HOW TO WRITE A SUMMARY OF YOUR GRADUATION THESIS

A summary is a greatly condensed version of a longer piece of writing that highlights the major points covered, and concisely describes the content of the graduation thesis.
Why Are Summaries Used?
Summaries give readers a chance to quickly see what the main contents of a thesis are. They enable readers to decide whether the work is of interest for them.
Hook Your Reader:
Your opening summary sentence should provide a captivating reason why the reader should want to continue. You can accomplish this by stating a research problem or gap in current research that you aim to correct in your dissertation study. Avoid flowery or gimmicky phrasing in this introductory sentence; you can still hook your reader using a straightforward statement.

What Is Usually Included in a Summary?
• a title identical to the title of the thesis
• the main topic of the thesis
• the purpose of the thesis
•the methods used to research information
•further sub-sections within the thesis results, conclusions, or recommendations
Qualities of a Good Summary
A good summary has the following qualities:
•uses one or more well developed concise paragraphs
•uses an introduction/body/conclusion structure which presents the purpose, results, conclusions, and recommendations
•provides logical connections between the information included
•adds no new information, but simply summarizes
•often uses passive verbs to downplay the author and emphasize information
Steps for Writing Effective Summaries
To write an effective summary, follow these steps:
•write the summary after you have finished the thesis
•use your headings and table of contents as a guide to writing your summary •when you have finished use spellcheck software
Length of Summaries
1000 words

English Expressions Used in the Summary
Introduction (the verb is usually in present tense, could also be in present perfect or simple past tense):
The purpose of this graduation thesis is to investigate the effects of … on … The goals of this thesis are to determine …
The primary purpose of this thesis is to determine …
This thesis is specifically concerned with the effect of … on …
This thesis is an initial attempt to investigate the relationship …
This thesis has two major purposes: (1) to investigate … (2) to demonstrate … The aim of this thesis is to identify the characteristics of …
The major objective of this thesis is to …
The aim/topic/goal of this graduation thesis is to …
This thesis discusses/describes/analyses/studies/focuses on/deals with …
This thesis/study/experiment/research/survey was aimed at developing/improving/testing … The project was designed to …
Materials and Methods Used in the Thesis (the verb is in past tense):
This thesis was conducted in Harju county / at NBI company.
The empirical part of this thesis was conducted in May 2016.
Data for this thesis/study/research were collected/gathered/obtained from/by/through/with the help of/among …
The subjects of this study were …
The subjects were randomly selected.
The sample was selected from …
Twenty companies served as subjects in a study designed to investigate …
Six groups, each consisting of …, were formed to …
Twenty companies were selected for this investigation.
Using local and national data, this study was designed to investigate…
This questionnaire investigated how companies view their …
A questionnaire was distributed/mailed/sent to …
Respondents filled in a form/rated each item.
Responses were made on a 5-point scale ranging from … to …
The response rate was …
All 59 subjects participated in the study.
Interviews were conducted by/with …
Conclusions (in simple present or past tense):
These results suggest that …
The results show that/reveal …
It was concluded that …
This study/survey shows/supports/questions/implies/indicates …
On the basis of the results of this research, it can be concluded that … The results provide some support for (concluding)…
The results did not support the expectations that …
These data support the view that …
Further Vocabulary That Can be Used

1. Verbs: show, demonstrate, illustrate, prove, argue, examine, explore, look into, consider, deal with, address, involve, relate to, refer to, draw on, explain, investigate, highlight, outline, provide an overview of, define, distinguish between, indicate, support, reveal, suggest, conclude, recommend