A bachelor’s or master’s thesis abstract should briefly present its aim, approach, main findings and conclusion. Write it from the completed thesis. The English abstract should convey the same content, preserving the correct terminology and study limitations.
Your thesis runs to dozens of pages, but the university’s submission system gives you only a small field to describe it. What should you include? Instead of shortening each chapter separately, identify what readers need to know to understand the subject and outcome of the whole thesis. The example below shows how to combine this information without writing a second introduction.
The abstract, introduction and conclusion serve different purposes
The introduction presents the problem and the foundations of the thesis. The conclusion brings together the findings and answers the questions set. The abstract gives a self-contained, condensed account of the whole thesis, including for someone who does not read the other chapters.
Do not copy the first paragraph of the introduction if it only explains the importance of the topic. Nor should you transfer the entire conclusion if readers cannot understand the basis for the findings without knowing the method. For comparison, see the guides on writing an introduction and on the thesis conclusion.
In her discussion of the summary as a genre, Anna Dunin-Dudkowska (2023) emphasises its dependence on the source text and the selection of essential content. She also describes the importance of an organised account of the problem, method and results in a research abstract. For a thesis, this means the abstract should not add achievements absent from the work itself.
How many words should a thesis abstract contain?
Check your faculty’s guidelines and the fields in the thesis submission system. The limit may be stated in words or characters, with or without spaces. Separate language versions and a specified number of keywords may be required. There is no single length that applies to every bachelor’s and master’s thesis.
Before shortening the text, note the limit, languages, required structure and keyword format. If an instruction is unclear, check with your lecturer or the office handling thesis submissions. The length of the example in this guide does not replace your local requirements.
What should the abstract include?
The following questions help you select the content. They need not appear as labelled sections in the text. The template required by your university takes precedence.
Aim and scope
What problem does the thesis examine, and what exactly does it cover? Narrow the subject rather than starting with a general history of the entire field.
Material and approach
What are the findings based on? Identify the study, documents analysed, sources or another appropriate approach.
Main finding
What was actually found? The sentence ‘the results were presented’ does not tell readers what those results were.
Conclusion and its limits
What follows from the work, and what does this answer apply to? Do not extend it to groups or phenomena that were not studied.
If the study did not find the expected association, do not omit that simply because the abstract is intended to encourage reading. Do not replace a cautious conclusion with the stronger word ‘proved’ if the design does not support it.
Example survey-based thesis abstract, translated from Polish
An original teaching example. The topic, study and figures below are fictional. This translated Polish example illustrates the structure of an abstract; it does not describe a client’s results or an actual study.
The aim of the thesis was to identify the preferred consultation format among students on one degree programme at the university studied. An online questionnaire was shared in the year cohort’s group. Participation was voluntary, and 40 valid responses were obtained. The analysis covered counts and percentages of responses to the question about the preferred consultation format. Online consultations were chosen by 24 people (60%), and in-person consultations by 16 (40%). Online consultations were selected more often in the study group. The result describes participants’ self-reports and does not explain why they made their choices. The sampling approach means these preferences cannot be generalised to all students at the university.
The example includes the aim, data collection method, sample size, basic analysis, result and limitation. Both percentages use the same base: 40 valid responses. The text does not claim that online consultations are more effective or should replace other formats. The study presented does not answer those questions.
In your own thesis, select findings that address its main aim. You do not need to reproduce every figure from the research chapter, but those you use must match the final results. Update the abstract whenever the results change.
The English abstract: preserve meaning, not word order
The English version should describe the same study. Check the terms used in your discipline, consistent variable names and matching figures. Be particularly careful with causal wording: the Polish phrase ‘wiązało się z’ (‘was associated with’) should not become ‘caused’ in translation.
The English version supplied with the same teaching example
The aim of the thesis was to identify the preferred consultation format among students enrolled in one degree programme at the university studied. An online questionnaire was shared in a group for the year cohort. Participation was voluntary, and 40 valid responses were obtained. The analysis included counts and percentages for the question about the preferred consultation format. Online consultations were chosen by 24 participants (60%), while 16 participants (40%) preferred in-person consultations. Online consultations were selected more frequently within the surveyed group. The result describes participants' preferences and does not explain the reasons for their choices. Given the sampling approach, these preferences cannot be generalised to all students at the university.
Do not add new information to the English abstract, even if it sounds more impressive as a result. A translation tool can help draft it, but compare the finished text sentence by sentence with the Polish version and the thesis itself.
How do you write an abstract for a theoretical thesis without a survey?
Describe how you actually examined the problem. You can identify the concepts analysed, the criterion for comparing positions or the scope of the material. Instead of inventing respondents and a research instrument, explain the line of reasoning and the finding it led to.
For example, the abstract of a thesis comparing two approaches to a problem could name them, identify the basis of comparison and state the main difference. ‘The literature was analysed’ is too general if it does not reveal the subject and outcome of the analysis.
Do not call an ordinary literature review a systematic review if the appropriate procedure was not followed. The abstract should match the method described in the thesis, even if that method is more modest than a fashionable label suggests.
How do you choose keywords for a thesis?
Choose terms that identify the topic, phenomenon, group or approach. These words describe the thesis in a catalogue; they are not marketing phrases. Do not enter ‘bachelor’s thesis’ if it says nothing about the subject.
For the fictional example above, a provisional set might be: academic consultations, student preferences, online consultations, survey research. The final number and format of keywords depend on university requirements. The English equivalents should preserve the meaning of the Polish terms rather than introduce a new topic.
What should you remove or revise before submission?
- A mere description of chapters. ‘In chapter one…, in chapter two…’ takes up space and often says nothing about the findings.
- General claims about the topic’s importance. Replace them with a specific problem and scope.
- New results. Every finding in the abstract must have a basis in the thesis.
- Unexplained abbreviations. The abstract’s reader may not know the preceding chapters.
- Differences between language versions. Compare the sample, figures, method and strength of the conclusion in both versions.
- Exceeding the limit. Check the correct counting unit and the finished text after pasting it into the system.
Questions about editing part of a thesis
Can I submit only one section of the thesis?
Yes. You can submit an individual chapter, questionnaire, methodology section, results, references, footnotes or another section. Support can also cover presentation content or editing a finished text.
When sending a section, include your thesis topic and outline, plus any feedback from your supervisor. This helps us understand how it fits into the full document.
What is the difference between proofreading and editing?
Proofreading focuses on language accuracy, spelling and punctuation. Editing also addresses sentence structure, style, paragraph organisation, flow and the logic of your argument. We tailor the scope to the condition of your text and the changes it needs.
We offer both proofreading and editing for bachelor's and master's theses, coursework, reports, other academic papers and presentations.
Source and nature of the examples
Dunin-Dudkowska, A. (2023). Streszczenie jako gatunek wypowiedzi w glottodydaktyce polonistycznej. Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Kształcenie Polonistyczne Cudzoziemców, 30. DOI: 10.18778/0860-6587.30.10.
The publication informed the discussion of the functions of summaries and abstracts. The study example, both sample texts and the checklist are original teaching materials. They do not establish the requirements of any particular faculty.
