Abstracts
The purpose of the abstract is to provide a summary of your project that will inform interested individuals of the contents. The abstract should contain no more than 250 words and is completed on-line. A heading must contain the project title and name(s) of the author(s). The heading does not contribute to the word count. The wording must be written in a manner that any scientifically-minded individual, who may not be familiar with your topic, can understand the project's important points. (See Required Material in Science Day Standards.)
The following should each be summarized in a few sentences:
-
- Background information necessary to understand the abstract and its importance.
- The problem that was investigated and your hypothesis.
- Outline of the materials and methods used in your experimentation.
- Summary of the results obtained from your experimentation.
- The conclusions drawn from your results.
- The importance or potential applications your research offers.
The abstract should not include all the details. The key point to remember when writing an abstract is to keep the wording brief and concise. Use complete sentences. Abstracts should only provide necessary information needed to understand the project's basic points and importance. Please note, the abstract is a brief synopsis of the pertinent techniques used and a summary of the findings, it is not the same as the report which goes into greater detail of the research process and results.