In this article, the APA abstract will be explained. It is needed to enable students at all levels to understand how to format the abstract in research parlance properly.

APA is an acronym for American Psychological Association. When applied to abstract, it means that the abstract should follow the guidelines and rules of APA in research.

Our article on abstract as an important aspect of research is explained and can be accessed HERE. For further clarity, additional information can be found in these articles.

In addition to the information you will get from the recommended articles, I need to inform you that abstracts are not compulsory requirement in student research papers unless it is specifically instructed by the student’s supervisor, the Department or the institution’s guidelines say so.

If, for any reason abstract is required in academic research papers, then the following guidelines must be followed:

• The abstract should be placed on the second page of the research project, thesis or dissertation immediately after the title page of the paper.

• The abstract should be captioned or titled in upper case and lowercase alphabets at the centre of the writeup, it should be boldfaced in black ink above the page or header area.

• The abstract must be typed in a single paragraph, all in block form (do not indent).

• References are not to be cited in the abstract for any reason.  

adopt active voice verbs when typing the abstract, endeavour to avoid using personal pronouns, such as “I” or “we”).

• Use present-tense verbs throughout the abstract, and use and sustain the usage of past tenses in the written abstract, especially after stating the research problem.

• You can make use of proper abbreviations (such as CDC for Centers for Disease Control). The abbreviations should first be written in full at first instance, then subsequent mentions may not require the full meaning of the abbreviations. Just write the abbreviations and allow the readers to look up the full meaning from reading the main work.