Tips for Successful Abstract Submission
One of my favorite parts of roaming the poster hall is seeing trainees presenting their first posters alongside seasoned veterans and world-renowned scientists. The due date this year is May 13 (noon EDT), a month earlier than normal because ACR Convergence 2025 is in October.
If you are new to submitting scientific abstracts to ACR Convergence, here are some tips for success:
Preparing the abstract
- Establish a clear purpose and hypothesis in the Background/Purpose;
- Summarize the key methods;
- Ensure the analysis in the Methods section aligns with the purpose and hypothesis;
- Provide data in the Results section—tables and figures are encouraged;
- Clearly describe the impact on rheumatology in the Conclusion.
Submitting the abstract
- Plan to submit the abstract well ahead of the due date. If you are new to submission, you may need some time to familiarize yourself with the submission portal and allow time to troubleshoot if you need help.
- Be thoughtful in selecting a category. Last year, the ARP offered the following abstract categories:
- Clinical Practice/Patient Care
- Epidemiology & Public Health
- *Health Services Research
- *Orthopedics, Low Back Pain & Rehabilitation
- Patient Education/Community Programs
- Pediatric Rheumatology
- Psychology/Social Sciences
- Research Methodology
*These categories are combined with ACR submissions and are evaluated by reviewers nominated by both organizations.
- Read the directions and ensure all components are completed.
Reviewers: We Need You
Reviewing abstracts is an important step to ensure the best science is presented at ACR Convergence. As the ARP abstract chair, I oversee the review process to facilitate fair and qualified reviews for all abstracts. Each ARP category has a lead reviewer. In addition to reviewing all the abstracts in that category, they invite other reviewers for that category; the number of reviewers for each category depends on the anticipated number of abstracts in the category.
Each abstract is reviewed on a seven-point scale, with 1 indicating outstanding (the best 5%) and 7 indicating reject (not appropriate). The total abstract score is the average across all reviews. If there is a conflict of interest (e.g., the reviewer is an author), the abstract is not reviewed by that reviewer. Each abstract is reviewed by four to six reviewers.
After all abstracts are reviewed, the category leads may nominate exceptional abstracts, based on the best average abstract scores, for plenary and oral presentations. In the past several years, ~70% of abstracts in ARP categories have been selected for presentation in the poster hall or at oral sessions.
