Number the abstract page in APA format; leave it unnumbered in MLA format. Check your instructor's requirements, as they may differ. Confine your abstract to one single paragraph, with no indentation.
Double-space before you begin to write the body of the abstract. The abstract appears after the cover page of the research paper. It is a page unto itself. The word "Abstract" should appear as the title, centered on the page.
Treat your research paper as a map for writing the abstract, for it should follow the paper's pattern of organization in the same way. Encapsulate the purpose of the paper, explain the research method that was employed, summarize the findings and state the conclusion of the paper. Address the "meat" of the research paper and not any ancillary or supporting evidence that the paper may contain.
Choose your words carefully and with specificity, as you did with your research paper. Do not strain to use "big" words to try to impress your readers or to present your research in a way that is not credible or accurate. Do not, for example, say the research is "groundbreaking" or "revolutionary" if it is simply a review of the literature paper. Remember that simple, concrete words are better. Even though it's a research paper, the writing should still be engaging and interesting.
Proofread and edit your abstract to ensure that it is free of grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors.