Complete your thesis. Experts in technical, business and academic writing advise writers to save summaries and abstracts for last.
Decide what type of abstract you should write for your thesis. The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) identifies two types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. A descriptive abstract is a mini-summary of the longer work, describing the type of information it contains. Most theses use informative abstracts, which briefly describe the main arguments and conclusions in the research. If you are not sure what type of thesis to write, you can ask your thesis adviser or read other abstracts from papers and journals in your academic field. For example, if you are writing a social science thesis and most theses and journal articles use informative abstracts, you should write an informative one for your work.
Draft an outline for your abstract. There are multiple approaches to outlining an abstract. UNC suggests an approach it calls "reverse outlining." This technique calls for writing down the titles of each section of your thesis, then writing down the main idea of each section. For example, a thesis may have sections titled problem, methodology, results and conclusions. For a thesis, try grouping the main ideas of each section into a single sentence, UNC advises.
Write a first draft of your abstract, making sure to adhere to your school's rules regarding length. Abstracts average around 250 words but can range from 100 to 400 words. Stay within the limits set by your school or program. Also make sure your abstract includes key words used in your thesis, as doing so makes it easier for researchers to find your completed thesis. Research databases often use abstracts to index longer works, such as theses and dissertations.
Read and revise your abstract, making sure it addresses the central research problem, your main findings or conclusions and the importance or significance of your study.