Scientific writing 3.0: A reader and writer's guide - Jean-Luc Lebrun, Justin Lebrun 2021
Abstract metrics
Abstract: the heart of your paper
Paper structure and purpose
✓(+) All search keywords in your title are also in the abstract.
✓(+) Your abstract has all four main parts (what, how, results, impact).
✓(+) The part that contains the contribution has the greatest word count.
✓(+) Your abstract does not contain background or justification of problem importance.
✓(+) Your abstract is written using verbs at the present or present perfect tense only.
✓(+) Your abstract mentions the main result(s) with precision or the key method steps if the contribution is a method.
✓(+) By revealing the main outcome of your results, your abstract targets the reader who stands to benefit the most from your research.
✓(−) One or more search keywords in your title are missing in the abstract.
✓(−) The first sentence in your abstract is more or less a repetition of the title.
✓(−) The first sentence in your abstract contains none or just one of the title keywords.
✓(−) Your abstract is missing one of the main parts.
✓(−) The part that contains the contribution does not have the greatest word count.
✓(−) Your abstract is written using the past tense only, or a mix of various tenses.
✓(−) Your abstract remains vague and lacks precision when mentioning the main result(s) or the key method steps if contribution is a method.
✓(−) The abstract remains vague on part 4 (the impact) because no reader is targeted.
AND NOW FOR THE BONUS POINTS:
✓(+ + +) The reader is able to figure out the title of your paper, just by reading your abstract.
© Jean-Luc Lebrun 2011
1 Reprinted from journal of biomechanics, Vol 39, Hai Gu, Alvin Chua, Bien-Keem Tan, Kin Chew Hung, nonlinear finite element simulation to elucidate the efficacy of slit arteriotomy for end-to-side arterial anastomosis in microsurgery, pages 435—443, copyright 2006, with permission from Elsevier.
2 H. Gua, A.W.C Chuab, B. K. Tanb, K.C. Hunga.
3 George Wright, Bruce Tan, Andreas Rosenwald, Elain Hurt, Adrian Wiestner, and Louis M.Staudt, a gene expression-based method to diagnose clinically distinct subgroups of diffuse large B Cell Lymphoma, Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences, August 19, 2003 Vol 100 No.17, www.pnas.org, copyright 2003 National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A.