Academic English > Structure > Abstracts
An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject. The purpose of an abstract is to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper’s purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a manuscript or typescript, acting as the point-of-entry for any given academic paper.
The terms précis or synopsis are used in some publications to refer to the same thing that other publications might call an “abstract”.
Constructing an Article “Abstract”
