Example of an Abstract for Papers, Reports, and Essays

An example of an abstract is a short model of the summary that comes before a paper. A useful one names the purpose, the method, and the finding, in that order, so a reader can decide whether to continue. A sample abstract that only names the topic does not do that work.

The examples of an abstract in this guide were written for the guide. They are not abstracts of published papers. Copy the shape, then use the purpose, the method, and the finding from your own draft. Where a real abstract would include a count or a measurement, these models leave the number out. There is no study behind them.

When a sentence already says the right thing but sounds stiff, Rephrase AI can rephrase that sentence. Rephrase AI is designed to preserve the meaning. Compare the new sentence with the finding in the paper before you keep it. Your instructor's rules on AI use still apply.

1. What is the purpose of an abstract

The UNC Writing Center calls an abstract a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work. The abstract is an original document, not a passage copied out of the paper. It is not a review, and it does not judge the work it describes.

UNC names two reasons to write one. Selection comes first. A reader uses the abstract to decide whether the longer work is worth the time. Indexing comes next. Many databases search the abstract, so the abstract should contain the words a reader would type.

APA's guide to reading abstracts calls an abstract a snapshot of a study. The snapshot addresses the purpose, the method, the results or findings, and the discussion or conclusions. Ideally, nothing of great importance in the article is missing from the abstract. The abstract should also add nothing the article does not support.

That job shows up outside journal articles. UNC lists journal submissions, grant applications, book proposals, dissertations and theses, conference papers, and book chapters. The Purdue OWL graduate guide adds conference programs and invited talks. The length changes with the form. The purpose stays the same. Tell a reader what the work did and what it found, in enough detail to judge the fit.

A student paper in APA Style often has no abstract page. APA's abstract and keywords guide says abstracts and keywords are not typically required for student papers. Ask the instructor before you add the page.

An abstract is also not the introduction. The George Mason University Writing Center says an abstract in a science or social science report stands on its own. It is not part of the introduction. George Mason calls that report shape IMRaD, meaning introduction, method, results, and discussion. The introduction can take a longer path from a hook to a thesis. For that opening paragraph, see introduction paragraph examples.

2. How long a sample abstract should be

Use the limit in the assignment or the journal. The guides checked for this article do not share one number.

The Purdue graduate guide suggests a practical cut. Write the abstract as a condensed version of the article, with one or two sentences for each major section. A 50-word conference note cannot hold a full methods paragraph. A 250-word APA abstract should not stop after the question.

Write the abstract after the paper, not before it. George Mason says the abstract summarizes the whole report, so the draft of the report comes first. Purdue's engineering handbook says the same thing. The abstract should not point at a figure, a table, or a section in the body. A reader who sees only the abstract still has to understand it.

3. How an abstract is structured

An unstructured abstract is one paragraph. The parts sit in the order of the paper, without labels. APA's reading guide says that order is the introduction, the method, the results, and the discussion or conclusion. When those parts have labels, APA calls the abstract a structured abstract.

The same moves show up across fields, with different names. George Mason lists five moves for a science or social science abstract.

Purdue describes the same shape as introduction, methods, results, and discussion. In many sciences, and in a large part of the humanities, one or two sentences can carry each part. A humanities abstract often trades the method sentence for the thesis, the background, and the conclusion. UNC draws that line. A social science or science abstract may contain the scope, the purpose, the results, and the contents. A humanities abstract may contain the thesis, the background, and the conclusion.

Structured or unstructured

Use the form the venue names. A class research paper usually wants one paragraph. A journal that prints labels wants the labels it lists, not a set borrowed from another field. The labels in the structured example later in this guide follow APA's order. They are a teaching layout, not a claim that every journal uses those four words.

Nature's formatting guide is a useful contrast. A Nature Article starts with a fully referenced summary paragraph, separate from the main text. The paragraph is aimed at readers outside the discipline. It avoids numbers, abbreviations, acronyms, and measurements unless they are essential. Nature's shape is two or three sentences of basic introduction to the field, a brief account of the background and rationale, a statement of the main conclusions, and two or three sentences on how the findings move the field. Nature asks authors to introduce the main conclusion with the words Here we show, or with an equivalent phrase.

