How to Write an Abstract: The Five-Sentence Method
Updated: 6 days ago
Condensing an entire paper into an abstract of a few hundred words can be harder than it looks.
But it doesn't need to be.
This article will show you an easy way to convert a full paper into an abstract without relying on generative AI tools.
Specifically, this article lays out a step-by-step process to writing an abstract that you can follow by answering five simple questions about your study:
Why did you conduct this study?
What did you specifically aim to determine?
How did you go about determining it?
What did you find?
What’s the one main point you want readers to take away from reading your paper?
If you can answer those questions, you will end up with a solid abstract with this structure:
Sentence 1 presents the research problem.
Sentence 2 states the research objective proposed to achieve the research purpose.
Sentence 3 describes the methodology followed to accomplish the research objective.
Sentence 4 relays the results, which provide the answer to the research objective.
Sentence 5 explains the relevance of the results on a broader scale than the current research setting.
Note: Obviously, this isn’t the only way to write an abstract. But it’s a nice, relatively easy method that you can try if you’ve been having some trouble.
Another note: The five-sentence structure isn’t rigid. You might need six sentences to answer the five questions above if, for example, you need two sentences to describe a complex methodology.
Let's go into detail on how to write each sentence using examples from published papers.
For more help refining your paper, check out Magnum Academic Editing's 40-point checklist, covering each section of a standard research article.
Sentence 1: Research Problem
The research problem tells readers about the broad problem addressed by the present study. It's typically presented very close to the beginning of a paper’s introduction section.
There are many different types of research problems, with some of the more common ones being:
To enhance the general understanding of a topic.
Example 1: This study aimed to deepen our understanding of the motivational mechanisms involved in the relationship between transformational leadership and employee functioning.
To fill a knowledge gap.
Example 2: Although burnout compromises the provision of quality health care, information on burnout among nurses in the Ethiopian context is lacking.
Note: This example (as well as the next one) shows that you don't need to signal that you’re naming the research problem by starting the sentence with “This study aims to…” or “The purpose of the present study is to…” You can do that if you want, but you can also simply state the problem you're addressing.
To address a practical problem.
Example 3: In Germany, many people with serious or life-threatening illnesses are treated in non-specialized palliative care settings such as nursing homes, hospitals and outpatient care.
Sentence 2: Research Objective
After the broad problem has been identified in Sentence 1, the next sentence of an abstract narrows things down by stating the specific research objective.
If the research problem tells readers what your research aims to explore or accomplish, the research objective tells readers what specific aspect of the research problem you set out to analyze.
It can be tricky to differentiate between a research problem and a research objective. So, for clarity, the examples below contain both.
Notice how the second (bold) sentence in each example describes an aim (the research objective) that acts as a specific sub-goal that goes toward solving a larger, broader issue (the research problem) named in the first sentence.
Example 1
This study aimed to deepen our understanding of the motivational mechanisms involved in the relationship between transformational leadership and employee functioning. Drawing on the transformational leadership literature, the job demands–resources model, and self-determination theory, we proposed an integrative model that relates transformational leadership to employee psychological health, attitudes, and performance.
Example 2
Although burnout compromises the provision of quality health care, information on burnout among nurses in the Ethiopian context is lacking. Thus, this study aims to determine the magnitude of burnout and associated factors among nurses working in public hospitals of Harari regional state and Dire Dawa administration, eastern Ethiopia.
Example 3
In Germany, many people with serious or life-threatening illnesses are treated in non-specialized palliative care settings such as nursing homes, hospitals and outpatient care. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the buffering role of resources on the relationship between workload and burnout among nurses working in these settings.
Sentence 3: Methodology
Just as Sentence 2 is more specific than Sentence 1, Sentence 3 should be more specific than Sentence 2.
In this sentence, you want to tell readers the specific steps you took in attempting to accomplish the research objective.
This part of the abstract can be tough to write since there are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to choosing which steps of your methodology to include.
Still, there are certain elements that almost all abstracts should contain (as illustrated in the following examples):
Type of study
Number of participants
Measurement tool(s)
Data analysis method
Example 1
Transformational leadership, job demands and resources, work motivation, burnout, occupational commitment, and job performance were measured by administering a survey to 637 novice nurses. The hypothesized relationships among these variables were tested using structural equation modelling.
Example 2
A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 412 randomly selected nurses working in hospitals for the last six months. Data was collected by self-administered, standardized, reliable and valid questionnaire; entered into EpiData Version 3.1; and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis.
