Checklists for Writing a Scientific Manuscript
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How to Write the Abstract
To construct your abstract, include the information listed below, in the order shown. The suggested number of sentences is shown after each item. (Tip: Sometimes, you can use sentences from the main body of your article instead of writing new sentences.) ▪ Give the basic background information that led to the development of your study. Be sure to mention the gap in knowledge that this study was designed to fill. (1 or 2 sentences)
▪ State the hypothesis or purpose of the study. (1 sentence)
▪ Mention the experimental approach that was used. Describe the patients or materials (e.g., cell lines), the important experiments or interventions, and — for a clinical study — the primary end points of the study. (Usually 1 to 3 sentences) ▪ Provide the most important results you obtained. State the result for each method that was described in the methods section of the abstract (and be sure that the methods section of the abstract describes a method for each result that is given in the results section of the abstract). The results can be summarized using mean or median values, but specific results necessary to support the conclusion should be described in detail sufficient for that purpose. (Usually 3 or 4 sentences) ▪ State the conclusion drawn from your most important results and how the conclusion relates to the hypothesis or purpose of the study. (1 or 2 sentences)
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