The ProjectStoc Blog

Tag: how to write a good abstract

  • How To Write A Good Abstract For Your Project Work

    Writing an abstract in an important phase in the research process; hence in-order to make good grades with your research project and impress your readers, one must be familiar with the techniques of writing a good, concise and standard abstract.
    Before I discourse on how to write a good abstract, let’s talk a bit about an abstract. What is it? An abstract in simple terms is a summary of a research project, thesis. Dissertation, research journal etc. abstracts are usually seen at the beginning of research paper.
    In-order to write good and standard abstract, students must first know how abstracts should be structured and things to avoid when writing one. This article torches on all of these.

    STRUCTURE OF A STANDARD ABSTRACT
    Most well written abstracts by outstanding researchers all over the world are structured as follows:

    1. Overview of the study/Background
    2. Methods
    3. Results or Findings
    4. Recommendations and Conclusion
    5. Now let us discourse these sections one after the other.

    OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
    This is usually the first part of an abstract. It depicts the central focus of the study. When writing an abstract, students should know the central idea behind their study. This section is very important as it tells readers whether to continue reading or not. In essence when giving an overview of your study, you should make it concise and interesting enough to encourage readers to read your whole work. Students must ensure readers easily get a clue of what the research objectives are as well as problems motivating the researcher to pick up interest in the study.

    METHODOLOGY
    Methodology employed by the researcher constitutes the second part of an abstract. With a semi-paragraph or a sentence, state your research methods. This is where you briefly let readers know your data collection methods, research instruments employed, sample size and so on. To some extent depending on your institution’s research project format, you can state how the research instruments were validated and distributed (i.e. was it face-to-face distribution? or through email?).

    RESULTS
    The third section of an abstract is a brief summary of your key findings or results. Findings or important results recorded in the study must be briefly stated in the abstract.

    RECOMMENDATIONS/CONCLUSION
    The last section of most abstracts tells readers recommendations or suggestions made by the researcher. This section is the most important section in an abstract as it brings out the essence of research which is solving identified problems, developing better ways of doing things and adding to the body of knowledge.

    THINGS TO AVOID WHEN WRITING AN ABSTRACT
    In-order to present a good abstract for academic award(s), the following should be observed by the researcher:

    Avoid Ambiguous Words and Complex Grammar
    Remember an abstract is like a tip of the iceberg. Complex and ambiguous words/sentences may discourage readers from reading the full content of your research. Using keywords at the end of an abstract may help in letting your readers know the central theme or idea of the study.

    Do not Loose Focus
    When writing an abstract, just go straight to the point. Do not beat around the bush. Definition of terms, long stories that are not interesting may make your abstract too lengthy and boring…..leave all definitions and stories for your introduction.

    Avoid Lengthy Abstracts
    Abstracts are meant to be brief and concise. Avoid writing numerous pages and calling it ‘Abstract’. An ideal abstract should be on a single page. However, if you wish to write more, seek the advice of your supervisor first.

    Avoid Writing Abstracts When you have not completed your Study
    This particular point one is of great interest to me. I see students writing abstracts before completing their research studies, and it gets me wondering a lot. How did they get findings and recommendations before data analysis and interpretation? Or is there any such thing as pre and post abstracts? An abstract is meant to be a summary of your entire work; hence it should be after you have conducted your study.

     

    Source: ResearchClue.com

  • How to Write an Excellent Academic Project Work

    How to Write an Excellent Academic Project Work

    After several years trying to fulfill requirements, pass grades to obtain a degree or higher diploma you would have to write a final year academic project work or dissertation. This proves a very tough task for many final year students depending on the type of project or dissertation topic chosen.

    While requirements for writing a good project work might differ based on your school the basics and fundamentals are always the same. Writing a successful project entails adhering to several key ingredients which are examined below

    The Sketch

    You have a topic to work on but before doing copious amounts of research and writing you have to invest a couple of hours in developing a good Table of Content which will act as a Sketch or Framework for your academic project writing. For some students you might have standard guides used by your school or issued by the project supervisor. For some others it may be your responsibility as the student to produce an acceptable table of content.

    This means either way you have to decide the subheadings of your Table of Content. Being clear on what goes into Chapter 1, 2 and 3 makes the actual writing and compilation easier.

    Study Extensively and Gather Relevant Materials on Your Topic

    To write a good project, you have to do some studying on the topic. After reading up, you have to do some thinking then start putting down your thoughts. You have to present the topic in a new light by bringing out new thoughts and developments. Your project report should present research facts and your own assessment of these facts.

    Writing Your Project Work

    The Abstract and Introduction

    When you have collated several data and information from various sources you are now in a position to start writing your abstract. A good abstract and introduction to the topic should contain concise summary of your project which includes the purpose, major findings and conclusion. Your purpose of embarking on the research work should be clearly explained along with what objectives the project hopes to achieve.

    The Body of Your Work

    The main body of your project work will consist of chapters; Literature Review, Research Design/Methodology, Data Collection and Analysis, Major Findings, Conclusion. The actual structure of these chapters can differ from school to school. When you draft your table of content your supervisor is likely to make small changes in the structure before you proceed

    If your project work is research based and having to deal with a hypothesis you will have to come up with a good questionnaire, research questions. Your research design could be either quantitative or qualitative or a combination of the two methods.

    Conclusion

    Readability is very important in university project writing. Let your writing be clear, straight to the point and easily readable. Use short sentences and short paragraphs. Use simple grammar and obey punctuation rules.

    Need Professional Researchers to Handle Your Academic Work? Submit Your Topic Here