Writing a Conference Abstract
Let’s assume you have reviewed the prerequisites for writing a conference abstract like doing some experiments, picking a conference you want to attend, and getting the go-ahead from your PI to apply. That leaves us with sitting down and typing out the first perfect sentence of your abstract, right? Probably not! You don’t have to start at the beginning, and you should expect to do several revisions as you build your story.
Maybe the best place to start is by looking up the requirements or a template for the abstracts to the conference you want to attend, because they vary widely. For example:
The American Society for Mass Spectrometry Annual Conference requires four abstract components – Title, Introduction, Preliminary Data, and Novel Aspect – each with a word limit.
Another popular conference, Pittcon, requires three components – Title, Description, Comments – each with character limits.
A conference that several SyBBURE students attend each year, the Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting, requires the Title, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, and Conclusions all be contained on a single page with specific font and margin instructions.
Because every conference has its own requirements, it is important to know them before you get started.
Before we dive into how to write the abstract, we should discuss timing. Start by finding the conference abstract submission deadline and work backwards. Your PI needs at least a week (or more if they ask for it) to review your abstract. Before that you should ask at least two graduate students, postdocs, or someone else at a level between yourself and your PI to review your draft. If you give them advance notice, you can ask for a 2-3 day turnaround from each, with you addressing the comments of the first reviewer before passing the document to the second reviewer. It is generally more respectful to send your work to one person at a time, especially with earlier drafts, so that you aren’t asking more than one person to catch your same mistakes. Depending on how confident you are with your research (and how many other commitments you have), it might take you a week or a month to write the first solid draft. Taking all this into account, you should have a version of your abstract that you think is submission worthy at least 2-3 weeks prior to the deadline.
The next thing to consider is the purpose of your abstract. A scientific abstract should provide an overview of your research, and it will be published in the conference proceedings. This is the information that will help reviewers decide whether to accept your work to the conference, and later it will be used by conference attendees to decide whether to come to your talk or poster to hear more about your project. That being said, try to write an abstract that shows you have interesting data to present and that will attract readers to your conference presentation.
To quickly establish logical flow for your abstract, you might want to try making a flow chart for the ideas you want to present. Consider starting with a broad statement that is narrowed down to a compelling argument for why your research matters.
Easterbrook describes how to write a single-paragraph abstract in six steps, with one sentence written for each step. This method is a great way to get your thoughts on paper, and your paragraph can then be adapted to the format specific to your conference. Keep the level of background knowledge you expect from your audience in mind as you write, and phrase it in ways they will understand.
Write a one sentence introduction. Try to use a single verb and avoid writing a title or a question. This will help you determine an appropriate level of focus for your research.
Identify the problem being addressed in your work. Build on your introductory sentence and focus on a key question.
Briefly state why this research question has yet to be addressed by the community.
Explain how you have addressed the question in a novel way that hasn’t been attempted before.
Discuss the methods used to accomplish your research.
Identify the key impact of your work. Note that this is not your results, rather it is a reason for the reader to care about what you want to present.
After you draft the six sentences above, explore how it can be reorganized to fit the conference criteria, and elaborate as appropriate. Ask other students in your lab, especially ones who have previously attended the conference to which you are applying, for insight and feedback on what you have written. When you have what you believe is a submission-ready draft, you are ready to jump into the second block of the timeline introduced above. Remember to ask politely and give your reviewers advanced notice so they can set aside time to review your work.
When all the reviews are in and all the edits are made, follow the guidelines on the conference website to submit your abstract. Good luck!
References:
Easterbrook S. How to write a scientific abstract in six easy steps. 2010. http://www.easterbrook.ca/steve/2010/01/how-to-write-a-scientific-abstract-in-six-easy-steps/ Date last accessed: 30 April, 2021.
