Most journals require authors to submit abstracts along with their articles, as do both of the journals we edit, ARIEL and Narrative. This requirement has two main rationales: an abstract offers ...

An abstract is a concise, compelling statement that summarises a larger piece of work. They are useful for researchers to select relevant evidence, and for indexing purposes by search databases. By ...

We have plumbed the depths of abstract words, but what about abstract ideas? Abstractions are a fact of professional life. The law is littered with them. Think of the legislative process, intellectual ...