How should I write my abstract?

Despite the fact that abstracts vary somewhat from discipline to discipline, every abstract should include
four main types of information.

 It should state the main purpose and rationale / reason for conducting the study,
 it should outline the methods you used to accomplish your objectives,
 it should list your project’s results or product (or projected or intended results and it should draw
conclusions about the implications of your project.

1. What should my Objective/Rationale section look like?

What is the problem or main issue? Why did you want to do this project in the first place?

The first few sentences of your abstract should state the problem you set out to solve or the
issue you set out to explore and explain your rationale or motivation for pursuing the
project. The problem or issue might be a research question, a gap in critical attention to a text, a
societal concern, etc. The purpose of your study is to solve this problem and/or add to your
discipline’s understanding of the issue.

2. What should my Methods section look like?

What did you do?

This section of the abstract should explain how you went about solving the problem or exploring
the issue you identified as your main objective.

For a hard science or social science research project, this section should include a concise
description of the process by which you conducted your research.

3. What should my Results/Intended Results section look like?

What did you find?

This section of the abstract should list the results or outcomes of the study.

4. What should my conclusion section look like?

What did you learn?

The abstract should close with a statement of the project’s implications and contributions to its
field/area. It should convince readers that the project is interesting, valuable, and worth
investigating further.

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 Note: Your abstract should be between 150- 250 words in length.

Study the following sample abstract .

ABSTRACT

Many students nowadays work part time to supplement their finances while studying at
universities. There have been some concerns whether these students are able to balance
their academic pursuits with part-time work. This small-scale study has been conducted
to determine the impact of working part time among university students. It investigates
the reasons and effects of working part-time while studying at a branch campus of a local
university. Questionnaires distributed to 100 respondents consisting of students chosen
at random at a branch campus of a public university are collected and analysed. Results
show that more than half of the respondents work to improve their finances working as
designers or freelancers. Apart from that, almost half of the respondents manage to
balance their academic pursuits with their part-time work by preparing a schedule for their
studies. These indicate that working part-time does not have negative effects on the
students if they are able to prioritise their studies. Thus students should not be
discouraged from working part but instead they should be encouraged to undergo a time
or study management course to ensure they know how to balance work and studies.

Let’s take a look in detail at what is included in the above abstract

Introduction- what the topic

Many students nowadays work part-time to supplement their is
finances while studying at universities.
Problem in terms of the
There has been some concerns whether these students are able issue you are investigating
to balance their academic pursuits with prt-time work.
What you are exploring
This small-scale study has been conducted to determine the
based on your purpose
impact of working part time among university students.
2
It investigates the reasons and effects of working part-time while What actually are you
looking at? Can be based
studying at a branch campus of a local university. on main objectives

Questionnaires distributed to 100 respondents consisting of

students chosen at random at a branch campus of a public Methodology used
university are collected and analysed.

Results show that more than half of the respondents work to

improve their finances working as designers or freelancers. Apart Highlight only
from that, almost half of the respondents manage to balance their main findings
/results
academic pursuits with their part-time work by preparing a
schedule for their studies.

These indicate that working part time do not have negative effects Main conclusion based
on the students if they are able to prioritise their studies. on highlighted findings

Thus, students should not be discouraged from working part but Main recommendations
instead they should be encouraged to undergo a time or study based on the conclusion
you have highlighted
management course to ensure they know how to balance work
conclusion
and studies.