Writing a Powerful Title and Abstract

APS Professional Skills Course:

Writing and Reviewing for Scientific Journals

Meeting Abstracts Versus Journal Abstract

• Focus on journal abstracts

• Different purposes

• Different content

Title and Abstract

• Critical components

• Most frequently read sections

• Must be clear and concise

The “Public Face” of Your Work

• Indexes post titles and abstracts

• Must inform the reader about your work

• Must include important keywords

When Do You Write It?

• Final section to write

• Be specific

• Key elements should be included in both

Writing the Title • Tell the complete story but keep it short• Focus on YOUR study• Don’t be ambiguous…tell what you found• Should be a sentence with a subject and a verb

The effect of Compound A on Compound BCompound A inhibits the production of Compound B

• Begin the title with an “important” word• Include the model system

Compound A inhibits the production of Compound Bin C-type weanling rats

• Indicate if this is one in a series of articles

Title Writing “Tips”

• Follow the journal guidelines and examples

• Avoid “waste words” (“Effect of,” “Response to,” etc.)

• Be specific in your results• Avoid “catchy” or “cute” titles in research

articles• Use punctuation if necessary• Use only very common abbreviations

Do These Titles Meet the Major Criteria?

• Criteria– Concise– Identifies model system – Identifies variables – Reveals major finding(s)

• Examples– Increased adrenal androgen secretion with inhibition of 11β-

hydroxylase in HIV-infected women– Glycine-gated chloride channels depress synaptic transmission

in rat hippocampus – Exercise-induced reversal of insulin resistance in obese elderly

is associated with reduced visceral fat – Mice expressing ACE only in the heart show that increased

cardiac angiotensin II is not associated with cardiac hypertrophy

The Journal Abstract

• Self-contained summary of the study

• Balances detail and clarity

• Does not typically include– Data – Abbreviations – References

Parts of an Abstract

• Same “sections” as the manuscript– Background– Hypothesis– General methodology, including model system– Results– Significance

• Each “section” is 1-2 sentences• May require several drafts• Follow the “story” of your manuscript

Background • 1-3 sentences

– Describe the general topic– Discuss why the topic is important

• Avoid replicating the entire manuscript introduction

• Use transitions between abstract “sections”

(Dichek et al. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 290: E908-E915, 2006) Hepatic lipase (HL), a liver-expressed lipolytic enzyme, hydrolyzes triglycerides and phospholipids in lipoproteins and promotes cholesterol delivery through receptor-mediated whole particle and selective cholesterol uptake. HL activity also occurs in the adrenal glands, which utilize lipoprotein cholesterol to synthesize glucocorticoids in response to pituitary ACTH. It is likely that the role of adrenal HL is to facilitate delivery of exogenous cholesterol for glucocorticoid synthesis.

Model System • Describe the model system used

– Rat– Human– In vitro– In vivo

• List specifics as needed (strain, modification)– Wistar rats– C2C12 cell line– Db/db mice– NIH-3T3 fibroblasts

To test these hypotheses, we compared the corticosterone response to eight daily ACTH injections in HL-deficient (hl–/–), LDLR-deficient (Ldlr–/–), and HL- and LDLR-doubly deficient (Ldlr–/–hl–/–) mice with that in wild-type (WT) mice.

General Methodology • 1-2 sentences

• Keep methods description general

• Exception is new and innovative methods

• Specifics are NOT needed

Plasma corticosterone levels were measured on days 2, 5, and 8. ACTH suppressed cortisol release by 50% (P<0.05).

Hypothesis • 1-2 sentences

– Describe the specific question being investigated OR the purpos e of the study

– State as a hypothesis

• Avoid run-on sentences• Be sure the hypothesis in the manuscript and

abstract are the same

On this basis, we hypothesized that HL deficiency would blunt the glucocorticoid response to ACTH. Furthermore, because exogenous cholesterol also is derived from the LDL receptor (LDLR) pathway, we hypothesized that LDLR deficiency would blunt the response to ACTH.

Results • 1-2 sentences• Complete summary that is specific to the

study. • Actual data is not needed• Include main point(s) only

ACTH suppressed cortisol release by 50% (P<0.05). Our results demonstrate a trend toward reductions in plasma corticosterone levels on day 2 and significant reductions on day 5 and day 8 in the knockout models. Thus, on day 5, plasma corticosterone levels were reduced by 57, 70, and 73% (all P < 0.05) and on day 8 by 76, 59, and 63% (all P < 0.05) in hl–/–, Ldlr–/–, and Ldlr–/–hl–/– mice, respectively.

Significance • 1 sentence

• Summarize significance of findings

• Place in a broader context

• Focus on YOUR study

These results demonstrate that HL deficiency, like LDLR deficiency, blunts the adrenal response to chronic ACTH stimulation and suggest a novel role for HL in adrenal physiology.

Meeting Abstracts versus Journal Abstracts

• Meeting Abstracts– May be limited by space rather than word

count– Provide more background in the introduction– Provide more detail in the methods section– Include data, even figures and tables on

occasion– Have expanded conclusions sections – Often cite references

Final Hints

• Don’t misuse “scientific” terms

• Use active voice

• Don’t hesitate to claim the significance of your findings

• Build your grammar and writing skills