Video summary

Writing an abstract - common mistakes

Main summary

Key takeaways

Educational

Main ideas / lessons conveyed

  • Abstracts should “sell” the paper quickly: Ben compares writing an abstract to speed dating—it must attract attention and keep it.
  • An effective abstract is clear, direct, and easy to follow: avoid overly long sentences and redundant phrasing.
  • Common abstract problems fall into three groups:
    1. Text organization
    2. Vocabulary (word choice)
    3. Academic formality (discipline conventions and academic style rules)

Method / checklist style instructions (detailed)

1) Text organization: structure for readability

  • Avoid one-sentence abstracts that run too long
    • If it’s one long sentence, the reader gets bored and loses track.
  • Break up sentences to maintain reader attention
    • Keep each sentence focused and digestible.
  • Remove redundant phrases
    • Example removals suggested:
      • “being devoted to the actual problems of informatics”
      • “actual problems”
      • “informatics” (if the journal is already clearly about information technology)
      • “The present article will be dedicated to…”
      • “again” / filler signposting like “you are going to be talking about…”
  • Shorten overly long sections into a single clear statement of what the paper does
    • Example guidance: explicitly state the relationship between two variables rather than repeating “higher/lower/middle” multiple times.

2) Vocabulary: choose common, correct, precise words

  • Prefer shorter, simpler words when possible
  • Correct or replace problematic word choices, including:
    • “utilizing” → “using”
    • “scientific” → remove it entirely
      • The speaker claims it’s not typically used in Western academic writing.
    • “methodologicals” (used as a noun) → use “methods” or “methodologies”
      • “Methodological” is an adjective, not a noun.
    • “correlation” → use “relationship” (in this context)
      • The speaker argues “correlation” is usually reserved for statistics, while the abstract is about the general relationship.
    • “fewer” vs “less”
      • If something can be counted → use “fewer”
      • Otherwise use “less”/“lower.”
    • “performance” should not be paired with “more/fewer performance”
      • Suggested replacements: “higher” and “lower” (e.g., “higher performance,” “lower speed/performance”).
    • “transpires” → replace with a more direct verb
      • The speaker suggests simplifying the language rather than using indirect wording.
    • “past researchers” → “past research”
      • The speaker says it’s “research” (the subject/output), not “researchers” (people).

3) Academic formality: follow conventions correctly

  • Explain acronyms at first use
    • Write the full term first, then use the acronym afterward.
    • Examples provided:
      • OS = ordinary least squares
      • QCA = qualitative comparative analysis
  • Do not use “etc.”
    • The speaker calls “etc.” non-academic and lazy because it implies unspecified work.
    • If you already say “among others,” adding “etc.” becomes redundant.
  • Avoid unnecessary filler constructions like “i.e.”
    • In the abstract, use a simpler phrasing when possible.
    • Replace awkward phrasing such as “i.e. the variables” with something like “the variables” or “the factors measured.”

Example transformation shown in the video

  • Ben first critiques an ugly/unclear abstract characterized by:
    • one long sentence
    • redundant phrases (“being devoted…”, “present article…”, “again”)
    • unclear or awkward word choices
    • missing acronym explanations
    • “etc.” usage
  • He then presents a rewritten abstract as a model that is:
    • short sentences
    • acronyms explained
    • no “etc.”
    • clear statements of methods and findings, including:
      • the relationship between processor speed and software performance
      • methods including ordinary least squares (OS) and QCA
      • findings showing a positive correlation (because the topic is framed statistically)
      • a claim that past research used incorrect factor measures

Speakers / sources featured

  • Ben — speaking on behalf of the Higher School of Economics Academic Writing Center (as stated in the subtitles).

Original video