Jewish Council

Helpful Tips On Writing Thesis And Dissertation Abstracts

Abstracts for your thesis or dissertation are extremely important parts of your work. It is an abbreviated synopsis of your entire thesis and must be carefully written so you do justice to all of your hard work. Your abstract is after your title in the beginning of your works. Don’t take this portion lightly. This abstract, along with the title, may be the only thing people read about your dissertation. It must include all of the high points and be coherently written so the reader knows exactly what you did in your research.

Length and structure

Your abstract length depends on what type of dissertation you have written. If it was for your Master’s degree, they are usually around 150 words. If you created your thesis for your Doctor’s degree, your abstract should be around 350 words. Try to keep your abstract structured like your paper. If you have 5 chapters, try to summarize each chapter with a few sentences. This way you don’t overlook anything and the abstract flows like your essay.

Research questions

Try to include any research questions you may have in the beginning of your abstract. You really should have no more than 3 questions but they should also be included in your abstract to fully understand your study.

Don’t forget your results

Many people overlook this very important part of the abstract but you must report the results of your thesis. You need to summarize and interpret your work in your abstract. It should really compromise almost the entire last half of your piece.

You must understand that this abstract could very well be the only part of the paper you worked so hard on that is read or seen by most people. Because of space requirements or time limits that people have, that may be the only information that is presented. Because of this, it needs to be concise, thorough, and expertly written with no wasted words. Every sentence must have relevance and promote your ideas and explain your thesis statement. You will not be doing your own work justice if you don’t nail this abstract. Think of the abstract as a mini dissertation that must contain all of the main points that you elaborated on in your main paper. Do yourself a favor and spend some time making this part excellent and worth reading.

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