That citation rule is Nature's, not the usual class rule. UNC says not to refer extensively to other works, not to add information that is absent from the work, and not to define terms. An APA-style class abstract also stays inside one paragraph and does not lean on other papers. Follow the venue in front of you.

APA still wants the study's own numbers when the paper is a research report. The abstract and keywords guide says the methods sentences should briefly describe the design, the sample, and the sample size, and that the results belong in the abstract. Put those numbers in the paragraph. Do not send the reader to a table for them.

Phrases for the purpose

These lines were written for this guide. Replace the topic with yours.

• This paper asks whether more frequent daytime buses shorten the trip to a grocery store in neighborhoods with no supermarket.
• The purpose of this study is to compare a written reply rule with an unspoken one.
• This essay argues that the river marks each stage of the narrator's choice to leave home.
• This report reviews why customer support wait times rose last quarter.

Phrases for the method

• The comparison uses bus schedules and grocery store locations for neighborhoods with no supermarket inside their borders.
• Course sections with a written reply rule are compared with sections that had no written rule.
• The essay reads the river scenes in order, from the first refusal to the final crossing.
• The report uses ticket records from one quarter and interviews with the support team.
• The lab compared basil seedlings under a longer daily light cycle with seedlings under a shorter cycle, in the same soil and the same room.

Phrases for the results

George Mason warns against an abstract that only says what the paper will examine. The finding has to be in the abstract. State your own result in one sentence. These models show the shape, not a completed study.

• Neighborhoods with more frequent daytime buses had shorter grocery trips than neighborhoods with sparse daytime service.
• Sections with a written reply rule treated fewer non-urgent messages as urgent.
• The final crossing reads as a choice the narrator could make only after leaving.
• The records point to ticket assignment, rather than staffing, as the main source of the longer waits.
• Seedlings under the longer light cycle were taller, and more leaves stayed green.

Phrases for the conclusion

• The finding matters for route plans that measure only commuter speed.
• A written rule is worth testing before a team adds staff.
• Reading the river this way changes the ending from a loss into a decision.
• The report recommends changing how new tickets are assigned.
• The next planting should keep the longer light cycle.

Phrases that fail the job

• This paper will explore team messages.
• Communication is very important in today's society.
• The results are discussed later in the paper.
• See the method section for how the study was done.

The first two name a topic and stop. The last two send the reader somewhere else. An abstract has to stand alone.

If a phrase is accurate but stiff, rephrase that phrase in your own words with the public paraphrasing tool. Keep the finding, the names, and any numbers from your paper. The tool is for the wording. It is not a source of results.

APA page format

When the paper uses APA Style and an abstract is required, APA's abstract and keywords guide sets the page this way.

• Put the abstract on its own page, the second page of the paper.
• Center the label Abstract and make it bold.
• Start the text on the next line. Do not indent it. Keep it to one paragraph, and double-space it.
• On the next line, indent an italic label for the keywords. The keywords follow on that same line. Use three to five words, phrases, or acronyms. Lowercase them except for proper nouns. Separate them with a comma and a space. Do not add a period at the end.
• Choose keywords for the topic, the population, the method, and the application of the findings.

4. Examples of an abstract

Each example below was written for this guide. None of them reports a real study, a real novel, or a real lab. A published abstract would use the numbers from its own results. These models do not invent those numbers.

Research paper, one paragraph

Neighborhoods without a nearby grocery store often treat a weekly shop as a transit problem. This study asks whether more frequent daytime buses shorten that trip. The comparison uses bus schedules and grocery store locations for neighborhoods with no supermarket inside their borders. Neighborhoods with more frequent daytime buses had shorter grocery trips than neighborhoods with sparse daytime service. The finding matters for route plans that measure only how fast cars move at rush hour. A fast commute can still leave a weekly shop as a long trip.

Why this example works. The first sentence is the context. The second is the purpose. The third is the method. The fourth is the finding. The last two say why the finding matters. A reader can judge the paper without opening it. An APA version of this abstract would also name the sample size from the study. This model has no sample, so it does not invent one.

