Writing A Dissertation Abstract: Tips And Tricks

The abstract to your dissertation is a short summary of your dissertation.  It is also used if your dissertation is published because then others can read your abstract and can decide if the information in your dissertation is what they are researching or if they want to read it.  And that is why you should always make sure that your dissertation abstract is interesting and informative.  Look at your abstract as the selling point of your dissertation, it tells them if your work is worth reading.

Tips And Tricks

  • Tell the reader the research problem and solution in your abstract.  This should be the first thing that you write in your abstract a sentence or two to tell that exactly what your dissertation is about.
  • An abstract is usually around two hundred and fifty words and it is very important that you don’t go over this word count.  This helps you summarize your dissertation without being to descriptive, which is not what an abstract is supposed to be.
  • Don’t forget to include a little bit of information about the methods and results that were used in your research.  Tell them what method you used and how the method gave you the results that it did.
  • Near the end of your abstract, you should mention the results were affected by the problem that you told the reader at the beginning of your abstract.
  • It is very important that you review and update your abstract after you have completed your dissertation.  Your abstract might have changed over the course of writing your dissertation and you should adjust it accordingly to your research and writing.
  • If you are confused on how to write a proper abstract, try to look up other dissertations and read over their abstracts.  Reading other people’s published abstracts might be able help your write yours.

Questions To Ask When You Are Writing Your Dissertation Abstract

All of these questions pertain to the research that you did on your dissertation.

  • What did I do?
  • Why did I do it?
  • How did I do it?
  • What did I find?
  • What is significant with what I found?

As you are writing your dissertation abstract, if you answer these questions, you will have an easier time writing your abstract. If you treat every question as sentence or two, you will be able to keep your word count down and the information relevant.

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