Shorten your abstract or summary

You can shorten your abstract by not using cumbersome or excessively long sentences. Avoiding the following five things is an easy way to make your text more concise.

If you struggle with keeping your writing concise, consider using our professional proofreading service or one of our AI writing tools like the summarizer or the paraphrasing tool. Our editors are ready to help you shorten your sentences and avoid repetition.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

upload-your-document-ai-proofreader

1. Avoid passive sentences

Passive sentences are often unnecessarily long. You can easily make them both shorter and clearer by transforming them into active sentences.

To make a passive sentence active, reword it so that the person or thing doing the action comes before the verb. Also make sure than an active verb (without an auxiliary) is used.

Passive Active
The house is painted by Joe. Joe paints the house.
The ERP system is tested by the respondents. The respondents test the ERP system.
The hypothesis is confirmed by the results. The results confirm the hypothesis.
A partial answer is provided through the SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis provides a partial answer.
In the recommendations section, solutions to the problem are offered. The recommendations section offers solutions to the problem.
Both qualitative and quantitative research methods are used in the study. The study uses both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

  • Academic style
  • Vague sentences
  • Grammar
  • Style consistency

See an example

2. Avoid the noun style

Using the “noun style” often makes a sentence unnecessarily long or difficult to understand. It’s therefore advisable to utilize the “verb style” instead.

Noun style Verb style
The study provides a definition of the term. The study defines the term.
The results were supportive of the hypothesis. The results supported the hypothesis.
The legislature took a decision that the strategy should focus on reducing waste. The legislature decided that the strategy should focus on reducing waste.
Tourists should reduce their use of cannabis. Tourists should use less cannabis.
This approach has led to an improvement of the gorillas’ situation. This approach has improved the gorillas’ situation.

3. Avoid long sentences

Many students write unnecessarily long sentences that include superfluous words and elaborate constructions. Try to write shorter, stronger sentences instead.

Unnecessary or cumbersome Example Short and strong Example
A majority of The majority of politicians felt that… Most Most politicians felt that…
As a result of The interview was cancelled as a result of illness. Due to The interview was cancelled due to illness.
At all times He must guard against a relapse at all times. Always He must always guard against a relapse.
At the present time/At this point in time This research is of great importance at the present time because… Now, currently This investigation is currently important because…
Be of/have the opinion that The president is of the opinion that the law should be adopted. Believe, think The president believes that the law should be adopted.
By means of The students were brought to the site by means of a bus. By The students were brought to the site by bus.
Due to the fact that/as a result of the fact that They could not call someone due to the fact that their mobile phones were dead. Because They could not call someone because their mobile phones were dead.
For the reason that They refused to work for the reason that they did not agree with the method. Because They refused to work because they did not agree with the method.
Have an effect/influence on The module has an effect on the students’ opinions. Affects/influences The module affects the students’ opinions.
Have the opportunity to The teachers have the opportunity to use online testing. Can The teachers can use online testing.
In comparison with/as compared to Oxford students have better outcomes compared to students from XYZ. Than Oxford students have better outcomes than students from XYZ.
In order to The monkey completed the puzzle in order to receive a banana as a reward. To The monkey completed the puzzle to receive a banana as a reward.
In the year YYYY He was very lonely in the year 2010. In YYYY He was very lonely in 2010.
Make a decision on Jan has to make a decision on the current state of affairs. Decide on Jan has to decide on the current state of affairs.
On two occasions The database search was conducted on two occasions. Twice The database search was conducted twice.
Small/large in size The car is small in size. Small/large The car is small.
The reason why The reason why the students failed the exam is unknown. The reason The reason the students failed the exam is unknown.
Until such time as The model will be used until such time as a better one is developed. Until The model will be used until a better one is developed.
Whether or not The goal was to determine whether or not the variable played a role. Whether The goal was to determine whether the variable played a role.
With the goal/aim of The researchers analyzed the system with the aim of discovering the bug. To The researchers analyzed the system to discover the bug.

4. Avoid repetition

It’s likely that you are repeating yourself more than you think. Reading your abstract aloud might help you to discover repetition that you had not caught before.

Replacing nouns with pronouns and combining two sentences into one are often easy ways to shorten your text by reducing repetition.

With repetition Without repetition
In conclusion, based on this study it can be determined that… This study shows that…
The results indicate that the HRM strategy has a negative effect on the satisfaction of the employees. The employees indicated that… The results indicate that the HRM strategy has a negative impact on the satisfaction of the employees. They indicated that…
Once the current situation was researched, a strategy for achieving the desired position was formulated. The research results in a strategy to achieve the desired situation.
The research results are obtained by means of a survey. These test results are subsequently analyzed with the aid of SPSS. The research results from the survey are analyzed using SPSS.
The problem is that the companies in the Netherlands have a lack of knowledge with regard to the demand for sweet fillings in the Netherlands. The problem is that the Dutch companies lack insight into the demand for sweet fillings in the Netherlands.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

  • Academic style
  • Vague sentences
  • Grammar
  • Style consistency

See an example

5. Avoid detailed descriptions

An abstract is not expected to provide detailed definitions or background information on your dissertation topic. Keeping this in mind may help you to keep your summary short.

For detailed descriptions Summary
Jannsen Ltd., which was founded by Geert Jannsen in 2010, is a dairy farm that aims to produce milk for the population in a sustainable way. The Jannsen Ltd. dairy farm aims to produce milk in a sustainable way.
The value strategy that is currently being used is not adequate. A value strategy is a strategy that a company employs to create added value and distinctiveness in comparison to its competitors. The company’s current value strategy is not adequate.
The product mix, which represents all of the different products that a company delivers to different markets, depends on the capacity of Jannsen Ltd. The product mix is dependent on Jannsen Ltd.’s capacity.

6. Only include the main elements

Learn more about what to include in your abstract with our how-to guide and interactive example.

How to write an abstract

Other interesting articles

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Benders, L. (2023, July 18). Shorten your abstract or summary. Scribbr. Retrieved October 6, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/shorten-abstract-summary/

Is this article helpful?
Lou Benders

Lou used to be Scribbr's Product and Quality Manager until she moved to Italy for love and the beautiful weather. Now, she helps to improve Scribbr's services under an Italian sun and writes useful articles to help you with academic texts.