How Long Should an Abstract be?

By Laura Brown on 14th February 2019

To be aware of the required abstract length, it is mandatory to understand the word “abstract”.

What is an Abstract?

The brief summary of any paper is termed as an abstract. It can contain all the main points of the paper. That’s the reason, authors of essay writing service consider it as the most vital part of any composition. In some publications, it is also termed as synopsis or a précis. A good abstract is that which gives all the information of paper. It gives the idea to the reader whether he should read the complete paper or not.

To write a good abstract, few things must be kept in mind. An important point to consider is the word count of an abstract. It should not exceed more than the required limit. The length of an abstract varies with the discipline, the word count and requirement of the publisher.

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How Long Should an Abstract be?

The length of an abstract fluctuates with the requirement. However, the typical length of an abstract is from 100 to 500 words but it is suggested that abstract should not be more than one page. Rarely, it can go more than one page but just fewer words.

APA

According to APA style manual, the suggested word count an abstract should be between 150 to 250 words. However, some professors may have definite word requirement so it is better to ask. Also, the abstract should be written in paragraph format.

MLA

Most of the MLA abstracts ranges between 150 – 250 words. It is also said that too long abstracts are useless because they do not give specific information of the complete written paper.

Harvard

In Harvard styles, abstracts mostly ranges from 100 to 300 words in length. But it is better to ask from professor because some universities have their own requirement for the abstract.

AMA

As per AMA style guidelines, the abstract length is restricted to 175 words. The abstract in AMA style should give key components of the complete research.

How Long an Abstract in Chicago Style?

In Chicago style, the synopsis or abstracts word count must remain below 300. But it is compulsory to put all the essential points in the synopsis.

In a Scientific Paper

Every paper has its own requirements, where the scientific paper is concern; the abstract length of scientific papers is limited to 250 words maximum. So, it is better to write fewer words than the given limit.

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10,000 Word Dissertations

As mentioned above that the word count of an abstract also varies with the size of a dissertation. If your dissertation is around 10,000 words then the abstract should be 300 – 350 words long. It is because, such dissertations contain much information and making the summary of all the information requires some more words.

For a Conference Paper

As abstract is a snapshot of complete paper, it should be concise and informative. The requirement of length of an abstract paper varies with the publisher requirement. However, the suggested range is maximum 250 words.

Thesis / Dissertation

After completing dissertation, the last part should be an abstract. It gives the brief idea and highlights the main points of the whole dissertation. It usually embraces reader to read the rest of the dissertation. So, not to take much time of reader; the abstract should be of 200 to 350 words in range. Also, it is suggested to not write the abstract in future tense.

Journal Article

The range of abstract of journal articles is between 75 to 150 words. It is good to present all the information in most concise way so it is suggested to not go beyond the limit.

Lab Report

The abstract of lab report should be of one paragraph like 100 – 200 words. The report abstract should contain important facets of the report. It can include, purpose, key findings, significance and conclusion.

For a Literature Review

The summary of literature review should be according to the length of the literature. Typically, literature review ranges from 3000 to 5000 words so the abstract should be between 100 – 150 words. The abstract must not evaluate the original work, it just summarises it.

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How Long Should an Abstract be in a Research Paper?

Abstract recaps the major and important aspects of whole research paper and it should not be more than 300 words. However, it is good that words should be less than 300 words.

For a Presentation

The length of the presentation abstract should be around 200 to 250 words. The abstract for presentation should contain concise and informative information.

Any Other Paper

The abstract of paper should be 100 – 500 words long. Just make sure that the all essential points should be covered in the same abstract.

How To Write An Abstract Under Limited Words

While writing an abstract, you will always need to keep an eye on the word limit. We have very often observed abstracts being returned to students for making them shorter. It is easy for the reviewers to ask you to be more concise, but when you have already summed up your hardships and workings of some months or years in a 200-300 word statement, it becomes arduous to reduce it more.

We have come up with some simple tips that will help you to write an abstract within a word limit.

Bonus Tip: Keep tracking your abstract word count by enabling the word count feature in MS Word or pressing ctrl+shft+c if you are working in Google docs.

An impressive way to start your abstract is by writing a draft. Keep in consideration your complete paper and the whole journey. There is no need to be concerned about the number of words at this stage. The first draft is more about understanding and papering down the essential aspects of your paper.

Creating First Draft

1.  Extract the objectives from the paper’s introduction and conclusion from the discussion.
2.  Highlight the information from the methodology section and make sure to be relevant.
3.  Bracket the findings from the result section.
4.  Combine the above-highlighted information into a single paragraph.
5.  Now, condense this information based on research keywords without explaining the methods used.
6.  Delete extra words or any irrelevant background information.
7.  Revise the paragraph for conveying only essential information.

Don’ts Of Writing An Abstract

1.  Avoid writing information that is not in the original paper.
2.  Do not add abbreviations until a term appears two or more times.
3.  Skip background information, detailed methodology and literature review.
4.  Omit bibliography, citation, references, graphs and tables.

Revision & Editing

1.  Finally, work on the conciseness of the abstract.
2.  Check for the flow of English and logical sentences.
3.  Look for grammatical errors and make suitable corrections.

With the help of these tips, and word guide provided in the article, you will be able to create an eye-catching abstract for your paper. Still, if you face any difficulty, don’t forget to concern our experts.

Sources:

APA: https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-write-an-abstract-2794845
MLA: https://www.wikihow.com/Write-an-Abstract-in-MLA-Style
Harvard: https://gsas.harvard.edu/degree-requirements/dissertations/formatting-your-dissertation
AMA: https://www.ama.org/journal-of-international-marketing-submission-guidelines/
Chicago: https://www.ieee-pvsc.org/PVSC46/authors-abstracts.php
Scientific Paper: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science-fair/how-to-write-a-science-fair-project-abstract
10,000 Words Dissertation: https://www.sfu.ca/~jcnesbit/HowToWriteAbstract.htm
Conference Paper: https://www.ul.ie/ctl/sites/default/files/how_to_write_an_abstract_for_a_conference_paper.pdf
Lab Report: https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/types-of-writing/lab-report/
Research Paper: http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/abstract
Presentation: https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-to-write-an-abstract-for-a-presentation.html