You’d be forgiven for thinking that writing a conference abstract is just a shorter version of your article or thesis. But the truth is that, although they are similar in some respects, there’s actually more to it than that. Thus, learning how to write a conference abstract is a useful skill for medical writers.
Your conference abstract has different objectives to your research paper or thesis; it needs to be concise and engaging. And while you might think that this means trimming down on words, in reality, it means adding them up differently.
An excellent abstract will capture the main points of your research as well as entice an audience who will primarily read your article based on its appeal as a summary. This article covers how you can write a great abstract for your next conference submission.
In this article – How to write conference abstracts:
- Step 1: Know exactly what your conference wants
- Step 2: Decide what you want to achieve
- Step 3: Organise your ideas
- Step 4: Write!
- Summary
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Step 1: Know exactly what your conference wants
The first thing you must do is read the guidelines carefully. Conference abstracts are usually between 250 and 500 words long, and you should write for the lower end of this scale. Also, you should use a subheadings format like you would for a journal article. This means that your article will be broken down into Introduction, Methods, Findings and Conclusions. If your guidelines don’t mention this, or if you’re unsure if it’s relevant to your article, don’t worry – these are standard in the academic world.
The most important thing to do before you start writing is to make sure that you understand what your conference is all about. This will help you decide on the best way to approach your abstract. For example, if your conference is multidisciplinary, your abstract will be slightly different from one held by a departmental society. Understanding your conference’s aims will help you craft a compelling abstract that meets the guidelines and appeals to the right audience.
Step 2: Decide what you want to achieve
Writing a great abstract isn’t just about packing as much information into a few sentences as possible. It’s also about making your article accessible to a variety of readers. When you attend a conference, you often don’t know what other people’s research is going to be about, so you need your abstract to be broad enough to appeal to a wide audience.
Even if you can guess what your fellow researchers are going to talk about, you might want to later re-use the content in a journal article. Your abstract is often used as the first sentence of your paper and therefore needs to be engaging enough to draw the reader in. You don’t want to sound too vague, but you also don’t want to make too many promises that you can’t keep.
Step 3: Organise your ideas
Conference abstracts are typically structured as a summary at the beginning followed by a few sentences that expand on each subheading. This structure isn’t as rigid as a journal article, but some tips can help you to achieve a well-balanced abstract.
- Choose a key message: What is the main idea behind your research? This will help you decide how to structure your summary.
- Put your subheadings in order: Know what your subheadings are and be clear about the order in which you want to discuss them. This will also help you to decide what your key message is.
- Use strong sentences: Make each sentence as powerful as possible. Start sentences with verbs (the ‘action’ words) and use varied sentence structure. This will break up the information and make your abstract easier to read.
- Keep an eye on word count: You should aim to write your summary as concisely as possible while not skimping on the key points.
Step 4: Write!
Congratulations, you’ve made it to the part you’re probably most excited about – writing! Here are a few pointers to help you write a great conference abstract:
- Keep your sentences short: Aim for no more than 20 words per sentence. This will make your article easier to read, and you’re less likely to lose your audience.
- Use active verbs – As mentioned above, this will make your sentences more colourful.
- Include your research question: This will help your reader understand why your research is important.
- Use a variety of sentence structures: Don’t just use short sentences; mix them with longer sentences too. This will break up the text and make your abstract more interesting to read.
- Make sure you have a structure: Follow the subheadings guidelines and use your key message to ensure your article is focused.
- Proofread and revise: You don’t want to submit an abstract riddled with spelling or grammar mistakes.
Summary
Conference abstracts are a great way to get noticed and connect with potential collaborators. They’re also a great opportunity to practice writing concisely and engagingly. But if you don’t approach the writing process correctly, it can also be a great way to procrastinate.
If you follow these tips, however, you’ll be writing an abstract you’re proud of in no time. And remember, conference abstracts differ from journal articles and theses, so don’t try to take shortcuts by applying the same principles. Instead, spend some time researching how other researchers have succeeded in their abstracts. Your efforts in learning how to write a conference abstract properly will be rewarded when your abstract is selected for the conference.
