Writing an abstract

Abstracts are usually required for a thesis or publication. Abstracts give the reader an overall idea of your research and the ideas you will be exploring.

Since your abstract will be the first thing your readers see, take time with it!

It can be intimidating to condense a large thesis into a concise abstract but knowing the structure of an abstract can help you to approach this part of your thesis confidently.

The structure of an abstract

The overall structure of an abstract usually includes the following sections:

a diagram outlining the structure of an abstract
Image from: https://mitcommlab.mit.edu/be/commkit/journal-article-abstract/

The order and flow of these sections may change depending on your discipline, but the structure will usually always include these main areas.

Remember:

  • Your abstract should be able to stand alone without someone needing to read your paper to understand it
  • Try to have only 1-3 sentences for each section
  • Use relevant key words in your abstract that might lead search engines to your paper
  • Abstracts usually don’t need to have references cited within the text (though there are some exceptions)
  • Make your writing clear and succinct

Try Writing your own Abstract

Use the interactive tool below to begin drafting your abstract. At the end of the activity, you will be able to download a draft of your abstract. You can then edit to make sure the sentences link together and flow.

Additional resources

For more abstract writing resources check out: