APA Style Abstract

What is an Abstract? Sometimes you do not need to include an abstract in a paper; always check your assignment guidelines to make sure that you need to include one. In general, if you are submitting a manuscript for publication, or preparing a more formal report, you will need to include an abstract. The abstract is a summary of your paper and is generally the first thing your reader will read after the title. It allows readers to get an idea of what you say in your paper, so they can decide if they want to read the entire paper. Therefore, this is a very important section because you want people to actually read what you spent so much time writing. The abstract should contain a complete but concise summary of your paper and should not contain more than 120 words. You should not repeat your title in the abstract because this is redundant and takes up precious space.

How to write an Abstract First, write your paper. While the abstract will be at the beginning of your paper, it should be the last section that you write. Once you have completed the final draft of your paper, use it as a guide for writing your abstract. Keep it short. According to the APA style manual, an abstract should be no longer than 120 words. The abstract should also be written as only one paragraph. In order to succinctly describe your entire paper, you will need to determine which elements are the most important.

How to write an Abstract Structure the abstract in the same order as your paper. Begin with a brief summary of the Introduction, and then continue on with a summary of the sections of your paper. Look at abstracts in professional journals for examples of how to summarize your paper. Notice the main points that the authors chose to mention in the abstract. Use these examples as a guide when choosing the main ideas in your own paper. Write a rough draft of your abstract. While you should aim for brevity, be careful not to make your summary too short. Try to write one to two sentences summarizing each section of your paper. Once you have a rough draft, you can edit for length and clarity.