Importance of Abstracts
The practice of using key words in an abstract is vital because of today's electronic information retrieval systems. Titles and abstracts are filed electronically, and key words are put in electronic storage. When people search for information, they enter key words related to the subject, and the computer prints out the titles of articles, papers, and reports containing those key words. Thus, an abstract must contain key words about what is essential in an article, paper, or report so that someone else can retrieve information from it. Writing for the web also involves using an abstract style of format as this lends itself more easily to the user needs than large tracts of text on a subject. Abstracts pay a key role for readers deciding if they need or want to carry on with a work.