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Key takeaways
An abstract is a short, self-contained summary of a finished piece of research. It sits at the top of a paper, thesis or conference submission, and its job is to tell a reader what the work asked, how it answered, what it found and why that matters, before they commit to the full text. In databases and search results it is often the only part anyone sees, so it decides whether the paper gets opened.
That makes an abstract different from an introduction. An introduction builds up to your question: it surveys background, explains why the problem matters and ends by stating what you will do. An abstract has already arrived. It names the problem in a sentence, then spends most of its words on what you did and what came out of it. Writing one for your own paper is also a different task from condensing someone else's work; for that, the guide to reading a research paper quickly and properly shows how to note a paper's question, method and finding in your own words.
Not every abstract looks the same, and the right type depends on your field and on what you have been asked for. Check the assignment brief or the journal's instructions for authors first; they often settle the type, the word count and whether headings are required.
If nobody specifies, write an informative abstract. It is the most useful version for readers, and a descriptive abstract that only says what the paper “examines” tends to read as if the writer has not decided what they found. In the humanities, an informative abstract reports your argument instead of numbers.
| Informative | Descriptive | Structured | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it reports | The question, method, main results and conclusion | What the paper covers and its approach, without the findings | The same content as an informative abstract, under labeled headings |
| Typical length | Often 150–250 words | Usually shorter, often under 150 words | Set by the journal, often similar to an informative abstract |
| Where you see it | Most sciences and social sciences, many theses | Some humanities papers, reports and review essays | Medicine, health sciences and some psychology journals |
| Main risk | Running out of words before the results | Sounding vague because nothing is concluded | Filling every heading with filler instead of facts |
The simplest way to know what goes in an abstract is to mirror the paper itself. Most research papers move from problem to method to findings to meaning, and an abstract makes the same moves in compressed form, spending the fewest words on context and the most on results.
Humanities and theory papers rarely have participants or measurements, but the moves still apply. Replace method with your material and approach — the texts, archive or cases you examine and the kind of reading you do — and replace results with the claim you end up defending and the main steps that support it. The reader should come away knowing your thesis, not only your topic.
Treat the abstract as the last thing you write and the first thing you revise. These steps work for a class paper, a thesis chapter or a conference submission:
Step three is where most of the value is. Drafting from memory forces you to compress instead of copying, and it shows quickly whether you know what your paper concludes. If you cannot say it in one sentence, the paper's conclusion may need work too.
Here is a short example for a literature paper, written for this guide. It is an informative abstract for an argument, so its “results” are claims rather than numbers:
“The opening chapter of Charles Dickens's Bleak House sets the Court of Chancery at the heart of a London fog, an image usually read as a symbol of legal obscurity. This essay argues that the fog also describes how the novel treats its readers: like the court, the narrative withholds the links between its characters and releases them slowly and in pieces. Through close reading of the opening chapter and of the scenes surrounding the Jarndyce and Jarndyce suit, I show how the novel's two narrators divide what the reader is allowed to know. Reading the fog as a method as well as a symbol suggests that the novel's form is part of its critique of institutions that delay.”
Notice the moves: context and the usual reading, then the argument, then the material and approach, then the payoff. There are no citations or quotations, and nothing the paper does not go on to support.
For a study with data, fill in this frame and then rewrite it until it sounds like you: “[Topic] matters because [problem]. This study asked whether [question]. We [design] with [participants or data] and measured [outcomes]. [Main result, with the key number or direction]. These findings suggest [implication], although [main limitation].” If your result was mixed or null, say so plainly.
Use the past tense for what you did and found (“participants completed,” “the analysis showed”) and the present tense for what the paper argues and what the results mean (“these findings suggest”). Many fields, and APA Style, accept the first person: “we surveyed” is clearer than “a survey was conducted.” Avoid abbreviations unless they are standard in your field, and leave out citations unless your discipline expects them.
Length is usually set for you. APA Style abstracts generally stay within 250 words, many journals ask for 150 to 250, and conference calls vary. APA's student paper format only needs an abstract if your instructor asks for one. When it does, the abstract goes on its own page after the title page, under the label “Abstract” in bold and centered, with an optional keywords line beneath: the word “Keywords:” in italics, followed by three to five terms a searcher might use.
For the rest of APA formatting, see the APA citation guide, and for how the abstract fits the sections that follow it, the guide to structuring a research paper with IMRaD.
Most weak abstracts fail in a handful of predictable ways. Read your draft against this list before you submit:
On Cavua, the Work space lets you upload your own documents — your draft as a PDF or Word file, alongside the papers you cite — and chat with the tutor about them. Ask where your paper states its main finding, or where a claim in your abstract is supported, and the answer points to the page, so you can confirm each sentence matches the paper.
You can also use “Quiz me” on your own draft to test whether you can state its question, method and result from memory, the same skill step three asks for, or talk it through with the tutor on a voice or video call. How much is included depends on your plan; each plan's allowance is listed on the pricing page.
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Follow the word count you are given. Many journals ask for 150 to 250 words, APA Style abstracts generally stay within 250, and conference submissions vary widely. A class assignment may set its own number. If none is set, aim for one paragraph that covers the problem, method, results and conclusion without padding, which for most papers lands between 150 and 250 words.
Last. An abstract summarizes the finished paper, including its results and conclusion, and those often change while you write. Drafting a rough working abstract early to stay focused is fine, but rewrite it once the paper is done so it describes what you actually found rather than what you expected to find.
Usually not. An abstract should stand alone, and citations take up words without telling the reader what you found. The exception is a paper that responds directly to one specific work, such as a reply to a published article, where naming that work may be necessary. Check your field's conventions if you are unsure.
An introduction leads up to your research question: it gives background, explains why the problem matters and says what the paper will do. An abstract summarizes the entire paper, results and conclusion included, in one short paragraph. A reader should learn your main finding from the abstract alone; the introduction deliberately stops before the answer.
In many fields, yes. APA Style accepts the first person, and “we analyzed” is usually clearer than “an analysis was conducted.” Some disciplines and journals still prefer impersonal phrasing, so look at recent abstracts in your field or ask your instructor, then use your choice consistently.
Use the past tense for what you did and found, because the research is complete: “we interviewed,” “the results showed.” Use the present tense for what the paper argues and for conclusions that still hold: “this essay argues,” “these findings suggest.” Mixing tenses this way is normal and expected.
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