Conference Abstract Template: How to Write and Review Abstracts

A conference abstract is a short summary of the talk or poster you want to present, sent in response to a call for abstracts (often called a call for papers). Reviewers use it to decide whether the work belongs in the program, which session it fits and whether it suits an oral presentation or a poster. If it is accepted, the same text usually appears in the printed program, the event app and sometimes a published abstract book, so it has two readers: a reviewer scoring it and an attendee deciding whether to come.

That second reader is easy to forget. An abstract that is clear to a specialist reviewer but opaque to the wider audience may still be accepted, then play to a half-empty room. Write for both.

• A clear question or problem that matters to this conference's audience
• Enough detail on methods or approach to judge whether the work is sound
• Actual results or outcomes, not a promise to analyze the data later
• A conclusion that follows from the results and says why it matters
• Plain, specific language that fits the word limit and required headings

Most research abstracts follow the shape of the study itself. Many medical and scientific meetings require each part as a labelled heading, which is called a structured abstract. Others want a single paragraph that follows the same order without headings. Practice-based conferences use a different shape, covered in the case-study template further down.

The shares are a rule of thumb, not a requirement. What they guard against is the most common mistake: a long background and methods section that leaves two lines for the results reviewers actually want to see.

Some calls accept work in progress. If yours does and your results are not final, say what you have so far, what you expect to report at the conference and when the analysis will be complete. If the call says results are required, an abstract without them is likely to be declined, however strong the idea.

Use this template for a study, experiment, evaluation or analysis. Replace each bracket, then delete any heading your conference does not ask for.

• Every number in the abstract matches the paper, poster or slides you will present
• Abbreviations are spelled out on first use, or avoided
• No references, tables or figures unless the call allows them
• Author names, order and affiliations are agreed by every author
• The presenting author can attend on the conference dates
• Word or character count is under the limit, counted the way the call counts it

Industry, association, education and practitioner conferences often want case studies, lessons learned or how-to sessions rather than research. Reviewers there are asking different questions: is this a problem our attendees recognize, did the presenter actually solve it, and will people leave able to do something differently? The template below is built around those questions.

Many practitioner events call these session proposals rather than abstracts, and ask for extra detail such as speaker bios, learning objectives and session format. Our call for speakers guide covers that side of the process, including what organizers should ask for on a proposal form.

1. 1

   Read the Call Twice

   Note the word limit, required headings, the sessions or topics on offer, the review criteria and any rules on previously presented work. Write them at the top of your draft.

2. 2

   Start With What You Found

   Draft the results or outcomes first, then build the rest around them. It stops background and methods from swallowing the word count.

3. 3

   Be Specific

   Replace general claims with specifics: the number of sites, the size of the sample, the percentage change, the time saved. Reviewers score what they can check.

4. 4

   Match the Session

   Submit to the session or topic where your work fits best, and use its language. A strong abstract in the wrong session can stall or be declined as out of scope.

5. 5

   Write the Title Last

   Once the abstract is done, write a title that states the question or the finding. Avoid puns and questions the abstract does not answer.

6. 6

   Cut to the Limit

   Count words the way the call does. If you are over, cut adjectives, repeated background and methods detail before you cut results.

7. 7

   Get a Cold Read

   Ask a colleague outside your project to read it once and tell you, in one sentence, what you found. If they cannot, revise.

Common reasons abstracts are declined, according to the criteria most committees publish:

• Out of scope for the conference or the session it was submitted to
• No results, or results promised for later when the call requires them
• Methods too vague to judge whether the work is sound
• Conclusions that go beyond what the results show
• Over the word limit or missing required headings or disclosures
• Previously presented or published, where the call does not allow it
• Promotional in tone

If you run the call, most review problems start on the submission form. A form that asks for the right things in the right shape gives reviewers comparable abstracts and gives you fewer authors emailing to ask what you meant. Decide each of these before the call opens.

Use this as the starting point for the announcement you publish on your website and email to past attendees and members.

Publish the criteria with the call, then give reviewers the same criteria with a short description of what a high and a low score looks like. Shared criteria keep scores comparable across reviewers and make decisions easier to explain to authors who ask.

• Many committees assign two or three reviewers per abstract, so one harsh or generous score does not decide the outcome
• Blind review, where reviewers do not see author names or affiliations, reduces bias toward well-known names and institutions
• Remove reviewers from abstracts where they have a conflict, such as their own students or co-authors
• Calibrate before review starts: have reviewers score the same two or three sample abstracts and compare
• Let scores inform the decision, and let a session chair or the committee make it
• Release decisions to all authors on the same date, with a short note on what to do next

Abstracts accepted as posters need their own instructions on board size, format and presenter times; see our poster session guide. Accepted talks then become sessions in the program, which the conference agenda builder covers. If you are comparing tools for the whole cycle, see abstract management software.

This is typical timing for a conference that builds its program from submitted abstracts. Large scientific meetings often open the call a year or more ahead; smaller regional events can run the whole cycle in a few months. Work backward from the date the program has to be published.

Once accepted talks are scheduled, our conference agenda template shows how to lay out sessions, breaks and tracks across one or several days.