Faculty workshop: Preparing effective abstracts for conferences and publications

Whether you are submitting your work for publication in a biomedical journal or for presentation at a medical conference, the Abstract is often the only thing that editors and conference organizers use to make decisions about accepting your work. Thus, it is imperative to prepare an Abstract that not only follows the required format and length, but also is informative and can stand on its own in “telling the story” about your work.

Abstracts are written in 2 formats (simple/conventional and structured) and 2 styles (descriptive and informative) and each requires a different thought process when preparing an Abstract. The goal is to lead the reader to an appreciation of why the work was done, how it was done, what you found, and what it means. In other words, it is a mini-paper in many respects.

This workshop will inform attendees about formats, styles, what to include in an Abstract, and how to make the best use of the allowed word count. A case study using a hypothetical research study will provide a hands-on opportunity to practice creating a successful Abstract based on a limited amount of information.

Facilitated by: Thomas Annesley, PhD; Deputy Editor, Clinical Chemistry; Professor, University of Michigan