Abstract Guidelines

Please register on our YaleConnect page before submitting an abstract.

Link to Google Submissions Form: https://forms.gle/LSrKJmRBLDTsTiCJ7

Please follow these guidelines to ensure that your abstract is correctly evaluated and accepted:
  1. Abstracts must be written for a general/broad/lay/multidisciplinary audience, as PGAs will be presenting across many different fields. Please do not use jargon, abbreviations without explanation, symbols, or non-English letters (ß, æ, é, etc.).
  2. Abstracts that have been submitted for presentations elsewhere are permitted and welcomed, as long as the research has taken place during your time as a Postgraduate Associate at Yale. Please update your abstract to fit the guidelines for this symposium.
  3. Please focus on the big-picture importance of your research. Clarity is an important criterion for the overall evaluation of the abstract. 
  4. The abstract main text is limited to 250 words. The title length is limited to 60 characters, and the acknowledgements are limited to 80 characters, both including spaces. The acknowledgements should list the sources of support for your research.
  5. The abstract should be structured as follows: Introduction, Methods, Results (if applicable), and Conclusion/General Impact. 
  6. The following fonts may be used: 12-point Times New Roman or 11-point Arial. Please also use double-space formatting for the abstract.
  7. To promote the diversity of presentations, each person will only be allowed one presentation: either a 10 minute talk or poster. 
  8. Please refer to the presentation guidelines when creating your presentation.
A few more important points:
  • Each abstract will be blindly evaluated by several members of the programming committee according to the scoring rubric. 
  • If accepted, your abstract will be added to the program booklet, which will be made available to the public. Please indicate if you  DO NOT wish for your abstract to be included in the booklet on the abstract submission form. 
  • Here is a link to the Purdue Owl page explaining an APA abstract in more detail, which includes a link to a sample abstract. Please take a look if you are unsure where to begin. Feel free to reach out for more examples or resources.
  • ​We HIGHLY encourage that you speak to your PI or other senior lab members about this symposium. The symposium is a great opportunity to present your research to other individuals from our community, as well as learn about the interesting research other YPGAs are involved in!
  • If anything is unclear at all, please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Abstract Submission Structure

In your submission, please structure your abstract to include:

Page 1
  1. Title [60 characters]
  2. Authors/Collaborators & Affiliations (if applicable)
Page 2 & beyond
  1. Introduction/Purpose
  2. Methods
  3. Results (if applicable)
  4. Conclusions/General Impact
  5. Acknowledgements [80 characters]
  6. Citations/References
Please separate pages accordingly - this will help us with making the grading process run smoother and remain anonymous. Section headings are optional if they do not fit with the flow of your writing.
 
The main text of the abstract is limited to 250 words - this excludes the title, authors, acknowledgements, references, and section headings. The following fonts may be used: 12-point Times New Roman or 11-point Arial. Please also use double-space formatting for the abstract.
 
Upload your submission as a PDF, Google Document, or Word Document file.
 

Abstract Submission Rubric

Point Value Introduction & Purpose Methods & Approach Results (if applicable)* Conclusion & Impact
Excellent - 5**
 Complete, relevant and necessary background and clear purpose for project All methods or approach are explained clearly Results logically follow the approach and clearly address the purpose of the work Conclusions logically follow the reported results and clearly communicate the relevance of the work
Competent - 4
 Introduction and purpose is coherent and complete Methods are coherent and complete Results are coherent and complete Conclusions discuss results and state their importance
Average - 3
 Introduction and purpose is fairly clear, but incomplete Methods are fairly clear, but incomplete Reported results sufficiently follow the approach but partially address the purpose of the work Conclusions follow the reported results but are incomplete in communicating the relevance of the work
Fair - 2
 Introduction is incomplete and unclear Approach is incomplete and unclear Results/ in-progress findings are incomplete and unclear Conclusion and impact are incomplete and unclear
Poor - 1
 Missing a description of  purpose and/or background Methods and/or approach are absent Lacking sound findings and/or results Missing adequate  conclusion and/or impact

*If the research is still in the initial stages or is currently in progress, the results do not have to be provided. If it is specified that there are no results yet, the “Results” column will be excluded from the final score of the abstract.

** While a 4 is sufficient and contains all necessary information, a 5 demonstrates excellence and the highest likelihood of being selected to present a talk.