The Tits and Bits of Good Abstract Writing for a Medical Science Journal Article *Christian Chinyere EZEALA, PhD, MSB, CBiol, MICR, CSci Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, School of Health Science, College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji; Email: christian.ezeala@fnu.ac.fj Mercy Okwudili EZEALA, BA, PGDPH, GCEd Lecturer, Department of Communication, College of Humanities and Education, Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji; Email: mercy.ezeala@fnu.ac.fj *Correspondence: Associate Professor Christian Ezeala, Department of Pharmacology, School of Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji; Email to: christianezeala@yahoo.com.au Abstract Writing an abstract for a medical journal article could be a daunting task for inexperienced authors. This paper provided a guide to good abstract writing for medical science articles using examples published in a range of journals. By giving a definition of a good abstract, it highlighted the purposes, features, and structure of a good medical science abstract, and illustrated these with examples culled from articles published in peer reviewed journals. The unique features of each section were stressed as well as the need for brevity, objectivity, comprehensiveness, logical organization, good grammatical writing, and compliance with journal’s specifications with respect to word length and structure. The need for thoroughness in the revision of the abstract was equally emphasized. The authors believe that this paper could serve as a good guide to new and aspiring medical science authors. Keywords: Abstract, journal article, publication, writing style Introduction Writing a scientific article for journal publication can be a daunting task for young inexperienced authors. Although all sections of a manuscript are important and should be well written, the abstract is usually the first section to be read and its content can either attract or repel a reader. There are many factors contributing to poor quality in manuscripts, some of which have been presented in a recent article (Ezeala et al, in press, Ohwovoriole 2011, Pierson, 2004). Notwithstanding the emphasis given to good manuscript preparation and guidelines provided by journals, many authors still find it hard to produce manuscripts that are compelling or abstracts that are enticing to readers. The paper presents the tits and bits of good abstract writing for medical and health science journals taking examples from articles published in high profile journals. The authors hope that this will be an interesting resource for both experienced and armature authors aspiring to write scientific articles for publication. What is an Abstract? An understanding of the meaning and purpose of an article abstract is important to good abstract writing. An abstract has been defined as “{A} brief summary of a research article that emphasizes what is new, captures the salient features of the purpose, design, findings, and implications, and contains no unnecessary sentences or explanations” (Ezeala, 2012). The purpose of article abstract is to make it easy for the reader to quickly grasp the key points of the article. This will help him determine his interest in the article and its relevance to his work.