How to Write a Concise Title, Abstract and Keywords
The abstract is, next to the title, the most-read part of your scientific manuscript, as it is visible at PubMed without opening the main manuscript file. Even if you do not publish in an open access journal, your abstract will be available to all researchers. You should thus place a lot of effort in it so it perfectly describes your study. The abstract is the flagship of your work and should ideally make the reader curious to read the full publication.
No matter in which journal you plan to publish in, the abstract needs to be structured in a specific order. Usually it is: Introduction, (Objective), Method, Results, Discussion (and Conclusion). Some journals even ask to use these words as header for the corresponding section. Additionally, the word count of the abstract is usually limited to 250 to 300 words, in some rare cases up to 500 words. Please check the Authors Guide of the journal for details.
As the abstract is a summary providing the essentials of the main manuscript, you need to provide the most important information about each section within 2-3 sentences. You might need to use umbrella terms to describe a group of experiments or the results. Try to prevent the use of filler words wherever possible.
Keywords
Most journals will ask you to provide 5-8 words that describe your study most precisely. In some journals you have to choose these words from a drop-down menu, in others you just have to write them out. Keywords can be your test system, applied method, (bio-)markers, proteins, pathways and so on. Keywords that are two to three words long are preferred over one-word keywords. Words that are already used in your manuscript title are not to be used in the keywords. When selecting keywords, remember that these words are key to your scientific research article!
Title
The title should be very concise. Some journals have a word or character limit and other special requirements related to the title. For example, they might ask to include the test system. Please check the Authors guide for details. And remember: Use different words or phrases as in the keywords.
Highlights
Some journals require to provide a list of highlights. These are usually 3 to 5 bullet points that reflect the novelty of your manuscript and are the elevator pitch of your study. They are used to increase your study’s visibility to search engines. Each highlight should be max. 85 characters including spaces.
Acknowledgements
Here you can mention who helped you performing the experiments of your study or writing the scientific manuscript, but whose input was not enough to justify an authorship. Often, technical support teams like technicians or core facility personnel are mentioned here.
Depending on the journal you are submitting to, they might ask for additional or different documents. This could be a Contribution to the Field statement or a graphical abstract. The latter is usually optional. Please read the Authors Guide thoroughly to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Today’s conclusion about the abstract, keywords, title, and highlights sections:
