Writing the Conference Abstract and Title

Abstract

This chapter focuses on writing a conference abstract, not to be confused with a journal article abstract, which was addressed in chapter 7. A conference abstract is submitted in response to a Call for Abstracts issued by conference organizers, typically 3–6 months before the conference takes place. The abstract is reviewed and, if accepted, allows the authors to present a contributed paper (as either an oral or poster presentation) at a conference session. Only accepted papers may be presented at a conference; whether they are oral or poster presentations is a decision usually made by conference organizers. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to do the following: ■ Describe the major purposes of the conference abstract ■ Recognize a typical organizational structure for the conference abstract ■ Identify common writing conventions in the conference abstract ■ Write a concise and informative conference abstract with title and author list The Writing on Your Own tasks throughout the chapter will guide you as you do the following: 8A Prepare to write 8B Decide on an organizational structure 8C Draft your conference abstract and title 8D Fine-tune your conference abstract and title Writing a conference abstract is often the first professional genre that novice writers tackle on their own, with little, if any, guidance from their research mentors. This chapter is intended to prepare you for the task by focusing on the text of the abstract. (If your abstract is accepted and results in a poster presentation, see chapters 9 and 10 for guidance in preparing the poster.) Like the journal article abstract, most conference abstracts have strict word limitations (typically between 150 and 200 words). Adherence to this limit is expected; your abstract will likely be rejected if the limit is exceeded. Many other formatting specifications must also be followed. For example, most instructions include rules for formatting your title, author list, graphics, and special characters (e.g., μm, a, £, m3). The reason for such specificity is that your abstract, if accepted, will be printed (as is) in conference proceedings. Adherence to these guidelines by all authors ensures that the proceedings appear uniform and professional.