Top Tips

Please click here to email your paper.

To help you in your submission process we have put together the following tips in preparing your abstract.

• When preparing your abstract submission, ensure that you have allocated enough time to prepare what you want to write, and that you have enough time before the deadline. Generally submissions that are submitted after the deadline cannot be considered.
• If you have submitted this project/work for another event or conference, you will need to ensure that you write a slightly different abstract and presentation, or take a different perspective.
• Initially draft out what you want to include in your presentation, at this point not worrying about the word count.
• You may find it helpful to draft out your presentation before you start your abstract.
• Use headings, which will keep you to a logical shaped presentation (these headings can be removed from the final draft – to save words)
• These heading might be useful:
  • • Title: think about a title that sums up the project or work, and would clearly tell people what your work is about
    • Rationale – what made you want to look at this area or start this project;
      Research question/s that were used
    • Aims of the project – what did you want to achieve?
    • Design of the project – who was involved and was there a timeline?
    • How it went – what happened?
    • Evaluation – has it been done, or when will it be done and what did it find?
    • Dissemination – how are you going to get the message out into the midwifery and care of newborn community?
    • Key references or policy initiatives that supported your project/initiative.

• The abstracts are ‘blind marked’ by assessors so avoid identifiers, including names of people involved in the project/research. Avoid using names and places i.e. write a London Hospital Trust… rather than St Bloggs Hospital.
• Once you have completed the first draft, check the word limit, and then start going through the draft to remove any repetition, extra words, or amending things to get the abstract as crisp and clear as possible.
• Remember that no matter how fantastic the words, the abstract assessors will only look at the words within the word limit.
• If you have a colleague or friend – ask them to look at your abstract. They will be able to tell you whether it makes sense or if you have left something out; pick up any mistakes, and might suggest that you put things in a slightly different order.
• Once you have checked your abstract, and are happy, use the copy and paste feature to put your submission in …. but then do a final check before you press ‘submit’.
• Submit!
• Then all you need to do is wait until you are contacted either to come and present, or not
• If your abstract is not accepted, do not assume that it was ‘not good enough’. Often we receive many more abstracts than we have space for, or your project may not have fitted the theme selected. In other words..don’t give up!