A thesis abstract is the summary of the entire thesis crammed into 200-250 words. In most cases, it is one of the most neglected parts, even though it is probably the most important. Essentially, the abstract tells the reader what questions the thesis answers or what are the results of the statistical analysis. If your abstract is not well written, it will not draw the reader to commit to the entire thesis.
This kind of academic work requires a lot of knowledge and should present your understanding and research on the topic. Considering all these things, how can you write good thesis abstract?
You can write a good thesis abstract by starting with a clear definition of the purpose of the study. Then present the research methodology you used. Finally, summarize the results.
But, this is easier said then done, so let’s delve into the nitty gritty of writing a thesis abstract.
Key Elements of a Thesis Abstract
There are three main elements of the research abstract, namely;
1. Aims
Aims is the leading point of your research. Is there a practical or theoretical problem to which your research paper responds? Or, is there any specific question that your research paper answers?
Whatever the aim of your research is, it must be clearly stated at the beginning of the abstract. It includes both the problem identification and problem statement.
2. Methodology
Then comes the research method that you’ve used to examine the problem. Whatever process you have chosen to answer your research question or solve the theoretical or practical problem is mentioned in your abstract after describing the aims.
3. Results and Conclusion
Results and conclusion is where you define the findings of your research. It covers the most important results, recommendations, and implementations.
How to Write a Thesis Abstract in 5 simple Steps?
Writing a good thesis abstract is extremely important, and it requires a lot of knowledge and practice. Here are five simple steps that will help you write a good abstract for your research paper.
1. always remember the purpose of your Abstract
Start with writing the aim/purpose of your research. Whether you’ve researched to answer a particular question or solve a theoretical or practical problem, write it directly and in clear words.
While writing the Aim of your research, you can also include some brief context to your topic, either social or academic relevance. This part doesn’t require adding detailed background information about the subject. As you move to the other parts of the abstract, always keep the purpose in mind and try to connect everything you write.
2. Mention the Objective of your Research
After you’ve stated the problem/Aim of your research study, write down your research objective. While writing down this part, you can use words like investigate, evaluate, analyze, test, etc. that would help you to describe to the readers what exactly you have done.
In addition, while writing this part, you can use simple past tense, but not the future tense since the research has been concluded.
3. Give Reference To the Methodology
After you’ve completed writing both the problem and objective of the research, state the methods you’ve used in conducting the research and getting the results.
This part of the Abstract doesn’t need to be detailed but short and to the point. Write in one or two sentences about what you did to achieve the results.
The methodology part of the Abstract is usually written in the past tense, referring to some complicated actions.
Note: There is no need to write about the obstacles you might have encountered while conducting the research in the abstract. Save that for the methodology. Also, you should avoid giving an account of the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology. Your goal is to provide the reader with an insight into the overall procedure and approach you used.
4. State the Results and Findings of your Research
Then, you should summarize the results of your study. There is often more than one result, so focus on the key takeaways without going into too much detail.
5. Conclude the thesis abstract
The final thing to do in writing an abstract is to write down a conclusion. Write down the main conclusion-what is the answer to the question or solution to the problem.
If you have researched to find the solution to the practical problem, then ensure to provide the recommendations and implementation along with the conclusion.
