Writing the Conference Abstract and Title

All too familiar words from research mentor to student I d like you to submit an abstract to the upcoming ACS conference on your research. The submission deadline is in two weeks. Unfortunately, I ll be out of town, but I m sure you can write it on your own.  

This chapter focuses on writing a conference abstract, not to be confused with a journal article abstract, which was addressed in chapter 7. A conference abstract is submitted in response to a Call for Abstracts issued by conference organizers, typically 3-6 months before the conference takes place. The abstract is reviewed and, if accepted, allows the authors to present a contributed paper (as either an oral or poster presentation) at a conference session. Only accepted papers may be presented at a conference whether they are oral or poster presentations is a decision usually made by conference organizers. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to do the following  

The Writing on Your Own tasks throughout the chapter will guide you as you do the following  

8B Decide on an organizational structure 8C Draft your conference abstract and title 8D Fine-tune your conference abstract and title 

A short text, written in response to a Caii for Abstracts, that describes the work to be presented at a conference. IVlinimaiiy, the abstract inciudes a titie, author iist and affiiiations, and a short description of the work to be presented. 

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What have you learned from the experience of writing your conference abstract and title that will help you the most in the future ... 

Using the organizational structure developed in Writing on Your Own task 8B, write the first full draft of your conference abstract, title, and author list. Remember to define abbreviations and acronyms that are critical to understanding your work, incorporate keywords into your abstract and title, and use tense and voice in conventional ways. Avoid the use of citations. Make sure that you write for the appropriate audience. 

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