V. Things to Avoid

• Avoid jargon or any technical terms that most readers won't understand.
• Avoid abbreviations or acronyms that are not commonly understood unless you describe what they mean.
• Abstracts do not have a bibliography or citations.
• Abstracts do not contain tables or graphs.
• For most science projects, the abstract must focus on the latest research, and give only minimal reference to any earlier work.
• If you are working with a scientist or mentor, your abstract should only include procedures done by you, and you should not put acknowledgements to anyone in your abstract.