An abstract is a short summary that comes at the beginning of an academic paper, dissertation, or report. It summarises the whole paper, including the purpose of the research, methods, findings and conclusions. It is usually only a paragraph or two in length. It helps your readers decide whether the text is relevant to their needs and whether they want to spend time reading it. It is short, but it is worth taking time to make sure it captures the main points of your work.
Scroll down for our recommended strategies and resources.