What is an Abstract?

An abstract is a brief (in our case, less than 350 words) summary of your project. It is typically used in scientific presentations to give the reader a synopsis of the research project. For creative works- such as written pieces of fiction, poetry, music, art, or dance, the abstract will be slightly different as compared to the scientific variety. A typical abstract should include an initial statement that tells the reader what problem, task, or goal your project addressed and how it will benefit you, your field of expertise, and the world as a whole. If it is a creative project, you should state why you wanted to produce your particular piece or work, and how it will expand the field in which you are working. If it is a Scientific or Business related project, you should state specifically what problem your project addresses. Next, any type of project should include a background statement (no more than 1 or two sentences) if it is needed to understand the abstract. After that you should tell the reader what data, new methodology or innovative techniques you used to do your project. In creative works, this might include why you chose to do soemthing a certain way, or what kinds of effect you wanted to illicit from the reader/audience by creating it a certain way. Finally you should include a statement that is your interpretation of the data. For creative works, this should include a segment of the written piece or work, and or any information as to how your work has been received when presented to the public or to private audiences/readerships.