An APA 7 abstract is a single, double-spaced paragraph of no more than 250 words (usually 150 to 250) that summarizes your whole paper. It goes on its own page right after the title page, under the label "Abstract" in bold and centered on the first line. Below you'll find each formatting rule from APA Style and an APA abstract example for three common paper types.
This guide covers what an abstract should include for empirical studies, literature reviews and student papers, how to write one step by step, a fill-in template, three full sample abstracts, a formatting checklist, common mistakes, how to cite an abstract in APA and how an abstract differs from an introduction.
An abstract is a brief, complete summary of your paper. According to the APA Style Abstract and Keywords Guide, it gives readers an overview of the paper and helps them decide whether to read the full text. Databases show the abstract next to the title, so it is often the first part of a paper a reader sees.
A good abstract stands on its own. Someone who reads only the abstract should know what you studied or argued, how you did it, what you found and why it matters.
Not always. APA Style says abstracts and keywords are not typically required for student papers, and students should ask their instructor or institution whether to include them. Professional papers submitted to journals almost always need one. APA's Student Paper Setup Guide also states that instructors' guidelines supersede APA Style, so your assignment sheet has the final word. Instructors tend to ask for abstracts on longer research papers, theses and capstone projects.
These are the rules for the APA format abstract page, taken from APA's own abstract and keywords guidelines and its instructional guides.
| Element | APA 7 Rule |
|---|---|
| Placement | Page 2, on its own page after the title page |
| Label | "Abstract," bold and centered on the first line of the page |
| Text position | Begins one line below the label |
| Paragraphing | One paragraph, first line not indented |
| Spacing | Double-spaced, like the rest of the paper |
| Length | No more than 250 words, unless your instructor or journal sets a different limit |
| Font and margins | Same font as the paper (such as 12-point Times New Roman or 11-point Calibri), 1-inch margins |
| Page number | Top right corner. Student papers don't need a running head. |
Keywords help databases and readers find your work. APA's guide recommends three to five words, phrases or acronyms that cover the topic, population, method or application. Format them like this:
Example: Keywords: sleep duration, academic performance, college students, wearable devices
APA's student paper checklist lists the page order as title page, abstract (if needed), text, references, footnotes, tables, figures and appendices. Each section starts on a new page, so the abstract always sits alone on page 2.
APA's guide suggests one to two sentences on each of these points: key aspects of the literature, the problem or research question, the hypothesis, the methods (design, sample and sample size), the results and the implications. Purdue OWL's APA general format page gives a similar list, adding data analysis and, optionally, future work. That list fits an empirical study best. Other paper types adapt it.
| Paper Type | What the Abstract Should Cover |
|---|---|
| Empirical study | Problem and research question, hypothesis, participants and sample size, method, main results, conclusions and implications |
| Literature review | Topic and purpose of the review, how sources were found and selected, main themes or findings, gaps in the research, conclusions |
| Student paper (argument or analysis) | Topic and thesis, sources or approach, main points in order, conclusion or recommendation |
For a literature review, think of your "method" as your search strategy. Our literature review example shows how to define that scope before you write.
Fill in these sentence frames, then revise them into a smooth paragraph.
These samples of abstracts in APA format were written for this guide to show structure. The studies, participants and numbers are fictional, so don't cite them as real research.
Abstract
First-year college students often sacrifice sleep during busy academic weeks, yet few studies have tracked sleep and course performance across an entire term. This study examined whether average nightly sleep duration predicted final exam scores in an introductory psychology course. We hypothesized that students who slept longer would score higher after controlling for high school grade point average and weekly study time. Participants were 212 first-year students at a public university who wore wrist-based sleep trackers for 10 weeks. Hierarchical regression tested whether sleep duration predicted exam scores beyond the control variables. Participants averaged 6.6 hr of sleep per night. Sleep duration was a significant positive predictor of final exam scores and explained an additional 6% of the variance after controls. Night-to-night variability in sleep was not a significant predictor. These results suggest that sleep duration is a modest but meaningful factor in academic performance during the first year of college. Universities may consider adding sleep education to first-year orientation and academic success programs.
Keywords: sleep duration, academic performance, college students, wearable devices
Notice the order: problem, purpose, hypothesis, participants, method, results, implications. That mirrors APA's content list, in 164 words.
