How to Write an Abstract of your Thesis

Introduction

Writing an Abstract before writing a research paper is very crucial. So, we need to know what are the features of an abstract and how it is different from the other sections of your report or your research paper. And, what are the components that you’re supposed to include in your abstract section?

What is an Abstract Writing?

An abstract is a summary of your entire article or it is a condensed form or an abridged version of your report. It means that if you are writing a long report, an abstract is going to explain in brief what that report contains an abstract.

Also, it’s one of the most important sections of a research paper and why is that? Because once your research paper is published and it is available for the researchers to read, they’re first going to look at your abstract. And, it is based on that they will decide whether they want to read the rest of your paper or not. Besides, you also need to hold the interest of the reader in an abstract.

Features of an Abstract

The next topic is what are the features of an abstract. So, the first feature is that an abstract reflects all the major sections of your report. Because it is a summary of your entire report. So, if your report consists of the sections like:

• Introduction
• Materials
• Methods
• Results in Discussion
• Conclusion

An abstract will also reflect all these major sections.

The second feature is that an abstract is concise which means it is to the point. It doesn’t consist of any unnecessary information because the word limit for abstracts is between 150 to 250 words. So, you need to include all the key information from all these sections but in a limited number of words only.

The third feature is that an abstract is self-contained. And, what does that mean it means that even though it consists of a limited number of words only you can understand the complete meaning without requiring any supporting information or extra information. So, an abstract is complete in itself.

Finally, even though an abstract appears right at the top of your research paper or your project report. But it should be the last section that you write. Why is that because once you’ve written all the other sections of your report? you will know what are the key points that need to be included in an abstract and then writing it will become very easy.

Components of an Abstract

Now, let’s discuss what are the key components of an abstract. So, if you’re writing a research paper or a project report ideally, your abstract would consist of these five components

Introduction

The first component of your abstract is the introduction which includes the motivation or the background for your research. So, you need to answer these questions here.

• Why have you taken up this project?
• What is the motivation behind it?
• Why is your research significant?
• How is it going to create an impact?

When you answer these questions, you will have the motivation or the background for your research. So, you need to explain that in one to two lines at max.

Writing the Problem Statement or Objectives of an Abstract

The next component is the problem statement or objective. So, here you need to first talk about the research gap which is what is the problem that the existing researchers have not been able to solve so far. So, that is the problem statement that you’re going to write after that.

You can also share the objective which is what are you going to do in this project or in this research paper to overcome that research gap. That constitutes your objective. So, make sure that you include the research gap and the objective of your research paper in one to two lines only.

Mention your Approach in an Abstract

The next component is the approach or the procedure. The meaning is very clear here that it’s the methodology you followed to overcome that research gap and to achieve your objective.

So, the key thing to remember here is that you need to only talk about the overview of the process. And, do not explain the methods in detail. Rather, only give an overview of the process which is the methodology just in one to two sentences only. Otherwise, you will exceed your word limit.

Results in Discussion

The fourth component is the results of the discussion. And, here you need to include the key results and discussion that helped you in achieving that objective. All the other supporting results and supporting discussion can be a part of your main paper. And, you need not include it in your abstract.

Conclusion

Finally, the last component of your abstract is the conclusion. And, here you need to share the broader applications or broader implications of your study. Mention here how your research study made an impact and how has it added value to the research field or the research community.

But one thing that you need to be cautious of here is that don’t exaggerate too much. Because if you do that it will reduce the credibility of your research and the credibility of your writing. So, stick to the point and share genuine facts as to how your research has made an impact.

Well, writing an abstract is not complicated at all, if you know what are some of the key points that you need to include in your abstract. For, it will become very easy now if you’re writing a research proposal. Because it is slightly different from a research paper or a normal project report. And, why is that because if you’re giving a research proposal you don’t have the results and discussion till now?

Brief Overview of an Abstract

So, to write an abstract for your research proposal just leave these components.

• You should include the introduction which is the background or motivation of your study.
• Then you should talk about the problem statement or objective.
• Next, you should talk about the proposed method that you’re going to follow.
• Finally, what is the expected outcome or impact that your research is going to create?