Many readers decide whether to read a paper from the abstract alone. Before worrying about wording, look at the shape.
The four abstracts below have their text blurred, but you can still see how long each section is. Tap Well structured on every abstract you think is built well. There may be more than one.
Pick at least one abstract first.
The shape of a structured abstract
BackgroundMethodsResultsConclusion
Background and conclusion are short bookends. Two or three sentences to open, one or two to close.
Methods and results carry the weight. Either one can be the longest section, depending on the study.
Over the next four pages we will walk through each section using one running example.