The same paper with labels

Introduction

Neighborhoods without a nearby grocery store often treat a weekly shop as a transit problem. This study asks whether more frequent daytime buses shorten that trip.

Method

The comparison uses bus schedules and grocery store locations for neighborhoods with no supermarket inside their borders.

Results

Neighborhoods with more frequent daytime buses had shorter grocery trips than neighborhoods with sparse daytime service.

Discussion

The finding matters for route plans that measure only how fast cars move at rush hour. A fast commute can still leave a weekly shop as a long trip.

Why this example works. The claims match the paragraph above. Only the labels changed. That is the difference between an unstructured abstract and a structured one. If the journal names other labels, use those labels and keep this order unless the journal says otherwise.

Humanities essay

This essay argues that the river marks each stage of the narrator's choice to leave home. At the start, the river is the one place she refuses to go, and she describes it only from a window. The middle of the novel keeps the river as a border. The final chapter is the first time she crosses it alone. That crossing is not a retreat. It is the choice that makes a later return possible. Reading the river this way changes the ending from a loss into a decision.

Why this example works. UNC's humanities pattern is the thesis, the background, and the conclusion. The example does not describe an experiment, and it does not cite a published novel. The last sentence is the claim a reader would take into the essay. For a title that can sit above this kind of piece, see title examples.

Lab report

This lab compared basil seedlings grown under a longer daily light cycle with seedlings grown under a shorter cycle. Both groups used the same soil, the same pots, and the same room. Height was the measurement at the end of the growth period. Seedlings under the longer cycle were taller, and more of their leaves stayed green. The next planting should keep the longer cycle. Height should be recorded at the same hour each time, because the hour of measurement changed how the pale leaves looked.

Why this example works. Purdue's engineering handbook wants the abstract to say what was done, what was found, and what to do next. The verbs are in the past tense, because the lab is finished. The abstract does not say "see figure 1." Purdue also notes that a college lab report may not require the reason the work was done, the specific purpose, or the scope. This model still opens with the comparison, because that comparison is the lab. A real report would add the heights and the units from the data sheet. This model leaves them out.

Descriptive sample abstract

This paper compares city bus frequency with grocery access in neighborhoods that have no supermarket inside their borders. It describes the schedules and the store locations the comparison uses. It does not report which neighborhoods had shorter trips.

Why this example works. UNC calls this kind a descriptive abstract. It tells a reader what kind of information is inside the work, and it stops before the results. UNC says descriptive abstracts are usually 100 words or less. Use this shape only when the assignment or the program asks for a description rather than findings. A research paper, a lab report, and most journal articles want the informative shape, with the finding included. The research example earlier in this guide is the informative version of the same topic.

A weak abstract and a revision

Weak version

Communication is very important in today's society. This paper will explore team messages. The results will be discussed later in the paper.

Revision

Some teams treat a message as urgent even when the work is not. This study compares course sections that used a written reply rule with sections that had no written rule. Sections with a written rule treated fewer non-urgent messages as urgent. A written rule is worth testing before a team adds staff.

Why the revision works. The weak version uses a broad opener, promises to explore a topic, and postpones the finding. The revision states the problem, the comparison, the finding, and the implication. Nothing in it depends on a later section.

A last check before you submit

• The finding is in the abstract. A reader should not have to open the paper to learn what you found.
• The method is specific. Name the comparison, the texts, the records, or the lab setup.
• The abstract stands alone. Do not mention a figure, a table, or a section the reader cannot see.
• The length matches the venue. Use the assignment or the journal limit, not a number from a different field.
• The keywords are in the paragraph. A database search should be able to find the topic, the people or texts, and the method.
• The facts survived the rephrase. If a sentence was rewritten, the finding, the names, and the numbers still match the paper.

A summary of someone else's work follows the same limits. UNC says the abstract cannot add a claim that was not in the work. For the difference between restating a source and condensing it, see paraphrase versus summary.

FAQ

What is an example of an abstract?

What is the purpose of an abstract?

How long should a sample abstract be?

What is the difference between a structured abstract and an unstructured abstract?

How is an abstract different from an introduction?

Does a student paper need an abstract?

Should an abstract include citations?