Abstract
A short standalone summary of a paper — usually 150–300 words — covering purpose, method, results, and conclusion.
An abstract is the most-read part of any paper and often the only part. It has to work alone: no citations, no undefined abbreviations, no reference to figures. A structured abstract uses explicit headings (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions), which many medical journals require.
It is also what search engines and databases index, so the words in it determine whether the right readers ever find the paper. Write it last, from the finished paper.
Do it on CitationEasy
See also
SummaryA compressed account of a source's overall argument in your own words, much shorter than the original, with a citation.MethodologyThe account of how a study was carried out, detailed enough that another researcher could repeat it.KeywordsThe terms listed with a paper to make it findable, chosen to match how other researchers would search for it.