How to write an abstract

Writing an abstract is a crucial skill for any researcher. It’s often the first part of your paper that readers engage with, and it’s essential to provide a clear, concise summary of your work. Abstracts are not just mini-versions of your paper; they need to distill the key points, contributions, and results, and entice your audience to read more.

In this post, I’ll offer a practical framework for writing an abstract, using a surprisingly relevant analogy—the structure of the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln. The speech, famous for its brevity and power, mirrors the flow of an effective abstract. Let’s break it down.

1. Start with Context and Motivation (“Generic Growth”)

• “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Begin by framing the context of your work. In a computer science paper, this typically involves presenting the broad field or technology that has been evolving over time. Highlight the growth and importance of the field, and what overarching problem space your paper fits into.

Example:
“Recent advances in machine learning have enabled unprecedented improvements in natural language processing tasks, driven by the increasing availability of computational resources and vast datasets.”

2. Identify the Core Problem (“The Problem Due to Growth”)

• “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”

Now that you’ve introduced the general context, zoom in on the problem your paper addresses. Identify a gap or challenge that arises due to the rapid development or limitations in the existing body of work.

Example:
“However, scaling these models to meet the needs of real-time applications remains a significant challenge, as traditional architectures fail to provide the required efficiency and latency.”

3. Clarify the Specific Contribution (“The Particular Subset of the Problem”)

• “We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.”

Here, you focus on your paper’s specific contribution to addressing the problem. What part of the broader issue are you tackling? Define the scope of your solution and emphasize its novelty.

Example:
“In this paper, we propose a novel FPGA-based architecture that accelerates inference in large-scale machine learning models, significantly reducing latency while maintaining accuracy.”

4. Explain Why It’s a Problem (“Why is This Problem Important?”)

• “But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground.”

At this stage, emphasize why the problem is critical. Why should readers care? This helps establish the significance of your work within the broader field of computer science.

Example:
“Addressing this challenge is essential for enabling machine learning models to be deployed in low-latency environments such as autonomous systems and real-time data processing applications.”

5. Present Your Solution (“Our Solution”)

• “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.”

After framing the problem and its importance, concisely summarize your solution. Explain how your approach addresses the specific challenge you previously outlined.

Example:
“We introduce a dynamically reconfigurable FPGA design that optimizes memory bandwidth and parallel processing, enabling significant improvements in throughput for inference tasks.”

6. Provide Evidence of Success (“Our Evidence That the Solution Is Good”)

• “That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.”

Close your abstract by providing evidence that your solution works. Mention key results, quantitative metrics, or qualitative improvements that validate your approach.

Example:
“Experiments demonstrate that our architecture achieves a 3x reduction in inference latency and a 2x increase in power efficiency compared to traditional GPU-based implementations, making it well-suited for real-time applications.”

Conclusion

Writing an abstract requires careful balance: you need to cover enough information to inform the reader while remaining concise. By following this structured approach—motivating the work, identifying the problem, presenting your specific contribution, and providing evidence—you can craft an abstract that effectively summarizes your paper and captures your audience’s attention.

Remember, your abstract is your first opportunity to convince readers, reviewers, and potential collaborators that your work is worth their time. Treat it as the cornerstone of your research paper.