How to Write an APA 7 Abstract

An abstract is a short summary of your whole paper that goes near the front. The format has a few picky rules, but they are easy once you see them laid out. And here's the part that saves a lot of stress: most student papers do not need an abstract at all unless your instructor asks for one. Below is everything you need, checked against the official APA Style guidance.

Do you even need an abstract?

Read this first. In APA 7, an abstract is not typically required for student papers. APA's own guidance is to include an abstract only if your instructor (or your school) asks for one, which is more common for longer or more complex papers. Professional papers submitted for publication usually do need one. So before you spend time on this, check your assignment instructions. If an abstract isn't requested, you can skip it entirely. If you're not sure your whole paper is set up right, run it through our APA format checker.

What an abstract actually is

An abstract is a brief, one-paragraph summary of your paper. A reader should be able to read just the abstract and understand what your paper is about, what you did, and what you found. It usually touches on your topic or research question, your method, your main results, and what they mean. It is written in plain, direct sentences. It is not an introduction and it is not a teaser. Think of it as the whole paper squeezed into one tight paragraph.

The format rules, step by step

Its own page. The abstract starts on a new page, right after the title page (page 2). The text of your paper begins on the page after that.
Keep the page header. The page number (and, for professional papers, the running head) stays at the top like every other page.
The word "Abstract". On the first line of the page, type the word Abstract in bold and centered. No italics, no underline, no quotation marks, no period.
One paragraph, no indent. Write the abstract as a single paragraph, starting one line below the label. Unlike normal paragraphs, the first line is not indented. It sits flush against the left margin.
Double-spaced. Like the rest of the paper, the abstract is double-spaced.
Length. APA says to limit the abstract to no more than 250 words. There is no official minimum, so keep it as short as it needs to be; always follow any exact limit your instructor or journal gives.
The Keywords line. If keywords are requested, start a new line after the abstract. Indent it like a normal paragraph, type Keywords: with the word "Keywords" in italics followed by a colon, then list your keywords in regular (non-italic) text, separated by commas.

What the abstract page looks like

Abstract  ← (this word is bold and centered on line 1)

This study examined whether short daily walks improve focus in college students. Sixty undergraduates were assigned to either a 10-minute walking group or a seated control group for four weeks. Focus was measured before and after using a standard attention task. The walking group showed a small but significant improvement in scores, while the control group did not change. These findings suggest that brief, low-effort exercise may support attention during the school day and could be an easy habit for students to adopt.  ← (one paragraph, first line NOT indented)

     Keywords: attention, exercise, college students, focus  ← (line is indented; the word "Keywords" is italic, the keywords are not, and there is no period at the end)

A quick word on keywords

Keywords are the few terms a researcher might type into a database to find a paper like yours. Pick 3 to 5 short, specific words or phrases. List them in lowercase (proper nouns stay capitalized), separated by a comma and a space, in any order, and don't put a period at the end. Only include a keywords line if your instructor or the journal asks for it.

Common mistakes

Writing an abstract when the assignment never asked for one (most student papers don't need it).
Indenting the first line of the abstract. It should be flush left, with no indent.
Making "Abstract" italic, underlined, or wrapped in quotation marks. It is only bold and centered.
Splitting the abstract into multiple paragraphs. It is a single paragraph.
Going over the 250-word limit, or padding it out just to make it longer.
Forgetting to italicize the word Keywords, or accidentally italicizing the keywords themselves.
Not indenting the Keywords line. The abstract has no indent, but the Keywords line does.
Putting a period at the end of the keywords list. There is no ending punctuation.
Citing sources or adding new information that isn't in the paper. The abstract only summarizes what's already there.
Putting the abstract on the same page as the title or the main text instead of its own page.

Related guides

Once your abstract is set, make sure the rest of the paper matches the style with our APA format checker. Writing in a different style instead? We also have an MLA format checker and a Chicago format checker. For more help, browse our writing guides.

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FAQ

Does my student paper need an abstract in APA 7?

Probably not. APA 7 says abstracts are not typically required for student papers. You only need one if your instructor or school asks for it, which is more common with longer or more complex assignments. Always check your assignment instructions first.

How long should an APA 7 abstract be?

APA's guidance is to limit it to no more than 250 words, written as a single paragraph. There is no official minimum, so make it only as long as it needs to be. If your instructor or journal gives a specific limit, follow that instead.

Is the word "Abstract" bold or italic?

Bold and centered, on the first line of the abstract page. It is not italic, not underlined, and not in quotation marks. The only italic part of this page is the word Keywords on the keywords line (if you include one).