Abstract
Many secondary schools now restrict student mobile phone use, but the evidence on whether these policies work remains mixed. This literature review synthesizes peer-reviewed research on the relationship between school phone restrictions and students' academic performance, attention and well-being. Studies were identified through searches of PsycINFO, ERIC and Google Scholar using combinations of the terms mobile phone, smartphone, school policy and ban, and were included if they reported student outcomes. The 34 studies that met the criteria included quasi-experimental evaluations, cross-sectional surveys and qualitative interviews with teachers and students. Across studies, restrictions were more consistently associated with fewer classroom distractions than with higher test scores. Evidence on well-being was limited and inconsistent, and few studies followed students for more than one school year. Several studies also reported that enforcement varied widely between classrooms, which made policy effects difficult to isolate. The review identifies a need for long-term research comparing full-day bans with classroom-only restrictions. These findings may help school leaders set realistic goals for phone policies.
Keywords: mobile phones, school policy, secondary education, attention, literature review
Here the "method" sentence describes the database search and inclusion rule instead of participants.
Abstract
Peer tutoring is a common service in college writing centers, but many students doubt that feedback from a classmate can be as useful as feedback from an instructor. This paper examines how peer tutoring supports first-year writers, drawing on published research about writing centers and on interviews I conducted with four peer tutors at my college. The paper first reviews research on peer feedback, including its effects on student confidence and revision. It then describes strategies the tutors reported using, such as asking open-ended questions and having writers read their drafts aloud. The tutors described their role as helping writers make their own decisions rather than correcting papers for them. The paper argues that peer tutoring works best when tutors receive ongoing training and when instructors encourage students to visit early in the writing process. It concludes with recommendations for promoting writing center services to first-year students, such as class visits and short workshops.
A student paper abstract summarizes the argument rather than a study. This one skips keywords because a class paper usually doesn't need them.
Compare your draft with the APA abstract example closest to your paper type, then check each item below.
Whenever you can, read and cite the full article rather than the APA paper abstract alone. APA Style's journal article reference examples allow citing only the abstract when it is the only part you can access. In that case, add the database accession number in parentheses after the title (if there is one), then a bracketed description beginning "Abstract from" and naming the abstract database. A reference in that format looks like this:
Hare, L. R., & O'Neill, K. (2000). Effectiveness and efficiency in small academic peer groups: A case study (Accession No. 200010185) [Abstract from Sociological Abstracts]. Small Group Research, 31(1), 24–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/104649640003100102
The in-text citation is the same as for any journal article, such as (Hare & O'Neill, 2000). For the general rules on author-date citations and reference entries, see our guide on how to cite sources in APA format.
Students often blur the two, but they do different jobs.
| Feature | Abstract | Introduction |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Summarizes the entire paper | Sets up the problem and leads into the paper |
| Length | 250 words or fewer, one paragraph | Several paragraphs or pages |
| Includes results? | Yes, briefly | No |
| Citations | Rarely | Many, to build the background |
| Label | "Abstract," bold and centered | No "Introduction" label. The paper title is repeated instead. |
| When to write it | Last | Early, then revise |
APA's setup guide confirms that the text begins with the introduction under the repeated paper title, without an "Introduction" heading. Lab reports follow a slightly different pattern, which our guide to the abstract for a lab report explains. For the rest of the paper's formatting, see our APA style guide.
Summarizing a long paper in 250 words is hard, especially the first time. If you'd like a tutor to review your abstract and formatting against your assignment instructions, our custom essay writing services page explains how that support works.
APA Style sets a limit of 250 words. Most abstracts fall between about 150 and 250 words, and the University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center recommends that range. Your instructor or journal may set a different limit, and theirs takes priority.
It goes on page 2, right after the title page and before the main text. The abstract has its own page, and the text of the paper starts on a new page after it.
No. The abstract paragraph is not indented. Only the Keywords: line is indented, like the start of a regular paragraph.
Type the italic label Keywords: one line below the abstract, indented. Follow it with three to five lowercase terms separated by commas, with no period at the end.
Usually not. APA Style says abstracts are not typically required for student papers. Include one only if your instructor or institution asks for it.
An abstract is a specific, formatted summary of your own paper that appears before the text. A summary can describe any source and can appear anywhere. An abstract also follows strict length and layout rules.
Formatting rules come from APA Style's Abstract and Keywords Guide, Student Paper Setup Guide, student paper checklist and journal article reference examples, with additional guidance from Purdue OWL and the UAGC Writing Center, as of Nov. 2026.
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