What is an Abstract?
An abstract is a brief synopsis of your entire paper that allows the reader to quickly gain an understanding of the contents of the paper. It often is used to index and retrieve articles. A well prepared abstract can be the single most important part of an article.
USAFP Criteria for Evaluation:
Your abstract is what the USAFP judges use as the initial screen for acceptance. You may have a great study or report, but if it isn’t well described in the abstract or, if the abstract is poorly written, it may not be accepted.
Your submission will be judged on: (a) the originality and importance of the topic, (b) the quality of the project, and (c) the clarity and quality of your writing.
Your submitted abstract should be -accurate (reflects the purpose and content of manuscript), self-contained (avoid abbreviations and acronyms unless first spelled out), and concise, specific, coherent and readable.
Abstracts should not have direct quotes or citations.
Good abstracts report rather than evaluate.
Statements should be clearly written using verbs rather than noun equivalents and active rather than passive voice. The present tense should be used to describe results, while the past tense used to describe the specific variables manipulated.
Watch for misspellings.
Use generic /chemical names for all medications (not trade names).
Your abstract should be based on work completed by the time the abstract is written.
It needs to be submitted on time (late submissions will NOT be considered).
Submissions that deviate from the prescribed format will NOT be considered.
Make sure your abstract looks good!