The Difference Between A Research Paper Introduction And An Abstract

As you already know, when you receive an assignment there are many additional things that your professor does not mention. This does not mean that you don’t have to make them, it only means that it’s up to you if you want to increase your marks or not. Either way, it’s better to take every chance you got to get the appreciation of your teacher. This could prove to be very helpful in the future when you will need his help or support. For a research paper there are several things you need to have in your mind.

• The introduction is obligatory, the abstract is optional. This is the first and major difference between them. Even if it’s not obligatory, a good abstract can bring you some extra marks easily. Besides, many professors think that a project is not complete if this part is missing. The introduction, on the other hand, is the first part of the primary text. This means the first lines or your paper which are, of course, mandatory.


• Both need to be short. Even if there isn’t an exact number of words that you have to write, none of them need to be the length of a normal essay. Most of the students prefer to write maximum two or three paragraphs. Depending on the length of the primary text, this can be shorter, but never longer than this. You should ask your professor about the desired number of words, just to be sure that you don’t write more that you have to.


• Both of them need to contain the topic of your text. Of course, there are also many things that can be introduced. You can mention what made you choose this particular topic, what research methods are you planning to use and why and so on. Also, if you are writing about a book or literature piece, you can say something about the author and general ideas.


• None of them need to contain insignificant details. You have plenty of space for them in the body of your paper. Once you introduce too many details, you will not have space for the important, significant ideas. Besides, the abstract, if it’s longer, it can easily be confused with a summary of your paper, which should not happen. It’s better to keep both of these simple and clear.