The Art of Writing Abstracts (Natural and Life Sciences)

The Berlin University Alliance (BUA) is an alliance of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Together, they are pursuing the goal of creating and shaping an integrated research space in Berlin. This alliance aims to establish Berlin as a leading international science location. All workshops and events offered by the Graduate Studies Support Program are funded by the BUA and therefore free of charge.

Participation

Doctoral researchers and postdocs in the Natural and Life Sciences of the Berlin University Alliance who would like to publish articles or papers in scientific journals in English.

Before booking a workshop, please make sure that you can attend for the entire duration. Please check our terms and conditions.

Goals

Abstracts are the most-read text genre in the scientific world. But how to summarize a complex and sometimes extensive study in just a few, concise words? Although specific differences exist betweeen sciences, technology and mathematics on the one side and the arts and humanities on the other, the purpose and the main elements of abstracts are similar in all disciplines. This workshop will present a focused and purposeful way of developing your abstract and signaling the importance of your work. For this we will at first identify the key elements of writing good abstracts. Then we will examine those elements with authentic examples from scientific journals. Finally, we will learn about the five-finger-pattern developed by Felicitas Macgilchrist. On this basis, the participants will then draft their own abstracts and support each other with a short round of feedback.

Content

What makes a good Abstract?

• function
• length and structure
• do’s and dont's
• studying examples

Draft your Abstract:

• using the five-finger-pattern to structure your abstract
• using keywords to signal the importance of your paper