Writing an Abstract
An abstract is a short (typically one page) description of your paper. The purpose of the abstract is to help the readers decide if they want to read your paper before they read it. Your abstract should state the goals and purpose of your paper, any hypotheses you may have made, and provide a brief summary of the results or findings of your paper. There are two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. Descriptive abstracts provide a summary of the topics discussed in your paper. An informative abstract provides more detailed information about the findings of your paper. The type of abstract you use will depend on the type of research paper you are writing.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute