Abstract

The abstract is a precise summary of the whole report. Its function is to preview the contents of your report so that the reader can judge whether it is worth their while to read the whole report.

It includes a statement of the aim or objective of the experiment, a short description of the method used, the main results, and the conclusions or implications of the results. The abstract should normally be a single paragraph between 100 and 200 words. It should be titled with the word 'abstract'. Given the small amount of words allowed, each word and sentence included in your abstract needs to be meaningful (O'Shea, 1996). In addition, all the information contained in the abstract must be discussed in the main body of the report (Hay, 1996).