What is an Abstract?
An abstract is a summary of your final project report or thesis.
The English abstract doesn’t need to be a direct translation of the Finnish one.
The main thing is that the abstract
- informative but concise
- clear and logical
- easy to read.
When?
- Write the English abstract after your advisor has approved the Finnish abstract.
- Linguistic research, writing the text, and editing the language and style may take up more time than you expect – anything between 3 and 8 hours.
You can write the abstract on your own, or attend an abstract writing workshop.
- Send the whole thesis/report to the designated English instructor for language check 10 days before the final deadline
What is
...
'Opinnäytetyö' in English?
AMK - Bachelor's degree
- final project (report)
your study includes an artistic or a development project and a written report reflecting on the process and the results - a Bachelor's thesis
a dissertation reporting on and discussing the results of original research and substantiating a specific view.
YAMK - Master's degree
- a research and development project (report)
your study includes an artistic or a development project and a written report reflecting on the process and the results - a Master's thesis
a dissertation reporting on and discussing the results of original research and substantiating a specific view.
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).
While first person (“I”, “we”) may be used in the body of the Thesis, you must use third person or passive in the abstract. So, no personal pronouns: I, you, we, also my, your, our. If there is a need to refer to the writer, use the word Author.
Use the simple past tense (imperfekti) to refer to what you did, eg was measured, the tests were found inadequate. There is seldom need for the past perfect tense (have been) constructions.
Use the present tense (preesens) to refer to your written report, e.g. Earlier studies are reported in detail. The drawings show the prefabrication. Also, you may use the present tense when referring to the results. Use present or the future tense when referring to the conclusions. Consider the use of tenses carefully.
Do not include abbreviations or acronyms in your abstract if you can help it, but if you must, don’t use them without explaining them first. For example, the first time you use the abbreviation you must write out the full form and put the abbreviation in brackets. e.g. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)” From then on you may use “MRI” for the duration of the abstract.
Do not use headings for your abstract paragraphs. (e.g. Objectives, Methods, Results and Conclusions)
Do not use underlining italics and boldface.
Keep your abstract clear and simple – you are trying to show the key points of your Thesis to attract interest.
Always check your grammar, spelling, and formatting. Use either British English spelling conventions or American English spelling conventions throughout your abstract, but not both. Do not use slang expressions. Do not show your feelings or opinions.
...
Form
Write the abstract into the table on the third page of the report template.
Title
- Short, clear, informative and interesting
- Don’t translate the original title word for word, but express it clearly in plain English
- Write the English Title in Title Case. Metropolia house style: All Words in Upper Case, Except Articles, Conjunctions and Prepositions
Advisors
- Advisor's Name, Academic Title or Job Title (or both), e.g.,
Heikki Heikkilä, M.A.
Marja Marjanen, D.Mus.
Body of the Abstract
- 250 – 300 words, including articles and prepositions
- 4 - 5 paragraphs with a blank line between them
- Do not indent the first line of the paragraph
Content
- Introduction: Who has done what?
- Methodology: When, where and how was the study or project carried out?
- Results and conclusions: What did you learn during the process?
- Discussion: Why is the research topic or project important? Who might benefit from the results of your work? What should be done next?
Language and Style
Language Help
- Finnish-English Dictionary (Tuubi - MOT sanakirjasto, link on the left)
- Specialist dictionaries and glossaries (e.g. A Glossary of Video Editing Terms)
- Collocations dictionaries (which adjectives, nouns, verbs and prepositions can be matched together?)
Oxford Collocations Dictionary - Monolingual dictionaries (definitions and grammar)
The Free Dictionary - Google expressions "in quotations marks" and see if the expression is used in relevant and reliable contexts.
Write the abstract
- in the first person (My thesis investigates... My final project is a...) or
- in the third person (The author studied... The author carried out a survey...)
The text should be
- formal, but the sentences should be short and simple
- accessible (easy to read)
- cohesive (ideas are logically connected)
Check spelling and grammar
- MS Word 2010:
Review / Language / Set Proofing Language
Review / Spelling and Grammar
Final Touches
- Send the whole report/thesis to your designated English instructor as Word document (not a pdf).
- When you get the instructor’s comments, edit the text and send it back to her once more for final approval.