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The Thesis Abstract
What is the thesis abstract?
It is a brief text that synthesizes the framework, methodology, results and main conclusions of a thesis.
What is the purpose of the thesis abstract?
Its purpose is to briefly and appealingly introduce the main findings and contributions of your thesis.
Why is the thesis abstract important?
Because it’s the first part of your work that your reviewers will read. It’s a good opportunity to make a first good impression, by showing your advisor and reviewers how original, rigorous or meaningful your work is before they start reading every section in detail. Thus, it’s very important that you create an abstract that highlights the strengths of your thesis.
GET STARTED
Activate your prior knowledge
- Have you written abstracts before? What strategies have you used to highlight the strengths of your work?
- Have you summarized the contents of your thesis, either orally or in writing? How did you choose what information to include or leave out?
- Have you read other theses while writing your own? Do you remember how those authors presented their abstracts?
PERSPECTIVE FROM A PEER
“After I finish writing the thesis, I write a list of ideas that must go on the abstract, so this presents the most important points of my work, keeping it simple. On the list I include: why I chose the topic, the objectives, the steps I followed to get to my objective, and finally, a preview of my conclusions. Having this list physically in front of me, I begin writing my abstract, paying attention to the quantity of words or lines requested for this part.”
PhD student, Philosophy Department,
Universidad de Chile
Planning, drafting, revising
Writing is a complex process that includes different activities, strategies and moments. Some people start by brainstorming before writing, while others prefer to start writing right away. What strategies work better? Here are some ideas to help you face the process of writing a thesis abstract in English.
Be sure of the strengths of your thesis
Before starting writing your abstract, be aware of the main contribution of your thesis for your disciplinary field; it could be its originality, its methodological orientation or its practical usefulness. Don’t be shy and highlight all the good qualities of your work.
Look at some thesis abstracts from your field
As you will see here, the thesis abstract follows a 5-part structure: introduction, purpose, method, results and conclusion. However, this may change from one field to another. Thus, it’s very important that you read other works and see how others handled their abstracts. You can find examples for your discipline in: Repositorio Académico de la Universidad de Chile.
Revise your writing
Consider time to revise your writing. Ideally, you should wait at least a couple of hours (and preferably a couple of days) before going over your abstract to check for any mistakes. Some prefer revising right away, but this may be problematic as what you wrote is still fresh in your thoughts, and you may inadvertently “fix” mistakes in your mind. If you leave your abstract alone for a while, problems will be more apparent and easier for you to fix.
PERSPECTIVE FROM A PEER
“I think that before writing the abstract, it is necessary to practice writing in English, and get some feedback, hopefully from an expert. For example, in my case, I had the chance to take a course where I could practice writing short essays. Some of the strategies that I learnt during that course were: make a list of topics to include, check vocabulary used in other abstracts, start writing in English right away, be aware of the quantity of words, remember the characteristics of English as a language (different to Spanish), verify the tenses used.”
Master student, Nutrition and Food Technology Institute,
Universidad de Chile
STRUCTURE YOUR THESIS ABSTRACT
What do you know about the topic?
Show the committee that your thesis deals with an interesting topic, and present it in an appealing way. Express the importance of the topic to be studied, or the need to expand the study of this since there is a lack of evidence. This is called a research gap. Use phrases or expressions to show this gap: “Even though some studies have covered this topic, there is not enough investigation of it…”
Questions to help you draft
- How can you emphasize the relevance of the topic?
- How can you show the contributions of the study?
- How can you highlight the necesity of further research on the topic?
What is your study about?
Describe your research in terms of its purpose or study design. For the former, you can declare your main purpose: “the purpose of this research was…” or “this study aims to…”, for example. You could also emphasize your study design: “this is a longitudinal study that compares…”, “this correlational study describes how…”
Questions to help you draft
- How can you present the topic of your study clearly?
- What is the purpose of your study?
- What is your study design?
How was your study conducted?
Show the reviewers that you followed a reliable, accurate method in your research. Highlight all relevant aspects like the context of the study, your sample size, the type of participants, or your data collection and analysis procedures. Sometimes, the study design (qualitative, descriptive, correlational, etc.) is stated in this section.
Remember to include details of your methodology; this is essential for the presentation of your thesis. This will show that your work was rigorous and based on a clear and replicable procedure.
Questions to help you draft
- What methodological aspect do you consider relevant to understand your research?
- Should you describe your sample size or sampling procedures?
- Should you mention the analysis procedures?
What were your findings?
Show some of the interesting findings of your study, highlighting the most meaningful ones. Consider mentioning the general tendency of your data, and later focus on some specific findings. For example, “the study shows a correlation between teaching methods and learning results. Specifically, it was observed…”.
Your research probably generated lots of results, but which ones should you include in the abstract? Always mention the ones that answer directly to your purpose, hypothesis or research questions: those are essential!
Questions to help you draft
- Which findings do you find more relevant?
- Which of your findings do you think best answer your research question?
- Which of your findings do you consider a contribution to your field of study?
What do your findings mean?
Give an interpretation of your results. You can explain what they mean, what their implications or practical applications are. For example, in the area of engineering, we could find a conclusion such as: “The trails performed show that the instrument is useful for the prediction and study of the high traffic zones of the city”. You could also include phrases that explicitly state the contribution of your study, for example you can write: “this study aims to be a contribution for…”.
Finish your abstract with an elegant phrase that your reviewers will remember. You could highlight an interesting finding, the relevance of your study on the field, or the implication of your findings, among other options. Remember: you have to persuade the committee of the significance of your work!
Questions to help you draft
- What do your results mean?
- How are these findings important?
- What would be an attractive phrase to conclude your abstract?
CHECK SOME EXAMPLES!
When writing, it’s important to organize our ideas before hand, decide on the main topic, and follow a certain style. In the case of a thesis abstract, you already have all the items mentioned before, but it we suggest you read some other abstracts, especially if you have specific requirements to meet. Try reading thesis abstracts from other students in your same area, preferably from the same university. If you study at Universidad de Chile, you can find such works at the Repositorio Académico.
Let’s check the structure of the thesis abstract in the following example!
Example 1
Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation: A Case Study on International Awardsnseñanza técnico profesional, desde las percepciones de los docentes
Let’s check the next example for some grammar and style highlights!
Example 2
Synthesis, doping and characterization of furfuryl alcohol resin and phenol-furfuryl alcohol resin aimed at the optimization of glass-like carbon processing
LET´S EXERCISE!
WRITE YOUR OWN ABSTRACT
Click on the following box to download a Word doc with the format for writing an abstract:
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