The title and abstract of your academic paper are the first things that readers, reviewers, and editors will see. They are crucial for attracting attention, conveying your main message, and summarizing your research. How do you write a title and abstract that are clear, concise, and catchy? Here are some tips and guidelines to help you.
Your title should reflect the main purpose, scope, and contribution of your paper. It should be informative, specific, and accurate, but also engaging and appealing. Avoid vague, generic, or misleading words that do not capture the essence of your research. Use keywords that are relevant to your field and audience. If possible, include a hook or a twist that sparks curiosity or interest. For example, instead of "The Effects of Social Media on Mental Health", you could write "How Social Media Can Make You Happier or Sadder: A Mixed-Methods Study".
If the target group of population is mentioned, it will bring clarity on who the You is. Try to avoid asking a question and use of colon if possible.
Your abstract should provide a concise and comprehensive overview of your paper. It should state the research question, the methods, the results, and the implications of your study. It should also highlight the novelty, significance, and relevance of your research. Depending on the journal or conference guidelines, your abstract may have a specific structure, such as background, aim, methods, results, and conclusion. Alternatively, you may use a narrative style that flows logically and coherently. In any case, your abstract should be clear, coherent, and concise, using no more than 250 words.
If I am working on a full manuscript, I write the abstract at the very end. The concise summary of your ideas can be very challenging; saving it for last allows you to utilize the experience of writing your draft to organize your thoughts. The better you know your subject matter and what you want to say, the easier it is to do so with space-saving efficiency.
One way to make your title and abstract more clear and concise is to use active voice instead of passive voice. Active voice means that the subject of the sentence performs the action, while passive voice means that the subject is acted upon by the agent. For example, instead of "The data was analyzed using SPSS", you could write "We analyzed the data using SPSS". Active voice makes your writing more direct, lively, and engaging. It also helps you avoid ambiguity and confusion about who did what in your research.
Academic writing in third person is generally recommended. This may contradict the above. It is better to follow the prescribed guidelines.
People often avoid active voice because they get tripped up by pronouns. Do I say "I" or "We" or something else? Authors like the hide in the vagueness of passive voice. I find being specific and accurate actually makes this easier. Instead of "Data was analyzed..." or even "We analyzed data..." try "Four senior members of our clinical research team analyzed the data..." This transparency also strengthens the readers faith in your methods.
Another way to make your title and abstract more clear and concise is to avoid jargon and acronyms that may not be familiar to your readers. Jargon refers to specialized or technical terms that are used by experts in a specific field or discipline. Acronyms refer to abbreviations that are formed by the first letters of words or phrases. For example, instead of "The impact of EFL on L2 learners' motivation", you could write "The impact of learning English as a foreign language on second language learners' motivation". Jargon and acronyms may make your writing more concise, but they may also make it more obscure and inaccessible to a broader audience.
In the era of pay gates and abstract-only publication, acronyms that are only defined in the manuscript text (and not the abstract) will likely forever remain a mystery to some readers. It is best to define essential terms and abbreviations within the abstract or avoid them altogether.
The final step in writing a title and abstract is to proofread and revise them carefully. You should check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting errors that may distract or confuse your readers. You should also check for clarity, coherence, and consistency in your writing. You should make sure that your title and abstract match the content and tone of your paper. You should also ask for feedback from your peers, mentors, or editors who can offer you constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement.
The article must lead the readers beyond the Abstract. This means articulating the article in a narrative and holding interest with new findings supported by statistical data and meaningful interpretation.