HOW TO WRITE AN

ABSTRACT SO IT HAS
MORE IMPACT
Advice for those publishing in:
British Journal of Management
International Journal of Management
Reviews

Based on a presentation
produced by our publishing
partner Wiley
What does a good abstract look like?

"The most valuable of all talents is that of "You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get
never using two words when one will do." them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere."
Thomas Jefferson Lee Iacocca

The purpose of any writing we do is to communicate something to someone.

The purpose of an abstract is to set out clearly and briefly the content of your article –
and to make readers want to read your work in full!

Please consider our advice so that you can maximise the impact of your article.
How to write a good abstract

Ask yourself four questions :

1. What problem did you study and why is it important?

Here, you want to provide some background to the study, the motivation behind the study, and/or the specific question or
hypothesis you addressed. Use your best judgment here as to how much to say in this first section.

2. What methods did you use to study the problem?

Give an overview of your methods. Normally, you should keep the methods section brief unless it is the focus of the paper.

3. What were your key findings?

When describing your results, focus on the main finding. List no more than 2-3 points. Avoid ambiguous or imprecise
wording.

4. What did you conclude based on your findings, what are broader implications?
The conclusions section is where you want to drive home the broader implications of your study. What is new or innovative
about the findings? How do your findings affect the field of study? Are there any applications? For literature reviews: what is
the conceptual contribution and where should the literature be going from here? In writing this section, however, don’t make
sweeping generalizations unsupported by the data, and avoid saying that insights “will be discussed”.
Good abstracts need to be:

Clear Concise Engaging

• Decide how much to cover in • Use everyday words • Make it inclusive

200 words
• Cut unnecessary words • Use keywords in context
• Put your main points first • Leave them wanting more
• Use the active voice, not • Switch out the adverbs
passive Consider doing a video
abstract too!
Clear

Your readers only want the key information. So, keep it to 200 words.
Think of details like tennis balls – the more you throw, the fewer you can catch.

Put your main points first to ensure every reader gets your most important message,
then secondary points.

Active voice sounds sharp and dynamic. Passive voice is slow and stuffy.

Active sentences are where the subject does something:

• We conducted a review (instead of: a review was conducted) Crucial
information
• We created a model (instead of: a model was created)
• The consultant made a lot of changes (instead of: a lot of changes were made)
• They found it difficult (instead of: it was found to be difficult)Detail/Background

Tip: Use ‘by monkeys’ to check if something is passive – if you can add ‘by
monkeys’ to the sentence and it still makes sense, then its passive!
Concise

Everyday words make your writing warm and personal. They make it shorter and
accessible.
• in order to → to
• despite the fact that → although
• in relation → about

Cut unnecessary words. For example:

“We investigated how consultants collaborated together over an estimated period of
about six months, barring any unexpected surprises.”

Adverbs add to the length and complexity of your writing. They can almost always be cut or
replaced with a more descriptive word. There are usually better words than adverbs.
• The multi-sector analysis was very useful – The multi-sector analysis is invaluable
• The experience was really, really exciting – The experience was thrilling
Engaging

Be mindful of subtle ways in which language can impart bias and judgement – even
unintentionally.
Think about sex / gender and race / ethnicity - e.g. use humankind rather than mankind.
Avoid labelling for disability or socioeconomic traits – e.g. low-income households rather than ‘poor’.
Avoid ageism and try to be specific – e.g. we studied children between 2 and 6, not ‘young children’.

Most readers discovered your article via an online search, so including appropriate terms and
relevant keywords can help guide them to the right place. However, use keywords with caution.
Trying to squeeze in keywords can end up making the text difficult to read or understand, so include
keywords carefully and in context.

✓Your abstract should tell people the basics – who, what, where, when
✓It is the ‘why?’ which makes them read on: Why is this new? Why does it matter? Why is it
important?
✓Cover that to make people want to read more.
A good example of a BJM paper abstract

What makes this good?

It explains the background and problem fully, sets out the
method used, provides key takeaways and practical use.
A good example of an IJMR paper abstract

What makes this good?

It explains the background and gap, sets out the review
method used, covers key findings and practical use.
Some useful tools and tips

➢ Hemmingway Editor – free to use online (can be downloaded as an app, at a cost)

➢ Plain English campaign / Center for Plain Language
➢ Read it aloud/get someone else (ideally unconnected) to read it!
➢ Keep a link to any good abstracts you read and use them for inspiration for your own
➢ Read some good examples from our journals
➢ Get more guidance here: https://www.wiley.com/network/researchers/preparing-your-
article/how-to-write-a-scientific-abstract