Writing abstracts in linguistics

Goal: An abstract is a short document that describes a research paper or presentation. I like to think of it as a PR device - it turns a potential reader/listener into an actual one.

Timing: I suggest you work on an abstract before you have completed your analysis. Thinking it through really helps with designing the research project. It also frees you up to think about the style as you construct a compelling abstract. Then you will be prepared if someone asks you, "What are you working on?" or if you see a relevant call for papers for a conference or publication volume.

Style: An abstract is objective, definitive, and contains no hedging. It convinces the reader that you have already conducted and interpreted your analysis.

Content:

tells the potential reader of your paper what your research questions/hypotheses are, and why they are important
briefly describes the methods -- enough detail to convince the reader that the results are valid
usually provides some measure of the type and amount of data examined (# of speakers, # of tokens, in sociolinguistics)
summarizes the results
puts the results in the context of the wider literature

Length: 1/2 page is fine. 500 words is the standard max for abstracts in sociolinguistics (1 pg., single-spaced).

The best way to learn the style of this genre is to look at some abstracts. For sociolinguistics, try Calls for Papers (CfP) for conferences like NWAV (available online) or sociolinguistics journals, such as:

Language Variation and Change

Journal of Sociolinguistics

Language in Society

Canadian Journal of Linguistics

Resources:

You can access journals online through the U of T library website.
Try this Quiz to determine good vs. bad abstracts
the Linguistic Society of America provides guidelines and samples.
Abstracts for previous work in the HLVC project.
For another perspective, check out this classic.

Updated 17 September 2024