What is an Abstract?
An abstract is a short version of your Bachelor’s Thesis. The purpose is to give the reader a quick identification of its basic content. It is placed next to the title page and after the Finnish abstract. Writing the English abstract is usually the last task in the Thesis writing process. The abstract is an indication of the quality of your Thesis. The impressions drawn from the abstract greatly impact the reader so that they may decide whether to read your Thesis in its entirety or not. It should “stand on its own” and be a self-contained document. There should be no need to look elsewhere in your Thesis for an understanding of what is said in the abstract. Students do not often recognize the importance of the abstract and thus do not spend the required time in order to produce a well defined text.
Content and Organisation
Do not translate your Finnish title, tiivistelmä or johdanto word for word. Pay a special attention to how you interpret the Finnish title into English. Make it no longer than ten words. Express the objectives and methods clearly, along with the results and / or recommendations. Do not include exact results, figures or other accurate details. For easy reading, write your text in 4 short paragraphs. They should describe the following information:
- What was the aim of your research?
- How did you carry out your research?
- What are the general results?
- What are the main conclusions and recommendations based on your research?
Length
The abstract should be very concise – the maximum length being 50% of one page (outside of the header formatting and keywords line). This means you will need to economize your use of words and tie ideas together. Use the most precise and relevant words to best express the content of the abstract. Abstracts that are too long will have to be re-written. The length is 300 words.
Language Format and Style
Use simple, neutral style: make sentences short - one sentence should be made up of only two or three clauses. Use the same word if you mean the same concept (for example, if you have decided to use the word method of your plan, do not refer to the same by procedure or technique in your abstract).
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