Writing assignments are a must for every student regardless of the field of studies. Even though different essays and pieces of writing are a usual thing for student’s routine, some students become numb when they hear about writing a lab report abstract.
And such a fear of lab reports has good reasons while it is one of the most accurate and detailed papers during the process of studying. In the process of writing, students frequently face different issues, and we cannot call it a hassle-free process.
Yes, sometimes, it isn’t effortless to cope with that assignment. But no panic, when you understand what a lab report abstract is and how to write it correctly, you will find it not complicated at all. So, let’s start our detailed and exciting trip to the world of abstracts for your lab reports!
The definition and purpose of a lab report abstract
An abstract of a lab report is aimed to provide your readers with a very concise summary of your entire lab report. In other words, a reader will read an abstract to decide whether your paper is worth reading or not. So, you can imagine how important it is to write it correctly. The success of the whole article will depend on one short abstract.
By your abstract, the readers will decide whether the topic is exciting and essential for them too. So, your goal is to make your abstract as informative as possible, so the audience would want to read your entire paper. A lab report, in turn, is not aimed at innovations or scientific discoveries but re-estimating well-known law principles regardless of the discipline.
Of course, the results of such a report can already be guessed and do not render any new scientific knowledge. Still, it helps students to get acquainted with different research and experimental techniques. Thus, an abstract of a lab report should not present any innovation element but the conducted research along with its results.
The format of lab report abstracts
You know, probably, that a lab report has a couple of chapters. The abstract is one of them and should be placed between the title page and the introduction. It is one of the most important parts of your entire lab report while it introduces your paper to the audience.
We can even say that it is the core of your report, while the readers get all the necessary information from an abstract. It should also contain its core components, including the following.
The experiment objectives
Since an abstract is aimed to present the most important parts of your lab report, it should start with the experiment objectives. If your reader doesn’t know about the reasons of your experiment, it will be difficult to understand the overall process and why this all was necessary at all.
Key findings
The abstract of your lab report should not only contain the objectives of your experiment but also its main results. The outcome of your research is significant. However, since the chapter is not long, don’t add too many unnecessary details to it. You can simply describe your core findings briefly but in plain language. Your reader should clearly understand the conclusions you enlist.
The importance of your lab report
In the same chapter, i.e., your abstract, you should also highlight the importance of your paper for science and how it helps acquire knowledge or fill gaps in it. Don’t forget that any opinion should be supported by related facts.
Main conclusions
The abstract chapter of your lab report should contain the main conclusions of it. It should be everything mentioned above but presented in the form of an end, i.e., the findings of your experiment, its scientific importance, and how the results can be applied in practice. Keep in mind to make it precise and brief while your lab report will have a broader conclusion.
References
It is not mandatory but preferably to include references to the methodology or theory of the experiment in your abstract. You can also add the most notable phenomenon or hypothesis you mentioned in your lab report.
Since an abstract represents a brief description of your lab report, it should be informative, understandable, and easy-to-read even though pretty short.
Lab report abstract writing tips
Now let’s try to understand how you should write your conceptual step by step. If you weren’t even any particular guidelines concerning the length of your abstract, make sure to make it less than 200 words. Approximately, it is a paragraph. Unless it is an informational abstract that can be up to two pages.
Apart from the length of your abstract, you should pay attention to the following:
- The third-person point of view. Most lab reports are to be written in the third person, so make sure to substitute all “I” and “we” pronouns” with “this”, “the”, “it” ones;
- Word choice. Avoid vague or colloquial words, use clear and understandable formal terms;
- Avoid adding new information. Even though you may recall some further information that isn’t stated in your lab report, you may by no means add it to the abstract no matter how relevant it is. Make sure to cover only the information within the frames of your lab report;
- Write it last. Yes, we know that the abstract is the first section of your story, but you should write it last after completing the entire lab report. It is a summary of your paper, so writing it last makes a lot of sense;
- Don’t neglect to proofread it. Proofreading your lab report abstract is a must. You already know its significance and importance for the success of your paper, so proofread it, polish, and make it perfect for making your reader keen to keep reading your paper.
Lab report abstract types
Yes, the abstracts can be different, and we can distinguish two types of them. They can be informational and descriptive. Let’s find out the difference between them and their main peculiarities.
Informational lab report abstract
It is not a standard abstract you used to write and imagine. It has the following aspects:
- Provides the summary of all lab report’s sections;
- Doesn’t contain any images, references, graphs, appendices, bibliography;
- Takes up to 10% of the entire lab report – 1-2 pages;
- It contains the information whether the experiment went as it was planned or no.
Needless to say, that abstract aims to render the details of the experiment or lab report. It should also contain the following information:
- The purpose of your lab report and the experiment, the reasons for which the audience could be interested in it;
- The problem or hypothesis of the investigation;
- Methods and materials used to solve the problem;
- The results of the experiment, whether they were as it was expected or not;
- Conclusion – a summary of all the findings and their importance.
Descriptive lab report abstract
This type of abstracts supposes you to keep it brief. It only represents a precise and short form of your lab report. It should give a clear idea of what your lab report is about and contain the following:
- Maximum 100 words or one paragraph;
- No details but the general information on what your lab report is about;
- The purpose and procedure of your experiment without the discussion on the results or findings.
We hope these tips and tricks will help you write your lab report abstract and make the writing process much easier and more comfortable. Remember that regardless of these helpful tips, it cannot be writing within a day or night, so make sure to devote some time to research and preparation.
If you feel like you lack that precious time or are worried about having the necessary skills and knowledge of the field, you can always use the help of professional writers and experts in the subject.