URCC Abstract writing guidelines
What is a research or creative project abstract?
An abstract is a compact, concise, and self-contained description of a project and its results or current status. An abstract communicates to the reader the essential elements of your project. What is your project? Why are you doing the project? What methods or approaches did you use? What did you learn or produce? How is your project significant and what might be its impact?
Guidelines for writing your abstract for the Undergraduate Research and Creative Collaborations Symposium
Abstract length 200-250 words: Abstracts are short and compact. For this reason, only the essential elements of your project can be included.
Abstract components:
Abstract Title
- Presenter Name(s), Class Year(s), Faculty Mentor's name
Abstract Body (200-250 words)
- Background and Statement of Purpose: What is the Question, Hypothesis, or Purpose of your research or creative project? What is the scope of your work?
- Materials & Methods: Briefly describe the intellectual, experimental or artistic approach to your project. Did you create something, interview people, use other established experimental techniques, and/or collect and analyze sources or data? Tell us!
- Results: What results did you obtain? Did you create images, prose, poetry, a video or performance? Did you do a survey or experiments, collect data, or synthesize sources? If the time frame of your project is such that you don’t have results, just tell the audience what you might expect.
- Summary and significance: Summarize your project. What is the significance of your project both within and outside your disciplinary area? What impact might your project have? Does it spark other questions or avenues of investigation?