An abstract is "a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the paper" (American Psychological

Association [APA], 2020, p. 38).

Follows the guidelines

Different journals and Universities follow different guidelines. Make sure your abstract includes
whatever is asked for by the Universities/ journals. Check if the journal/ University is demanding a
structured abstract or just a paragraph. A structured abstract contains subheadings and separate
paragraphs for each elements, such as background, method, results, and conclusions.

Maintain the word limit

It must always be possible to quickly review the abstract. Hence in general, an abstract should be
between 200 and 250 words on total ( 5% of the entire thesis).

Use keywords

Provide 5–7 keywords that can be used to describe the content included in the thesis. Keywords should
be added in a separate line after your abstract. While including the keywords:

Keep each keyword short

Use lowercase unless the keyword is a proper noun

Use roman type only, no italic

Be as specific as possible

Use variants as separate keywords whenever necessary

State a strong title

A title must be catchy and should be able to grasp readers attention. A title should convey something
about your subject and reason behind your research as concisely and clearly as possible. Focus on what
will be investigated and how it will it be done.

Tip: Do not repeat the title in the abstract as there is word limit and you will need space to enter details
of your research in abstract.

Include methods, results and conclusions

Briefly mention the methods you followed to obtain the solution for the research problem. Also include
the results and a brief summary of your conclusions.

Review and update the abstract

Upon completion of the entire thesis, review and update the abstract. As you write your thesis, your
views may change and it may be necessary to change the abstract to reflect your viewpoint.

Most of the time, a reader judges your thesis based on your abstract. You never get a second chance to
make a great first impression. Hence, no matter what type of abstract you are writing: Descriptive or
informative, make sure you have incorporated meaningful and powerful words, the research idea are
clear and is completed in the shortest possible amount of space.