What is an Abstract in a Resarch Paper?

Dear Student,

You have taken several years to produce a well-thought research report, and now your supervisor says you should write an abstract. However, you have no idea of what is expected. If this is a situation you find yourself in, don’t fret because we are here to help.

Defining and Abstract

Oxford Brooks University defines an abstract as a summary of a report, dissertation, or academic paper. The same source indicates that an abstract aims to summarise the paper, providing details about the purpose of a study, methods used, the findings and conclusions.

In most cases, an abstract is only one paragraph with six to ten sentences. When someone reads your abstract, they should be able to determine whether your paper contains the knowledge they are looking for.

How to Write an Abstract

To have a better idea of what an abstract is, think about it in relation to the structure of your paper using the following steps:

  1. Introduction: Inform the reader about the problem your study addresses and specify the research question. You may include a sentence or two providing the context of your study.
  2. Methods: Tell the reader what methods you used when answering the question. Even though it’s brief, this part should clearly provide details about specific methods, such as interviews, surveys, or focus groups and the number of participants, subjects, or phenomena observed.
  3. Results: Highlight the results of your study in a single sentence or two and leave the reader with an understanding of the story the data tells.
  4. Discussion: In this part, make a conclusion based on your reading of the data you collected from the study. In other words, interpret the whole study and come up with a solution to the problem you were researching.

Even though writing an abstract is relatively easy, considering that you have become a master at the subject you are writing about, the reality is that many students struggle, especially those who don’t speak English as a first language.

That’s why at Virtual English Teacher, we have put together a group of editors who will proofread, paraphrase, or edit your abstract to ensure that it provides a complete summary of your paper.

Want proof of our effectiveness and efficiency? Ask for a free, no-obligation sample of your text.

Contact us today.