Example 3
A nationwide cross-sectional survey involving 497 nurses was conducted. The questionnaire included parts of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, the resilience questionnaire RS-13 and single self-developed questions. Bivariate and moderator analyses were performed, with palliative care aspects, such as the 'extent of palliative care' incorporated to the analyses as covariates.
If you're finding this article useful, I've also created a research paper with commentary on each sentence to help you better understand the mechanics of research writing.
Sentence 4: Results
If Sentence 3 clarifies what you did to try to achieve the research objective, then Sentence 4 tells readers what you achieved.
The trick here is that you will almost certainly have more results than you can realistically include in an abstract, so you need to choose just the most important one (or few).
A good rule of thumb is to present only those results that are the most clearly and directly related to the research objective(s) stated in Sentence 2. When people talk about the abstract needing to stand alone as a complete overview of the study, this is an example of what they mean.
To help you see how this is done in practice, I have paired each example below with a reminder of that study's research objective.
Example 1
Objective: To test a proposed model that relates transformational leadership to employee psychological health, attitudes, and performance.
Results: Results of both studies provide support for the hypothesized model, suggesting that transformational leadership relates to optimal job functioning by contributing to favourable perceptions of job characteristics and high-quality work motivation in employees.
Example 2
Objective: To determine the magnitude of burnout and associated factors among nurses.
Results: Of the 412 participants, 44.4% experienced burnout. Married marital status, poor current health status, fair current health status, working more than eight hours per day, intention to leave one’s job, and working in an emergency room were associated with burnout.
Example 3
Objective: To investigate the buffering role of resources on the relationship between workload and burnout among nurses.
Results: Nurses who reported 'workplace commitment', a 'good working team' and 'recognition from supervisor' conveyed a weaker association between 'quantitative demands' and 'burnout' than those who did not.
Sentence 5: Discussion & Conclusion
Now that readers can see what you did and what you found, the last sentence should zoom out by expressing how your study fits into a broader context and/or highlighting your study’s relevance beyond the study setting.
Another way to think about it: This sentence should clarify the main point you want readers to take away from your study, which you have likely already stated near the end of your paper's discussion section or conclusion.
There are various you can do this, and each example abstract we’ve been looking at utilizes a different strategy.
Example 1
Theoretical contributions and managerial implications, as well as directions for future research, are presented.
Here, the authors simply let readers know that the study provides managerial implications. Of the three examples, this is my least favorite one because, ideally, the reader won't have to read the paper to understand the study's relevance. The abstract should do that job for them.
Example 2
Based on the findings, concerned bodies should provide training that focuses on stress-coping mechanisms.
The authors have chosen to provide a practical implication of their results to highlight their results’ broader relevance.
Example 3
In addition to implying a buffering role of different resources on burnout, the results reveal that the 'extent of palliative care' may have an impact on nurse burnout and should be considered in future studies.
In this case, the authors choose to highlight a specific promising relationship that other researchers could investigate in the future.
Summary
This article describes an easy way to condense a full research paper into an abstract by answering five simple questions:
Why did you conduct this study?
What did you specifically aim to determine?
How did you go about determining it?
What did you find?
What’s the one main point you want readers to take away from reading your paper?
If you can answer each of these questions in 1–2 sentences, you can write an effective abstract.
Still unsure if your abstract is strong enough?
I'd be happy to work with you one-on-one to ensure that every element of your paper clearly communicates the value of your work. Click here to learn more.
The example abstracts used in this article were taken (and, in some cases, modified for illustrative purposes) from the following sources:
Dechasa, D. B., Worku, T., Baraki, N., Merga, B. T., & Asfaw, H. (2021). Burnout and associated factors among nurses working in public hospitals of Harari region and Dire Dawa administration, eastern Ethiopia. A cross sectional study. PLoS ONE, 16(10), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258224
Diehl, E., Rieger, S., Letzel, S., Schablon, A., Nienhaus, A., Escobar Pinzon, L. C., & Dietz, P. (2021). The relationship between workload and burnout among nurses: The buffering role of personal, social and organisational resources. PLoS ONE, 16(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245798
Fernet, C., Trépanier, S.-G., Austin, S., Gagné, M., & Forest, J. (2015). Transformational leadership and optimal functioning at work: On the mediating role of employees’ perceived job characteristics and motivation. Work & Stress, 29(1), 11–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2014.1003998
