This section of the abstract states the project's hypothesis (a claim or thesis that purports to explain observations or data) and briefly provides an explanation of the experiment's purpose within the larger research community. The description of the project's purpose should not exceed two sentences: one sentence to contextualize the project within the current year's research and another sentence to clearly state the hypothesis.
Use only past tense verbs to describe the actual procedures of the experiment. Since abstracts are short, omit unnecessary details that might distract from the larger goals of the experiment. For example, saying, "After carefully removing the piece of bread from the testing area, we used a scalpel to remove mold," is much too lengthy. "We removed the mold with a scalpel," is sufficient for a sentence in the procedures section.
Use brief but specific sentences to summarize the overall results of your data collection. Do not provide an exhaustive list of each piece of data; instead, briefly list percentages and statistics that summarize your data without diminishing the breadth of your research.
The conclusion sentences clearly explain whether or not the researcher's hypothesis was correct. Conclusion sentences should not reiterate information about procedures or data. Ideally, a conclusion will suggest further venues of research for the topic at hand.
Never include acknowledgments or endorsements in an abstract. Do not exclude articles (such as a, an, or the) for the sake of shortening sentences, and use idioms sparingly. Although the abstract should contextualize your project within current research, do not refer excessively to outside sources.