How to Write an Abstract for a Seminar Paper or Thesis: Structure, Length and Example

How to write the abstract of an empirical paper - the five components, length under APA 7, keywords, the English abstract of a Hebrew thesis, a full example and common mistakes.

Part of the series: Seminar Paper Structure: Every Chapter, What Goes In It and How Long It Should Be

The abstract is the shortest part of the paper and the most read: the marker reads it first, and a researcher searching for articles decides from it whether to read on. It has to stand alone - someone who reads only the abstract knows what you asked, what you did and what you found.

The five components

How many words?

Under APA 7 an abstract is usually up to 250 words, one paragraph, not indented, under the heading "Abstract" (bold, centred). Seminar papers typically use 150–250 words; theses sometimes up to a page. Your institution's guidelines win - check them.

Keywords

Below the abstract: a line starting with Keywords: (italic), followed by 3–5 terms. Pick words someone would actually search for - not a repeat of the title.

Example abstract

Abstract

Test anxiety is linked to lower test performance, but little is known about its effect on time-limited quantitative sections. This study examined whether the relationship between test anxiety and scores differs between the quantitative and verbal sections of a graduate admission test. Participants were 182 test-takers (71% women, mean age 27.4) who completed a test-anxiety questionnaire a week before the test and reported their scores. Test anxiety was negatively related to quantitative scores (r = −.31, p < .001) and more weakly to verbal scores (r = −.12, p = .10); the difference between the correlations was significant. The findings support attentional control theory and suggest that anxiety-reduction interventions may be especially useful when preparing for the quantitative section.

Keywords: test anxiety, admission tests, attentional control, quantitative performance

(The figures in the example are illustrative.)

Count them: one background sentence, one aim, one method, two results sentences with numbers, one conclusion.

The English abstract of a Hebrew thesis

Most Israeli theses also require an English abstract, usually at the end of the volume. It isn't a word-for-word translation: rewrite it with the same structure, in the past tense, and check terminology against the English articles you cited. For a seminar paper - only if required.

When to write it

Last. Only when the results and discussion are settled do you know exactly what to write. Draft it, then check: is every number in the abstract identical to the number in the results chapter?

Common mistakes

• No results - "interesting relationships were found" instead of the finding itself.
• Citations in the abstract - not standard (unless the study replicates a specific study).
• Undefined abbreviations and terms.
• Information that isn't in the paper - or a mismatch with the results chapter.
• Long background eating half the abstract.

FAQ

How many words should an abstract be? Under APA 7 usually up to 250; seminar papers typically 150–250. Check your institution's guidelines.

Does a seminar paper need an abstract? Under APA 7, student papers include one only if the instructor asks - but most Israeli departments do.

Past or present tense? What was done and found - past ("participants completed", "was found"); the conclusion - present ("the findings suggest").

Is the abstract the same as the conclusion? No. The abstract stands alone at the start; conclusions belong to the discussion. See How to write a discussion chapter.

Want someone to check your abstract? It's the one page the marker reads first. Send it to us and we'll come back with comments.

Last updated: 2026-10-01