Writing Abstracts

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Back to Outlining Method

1. Read through each paragraph of your paper and write one phrase or sentence that answers the question "what does this paragraph do?"
2. Take your list of descriptions for each paragraph and look for connections: i.e., do these 3 or 5 paragraphs do something similar? What is it?
3. When you've reduced your outline to 4 or 5 accurate generalizations, you most likely have a descriptive abstract.
4. If you're writing an informative abstract, fill in key details about your content.

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