How to Write an Abstract for A Dissertation
Date published November 25 2020 by Mantaha Qureshi
Writing a dissertation just keeps on getting complex!
First, you have to research for a topic, create drafts, research, create more drafts, research more, write a proposal, research even more, and then you’ll be proceeding towards writing your dissertation.
But it doesn’t end right there. When you finish your dissertation, a few more things are waiting to be done. Writing an abstract for your dissertation is one.
If you don’t know how to write an abstract for a dissertation then don’t worry. We are here to help you out. Stay with us and because we are giving you an in-depth guide of how you can write a smashing abstract for your dissertation.
Are You Wondering What is an Abstract?
“A summary of lengthy research paper; dissertation or research paper for instance is called an Abstract. It accounts to the aims and conclusions of research to give the reader a complete overview of the research paper”
Now that’s how you define abstract for a dissertation or any other kind of research paper. Although abstract can be for different things as well for instance Books. Scripts and other similar things. If you struggle to understand the concept of dissertation abstract then you can just contact DissertationProposal and get some abstract writing service anytime you want.
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Moving Forward, How Long is a Dissertation Abstract?
There are many different types of dissertation depending on many factors hence the length of abstract vary as well. But if you are curious to know how long should an abstract be then let us reveal the magic numbers to you. If you look at an abstract example, you’d usually see that average dissertation abstracts are around 150 to 300 words.
In some cases, there could be a long abstract meaning that you should always keep the guidelines and instructions in your mind.
A Step-By-Step Guide to Write a Dissertation Abstract
Writing an abstract doesn’t take too much of your time. That is because an abstract is written after you’re done with your dissertation. So it’s a complete yet very short overview of your dissertation. So here is a detailed guide on how you can write a good abstract for thesis or dissertation easily.
1. Stating Aims
An abstract is short, so just directly get to the point and state the research question(s) and objective(s). To make it precise concise, use terms like analyze, evaluate, test, or investigate. It will help you describe your aspects clearly. Anyhow, make sure that your abstract is addressing the reader in sense of what you’ve accomplished or discovered through your research. So you have to refer to your research as it has been completed. For example, instead of writing “the aim of this research is….” you can write “the aim of this research was to…”2. Describing Methods
Once you are done addressing the aims of your research, it’s time to move forward to describing the methodology. You don’t have to explain it in-depth as you’ll be giving a full-fledged descriptive methodology in your dissertation. You can go through your methodology chapter and pick the highlights to address in your abstract as well. If you are struggling to write a methodology, then you can check out this detailed guide on how to write a methodology chapter. You have to explain the methods very shortly i.e. in 2 sentences or 3 at max. You don’t have to refer to any tools, limitations, validity or obstacles here. You have do not to address the strengths or weakness of your methodology. Just like the aims section, it has to be written in the past tense as well. For example, “The interview will be consisting of 18 participants” is not a suitable way. Instead, you should state “The interview consisted of 18 participants”.3. Summarizing Outcomes
Once again, shortly summarize the major outcomes of your research. It doesn’t have to include any sort of statistics or numbers unless they’re required for the abstract. It has to be a very blunt and straightforward statement of the outcome(s). Although, you have to keep one little thing in your mind while summarizing the outcomes of your research. Unlike the previous steps, it can be written in the present tense as well as past simple tense. For example, you can state “The evaluation revealed….” but can’t state “The evaluation is revealing…” These little details can change a lot about your abstract. So always be careful while writing your dissertation.4. Concluding
Would you like it if a thrilling movie just ended in the middle without any conclusion? The reader wouldn’t like it either if you just stated the result and then moved on to the introduction chapter of your dissertation. You have to conclude the outcomes with a contrasting statement. Now, here again, you don’t have to write the conclusion part of the abstract in future or past tenses. You have to write the conclusion in the present tense to indicate that your interpretation is still in effect as of the submission of your dissertation. For example, writing “The research concludes that…..” is far better and acceptable than writing “The research concluded that…” On the other hand, if the objective of your research was to solve a practical problem, you have to state your recommendations for solutions as well for implementations. If required & necessary, you can state the brief suggestions and recommendations for future researches in the field or subject as well.Some Useful Tips for an Amazing Dissertation Abstract
Read Published Abstracts
The best way to learn anything is by having a look at your peers. You can read your classmate’s dissertation abstracts or search for some abstract samples online as well. It will give you an actual visual of what you have to include in your abstract and what you should let go of.Recheck Formatting
If you’re submitting the dissertation to a journal, make sure it matches the required formatting. If it doesn’t then you have to fix it or you can buy dissertation UK formatting service online to help yourself out.Conciseness is the Key!
We’ve mentioned this multiple times already. The point of writing an abstract is to give the reader a quick overview of your research. Keep it straight to the point and very clear. You don’t have to explain your methodology or refer to any similar researches in the abstract.Use Easy Wording
The most important part is to write an abstract that anyone who doesn’t have experience or knowledge about your topic can understand. Avoid using jargons or terminologies that would require an explanation.A Checklist for Abstract Writing:
- Met the required word count length.
- Placed the abstract after the title page and the acknowledgements but before the table of the content page.
- The research problem is clearly stated.
- Briefly described the Methodology.
- Summarized the substantial findings/results.
- Stated the key conclusions.
- Mentioned fundamental recommendations & limitations.
- Anyone who doesn’t have any previous knowledge of the topic can easily understand the abstract.
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Wrapping it Up!
So what is left now?
Writing an outstanding abstract through the instructions we just provided you!
Although, writing an abstract is very easy once you’re done writing your dissertation. You learn can anything easily whether you want to know what are the 5 chapters of a dissertation or how to write the literature review. Just stay focused and you’ll achieve all your aims easily.
Good Luck!
FAQs
An abstract is always written after you’ve finished your dissertation. You have to highlight important aims/hypotheses and conclusions. Select phrases from your methods and state the outcomes from the results section of your dissertation. Make sure to follow complete guidelines and write the abstract in the past tense instead of future or present tense.
While writing an abstract, you have to keep four elements in your mind. First, you have to discuss the research questions and aims. Then you have to concisely describe the methodology, then you have to summarize the results or discussions of your research. In the end, you have to conclude it.
The length of the abstract may vary from one dissertation to another. Generally, an abstract can range from 150 words to 300 words, although there can be boundaries on the word count so make sure to double-check the guidelines conveyed to you.
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