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Selecting Title and Writing Abstract of Selecting Title and Writing Abstract of ManuscriptManuscript

ObjectivesObjectives

How to select a title?

Pitfalls of title writing.

How to write abstract?

Common errors.

How to select a titleHow to select a title??

The greatest challenge authors face

when making titles is communicating

complex ideas clearly in a small space.

The title functions as a The title functions as a ““hookhook””: Make it interesting : Make it interesting

Use short titleUse short title

Be concise

but descriptive

This is your

first chance

to grab the

reader’s

attention.

The maximum

length of a

title should

not exceed

16 words.

Shorter titles are not only less intimidating

for readers, but they also are easier to read on mobile devices such as iPhones.

Leave out unnecessary “filler” words such as ‘effects of’, ‘comparison of’, or ‘a case of’.

Use short titleUse short title

"Discovery of a Useful New Laboratory Research Method

for Isolating and Purifying the Lactose-degrading Enzyme

B-galactosidase from the Economically Important, Yogurt-

producing Bacterial Species Lactobacillus bulgaricus”

Comment: This needs streamlining

"A New Method for Isolating and Purifying B-galactosidase

from Lactobacillus bulgaricus”

But donBut don’’t make it too shortt make it too short!!

If you include too little information, no one will read further. Make sure that you provide enough information in your title to make your study unique.

Capitalize all words,

except articles and

prepositions

"Recombinant Human Antithrombin III“

Comment: This does not tell the reader much about the paper .

"Expression of Biologically Active Human Antithrombin III by Recombinant Baculovirus in Spodoptera frugiperda

Cells"

But donBut don’’t make it too shortt make it too short!!

Avoid alphabet soupAvoid alphabet soup

Avoid titles that wouldn’t mean anything to a reader who is not familiar with field-specific terminology. Some abbreviations are not all that meaningful even when they are spelled out: “When this is the case, modifiers can help to clarify the meaning of the abbreviation, as in ‘membrane receptor,’ ‘cytokine,’ ‘regulatory RNA,’..etc”.

ABC activates DEFG1 channels via HI2K-LMN-OPQ-RST3/4 signaling pathway.”

Note the number of abbreviations used in this title (alphabet soup), the simple rule is this:

Don’t use them

Avoid alphabet soupAvoid alphabet soup

DonDon’’t use a question or complete t use a question or complete sentencesentence

Questions should not be used as titles

provide the answer instead.

A direct statement of the major finding

is likely to capture more interest than

a vague, descriptive title.

Titles should be assertive and relay

the conclusion.

‘Studies on …’ doesn’t do it, whereas ‘Demonstration of …’ does. Even better is to say ‘X causes Y.’”

o The name of the species or breed involved in the study will almost certainly be a key word that will catch a reader’s attention.

o Try to use the most common name for a particular gene or technique to reach the most readers.

o Place your most important terms at the beginning and end of the title.

Use keywords that readers will search forUse keywords that readers will search for

o Do not use terms such as ‘novel’ or ‘first time’ unless you are absolutely sure no one has published anything similar.

o If you mention “molecular mechanism of chromosome rearrangement,” you should provide a clear understanding of the mechanism from your results. If not, say “Protein X contributes to chromosome rearrangement.”

DonDon’’t oversell your manuscriptt oversell your manuscript

Make sure you can deliver on your title

o Rewrite so that your reader doesn’t have to reread. 

o It Should include Research question/finding.

o You don’t have to explain everything in the paper in the title.

o Long, long titles usually are more confusing than helpful.

o Readers will find the papers they are looking for by keyword.

When writing a titleWhen writing a title

ObjectivesObjectives

Common errors.

How to write abstract/

Pitfalls of title writing.

How to select a title?

What is An AbstractWhat is An Abstract??

●

●

A short, self-contained, powerful summary of an article, paper or thesis.

Length: between 150 and 250 words.

It does not contain vague statements which force the reader to refer to the main text.

An original document, not a collection of quotations taken from the text it summarizes, i.e. it must

be able to stand alone.

Stand aloneStand alone

Importance of the AbstractImportance of the Abstract

1It is the most frequently read part of an article after the title.

3Used by abstracting and information services to index and retrieve articles.

2A very concise statement of the major elements of your research project.

4Used by translation services for foreign readers.

o Use the past tense to refer to what was done and what was found at each stage of the research.

o Use the present tense to comment on the significance of your research/findings.

o Use active verbs whenever possible, e.g. ‘the study tested’ instead of ‘it was tested by the study’.

o Use non-evaluative language - report no comment on what you have done.

Writing the Abstract

Conclusions should be based on data/info presented within the abstract.

Writing the Abstract

Writing the Abstract

Identify you topic

Presentation & Meeting AbstractsPresentation & Meeting Abstracts

Written Written beforebefore the paper has been written the paper has been written

• Must be comprehensive

• Must strictly follow format and content rules.

• Often contain more details of methods.

• More likely to include implications.

• May be published in conference proceedings.

• Provides opportunity for feedback from others in the field.

Poster AbstractsPoster Abstracts

o Consider as a billboard,

not a summary.o Keep words to a

minimum. o Include lots of

illustrations, tables, and

graphs.o Text size is important

Written Written beforebefore or or afterafter the paper has been written the paper has been written

Common Errors of AbstractsCommon Errors of Abstracts

How to Fix Most Common ErrorsHow to Fix Most Common Errors

How to Fix Most Common ErrorsHow to Fix Most Common Errors

Don’t include:

oDefinitions, Citations, abbreviations or

symbols.oLengthy background information.oReferences to the literature.oAny sort of illustration, figure or table

or reference.

ObjectivesObjectives

Common errors.

How to write abstract/

Pitfalls of title writing.

How to select a title?

Take Home MessageTake Home Message

o Make the title simple, including the research question/finding.

o Make the abstract the best part of the article.

o Make sure that the abstract stands alone.

o Double check every piece of data.

o Choose appropriate key words.