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How many words is an abstract?
An abstract is usually 150 to 250 words, one paragraph of about 0.5 of a single-spaced page. APA style sets 250 words as the usual maximum; journals and conferences set their own limits.
Work it out
pages, single-spaced, Arial 12 pt, about 500 words a page
- Handwritten pages
- 1
- Reading time
- 1 min 3 sec
- Speaking time
- 1 min 40 sec–1 min 55 sec
- Typing time
- 6 min 15 sec
- Paragraphs
- 1–3
- Sentences
- 13–17
- Characters with spaces
- about 1,500
Write it in the word counter with a limit of 250 words.
Open the word counterAbstract in pages and minutes
| Length | Single-spaced | Double-spaced | Reading time | Speaking time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150 words | 0.3 | 0.6 | 38 sec | 1 min–1 min 9 sec |
| 250 words | 0.5 | 1 | 1 min 3 sec | 1 min 40 sec–1 min 55 sec |
Estimates for US Letter or A4 with 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins and ordinary paragraphs; reading at 238 words a minute, speaking at 130 to 150.
Who sets the limit
The journal, conference or university does. APA Style (7th edition) says an abstract generally should not exceed 250 words. Many medical journals ask for a structured abstract with headings (background, methods, results, conclusions) of 250 to 300 words, and conference abstracts are often 200 to 300 words. Thesis abstracts can be longer.
What goes in
- The problem and why it matters (one or two sentences).
- What you did: the method, data or approach (one or two sentences).
- What you found, with the key numbers (two or three sentences).
- What it means (one sentence).
Abstracts are read by people deciding whether to read the paper, and indexed by search engines: put the most important terms in the first sentences.
Questions and answers
How many words is an APA abstract?
Generally no more than 250 words.
Do keywords count toward the abstract word limit?
Usually not; they go on a separate line below. Check the journal’s guidelines.
How many sentences is an abstract?
About 8 to 17.