Writing Abstracts

This workshop is a one-day intensive training session on writing research abstracts – a key form of scholarly communication. Essential for gaining acceptance to speak at conferences (and an audience for your presentation), and for attracting readers to your journal articles, they are of critical importance for raising the profile of your research and developing an academic career. This short form of description, representing the essence of a research contribution, places particular demands on academic writing style, in terms of clarity, economy and precision. The workshop is designed to develop the necessary skills, encouraging participants to find clear, concise and powerful ways to summarize their research and make an impact. In the course of the workshop, participants will produce an abstract in three stages: quickfire drafting using a step-by-step framework, critical editing and mutual feedback. Handouts will provide reference material and further resources for continuing to develop the skills learned in the workshop.