The purpose of the abstract is to clearly communicate a concise summary of your term paper. The abstract serves two main purposes: To help readers determine the relevance of your paper within their research interest, and to communicate the key findings within your paper, and your conclusion.
Even though the Abstract is the first section of the paper after the cover/title page, it is a good idea to wait to write your abstract after you have drafted your term paper. This way you are able to summarize your completed term paper.
The abstract is NOT an introduction to the term paper. The abstract should highlight the major points made in the paper, explain why the paper adds to the knowledge of a problem, describe how you researched the problem, what are those findings, and offer a conclusion.
In other words, an abstract includes points covering these questions.
- What is your paper about?
- Why is the topic important?
- How did you do it (research methodology)?
- What did you find?
- Why are your findings important (conclusion)?
The abstract should be formatted as a single paragraph with no paragraph indentations. The abstract should fit on just one page and be NO more than 250 words in length and double spaced.
The key to writing a good abstract is clarity. Avoid excessive jargon and use a scholarly tone and voice.
When writing the abstract no in-text citations are used and never use a direct quote from another author/s. Use the past tense scholarly narrative voice. The abstract does not contain any new information that is not found within the term paper.
Using APA Style 7th Edition, the abstract should end with Keywords: Keywords address essential elements of the content within the term paper and highlight main themes.
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About the Author
Mark Bond has worked in law enforcement and has been a firearms instructor for more than 33 years. His law enforcement experience includes the military, local, state, and federal levels as a police officer and criminal investigator. Mark obtained a BS and MS in criminal justice, and M.Ed in educational leadership with Summa Cum Laude honors. Mark has a doctoral degree in education (EdD) with a concentration in college teaching and learning. Mark is currently an associate professor of human justice studies and teaches undergraduate and graduate criminal justice courses.
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