best

Examples of abstract titles• Corporate social responsibility for image repair: A case

study of BP’s response to the Deepwater Horizon crisis

• Transparency in environmental communication: A survey of PRSA members

• How gender cues and individual motivations influence perceptions of credibility: An experiment with multiple blog posts

Authors and institutions

Mary Smith [1], John R. Anderson [2], and Susan Franklin [3]

1 First University Name, City, Country

2 Second University Name, City, Country

3 Third University Name, City, Country

• Each line is centered.• These lines appear directly below the title.

Structure of the abstract text

1. Rationale Usually one sentence that introduces the topic Do NOT repeat the title!

2. Objective(s) What were you trying to find out? Why was this study done?

3. Methods (be very clear!): Examples on next slide

4. Results: State what you found (real data, but brief)

5. Conclusions Say what it means Why is it important?

Examples of methods• A framing analysis of 500 newspaper articles published

from September 2005 to September 2010 …

• Transcripts of structured interviews with 12 victims of police corruption were analyzed by …

• Surveys were completed by 431 healthcare practitioners; 29 surveys were eliminated because more than 10 percent of questions were not answered (N=402). A statistical analysis of the responses showed …

Structure: Guidelines for length

1. Rationale: 1 sentence

2. Objective(s): 1–2 sentences

3. Methods: 2 sentences

4. Results: 4–6 sentences

5. Conclusions: 1–2 sentences

Hint: Try saying each one of the 5 out loud, in your first language, until you can do it in the recommended number of sentences. Then write that. Then translate it.

References• Not always required• Some conferences give instructions not to include these• Where? At the bottom of the page• Style: Correct reference/citation style, e.g., Chicago or

APA style• Number: Usually no more than 3; 1 or none — okay • Hanging indent: Not necessary (unless required)• Do not include them unless they really help the abstract

(for example, by allowing you to omit an explanation)

Example: References

Ong, W. J. (2002 [1982]). Orality and literacy: The technologizing of the word. New York, Routledge.

Papacharissi, Z. (2004). Democracy online: Civility, politeness, and the democratic potential of online political discussion groups. New Media & Society, 6(2), 259–283.

Soffer, O. (2010). Silent orality: Toward a conceptualization of the digital oral features in CMC and SMS texts. Communication Theory, 20(4), 387–404.

WHY AN ABSTRACT?The main purpose of the abstract is to communicate the reasons for, and the value of, your study

Choosing keywords• How many? 5 to 8 — not more• How to choose them? Think of searching: What will

people type into a search engine if they are looking for a paper like yours?

• Do not use duplicate words, e.g., reporter and reporting• Do not use common words that already appear in your

abstract, e.g., online • Do use terms that are commonly applied to your topic,

e.g., social media

THE ABSTRACTPresentation by Mindy McAdams

University of Florida, USA

mmcadams@jou.ufl.edu