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Some Journals will provide guidance in the 'Guide for Authors' on whether they prefer articles being written in the passive or active voice. If not, then it is wise to select the active voice, which is most often used when writing an article, and therefore should also be used in the abstract. Generally, passive voice sentences use more words, can be vague, and can lead you into long-winded, ineffective sentences. The difference between the active and passive voice in the English language would be for example, 'Researchers showed previously that smoking can lead to lung cancer.' This is in the active voice. Whereas, 'It was previously demonstrated that lung cancer can be caused by smoking', is in the passive voice. Note the active voice only used 10 words, whereas the passive voice consumed 12 words. When you are bound by a word count, this can make all the difference in getting all your points across.

Remember that your article, once published, will likely end up being hosted on a search and discovery database like ScienceDirect. A researcher will use keywords and phrases to find articles they are likely to be interested in reading and databases will look for those keywords in article, titles, and abstracts. Therefore, to improve the chances of your article being listed in the search results, you really need to concentrate on using the right keywords. A good practice is to use between 10-12 keywords or phrases in your abstract. Do not use general words as your keywords, be as specific as possible and ensure that they directly relate to your research. Ask yourself, "What keywords would I use if I was searching for research on this topic?"

Not exceeding the required word count sounds obvious but even so, some researchers fail on this point. If a Journal has a specified maximum word count then do not exceed this. The last thing you want to do, when submitting your article to a Journal, is to annoy an editor by demonstrating you have not read the 'Guide for Authors' or have not respected the guidelines that the Journal has in place. If you are careless enough to overrun on the word count, you can expect the article to be rejected or you will be requested to edit it substantially. This wastes time – so do it before you submit your article. Remember, if there are no guidelines in the 'Guide for Authors' on word count for your abstract then always follow the general rule of not exceeding 250 words.

Again it is important to mention that you should always avoid being general and vague in your abstract. Words like "might", "may", "could", "perhaps", "maybe", "very" or "possible" are not specific and direct enough. Words like these not only devalues your abstract, they almost always lead to increasing word counts.