In the professional world, you may be called to write an abstract for a writing project. These are common in the field of academia and in other fields as well. If a person wishes to participate in a conference in their field of study, conference organizers will ask for an abstract that suggests what a person’s plan is for their presentation or essay.

You have likely encountered abstracts in some of the scholarly journal articles you have reviewed and cited in past college-level essays. Put simply, an abstract is a 150 to 250 word paragraph that provides readers (like professors or conference organizers) with a quick overview of your essay or report, and its organization. It should express your thesis (or central idea) and your key points; it should also suggest any implications or applications of the research you discuss in the paper.

Your abstract should define the problem you plan on addressing in the Proposal Essay clearly and concisely. Captivate readers with your research description in terms of the problem by:

• Providing interesting or controversial perspectives on your topic.
• Explaining what your presentation will cover in regard to the topic and problem presented.

An abstract is a 150-to-250 word, lengthy paragraph that provides readers with a quick overview of your essay or report and its organization. It should express your thesis (or central idea) and your key points. 

The goal of an abstract is to do the following: 

• It will describe, not evaluate or defend, the paper.

• It should begin with a brief but precise statement of the problem or issue, followed by a description of the research method and design, the major findings, and the conclusions reached.

• It must contain the most important key words referring to method and content: these facilitate access to the abstract by computer search and enable a reader to decide whether to read the entire dissertation.

Note: Your abstract should read like an overview of your paper, not a proposal for what you intended to study or accomplish.

Avoid beginning your sentences with phrases like, “This essay will examine...” or “In this research paper I will attempt to prove...”

SAMPLE ABSTRACT

Teaching global business communication: Using Bologna Process documentation as a classroom example

Although the global workplace allows people the opportunity to work with individuals from all over the world, there is still the challenge of knowing how to effectively represent multiple cultures in professional communication; thus, it is crucial that college students learn various communication approaches and styles for working with multinational groups. Research on global communication has recently gained momentum due to our increasing global economy, and teachers need effective classroom strategies to prepare students for the global workplace. One strategy for teaching about effective global communication is to have students analyze international documents. This strategy is especially insightful for students when the documentation emanates from or serves a multinational group of people. When students are asked to analyze such documentation, it is important to guide them toward careful consideration of the languages, cultures, histories, and politics of concerned parties. To achieve these goals, I use documents from the Bologna Process. Bologna Process documentation is a supreme example of contemporary professional and global communication, and I will share how these documents can be used in the classroom to discuss important aspects of global communication. In my proposed presentation, I will discuss how globalization demands new skills from our students.