Prepare a Written and Visual Abstract of Your Research

The purpose of an abstract is to spark the reader's interest in the story and motivate them to continue reading the whole paper.

People will only cite your work if they have read it and felt compelled to go in-depth into your research.

Most prestigious journals have guidelines for writing abstracts you should check, for instance, the annotated example from Nature.

Write 150 words max. abstract describing your research topic

Consider an abstract with a 7-part structure consisting of:

1. introduction,
2. detailed background,
3. problem/objective,
4. “Here we show”,
5. main results,
6. general context and
7. broader perspective.
8. Introduction (1 or 2 sentences):
   • Basic introduction to the field; accessible to scientists of any discipline.
9. Detailed background (2 or 3 sentences): more detailed background comprehensible to scientists in related disciplines (e.g. mathematics, engineering, etc.)
10. Problem/objective (1 sentence): Explanation of what is missing/unknown/problematic, i.e. why the current study happened. Typically, this sentence starts with “However”.
11. “Here we show” (1 sentence): The main result/key finding summarised in one sentence, which starts with “Here we show”.
12. Main results and conclusions (~ 3 sentences):
    • Summary of the most important findings of the study that are the foundation of the main conclusions. A few critical bits of data are welcome, but adding too many numbers is off-putting to the reader. Keep it focused.
    • Unless the method is new and/or a main part of the paper, there's no need to include any details in the abstract. If you mentioned, it should be included in a sentence like “Using xyz, we show that (?)”.
13. broader perspective (1 / 2 sentences)
14. Some explanation on how your findings advance the field. Where does your work lead, and what are the implications? The word “immediate” is key here because being too creative or hyping the work are pitfalls that should be avoided. Instead, keep it realistic and explain which opportunities your work offers and/or what it leads to.

Produce a Visual Graphic Abstract

Journals increasingly request the submission of a “graphical” or “visual abstract” alongside the body of the article. They are eye-catching, graphical summaries of your research.

A visual abstract is a single, concise, pictorial and visual summary of the article's main findings. It could either be the concluding figure from the article or, better still, a figure specially designed for the purpose, which captures the article's content for readers at a glance.

Visual abstracts can help:

• make a strong impact and increase article views optimised for social media channels
• draw attention, highlighting your work with illustrations that are more compelling and easy to understand