Factors to Consider When Formatting a Thesis/Dissertation

Formatting a large structured document like a dissertation or a thesis is a demanding task. Sometimes scholars may find the process difficult because it may turn out to be time-consuming and stressful than they expected. This article provides a guide on the factors to consider in order to make formatting an easy and enjoyable task. These include:

Style Guides

When formatting a thesis/dissertation, one should consider the specific style guidelines provided by the respective department, or supervisors. There should be consistency in style and format throughout the entire document. The scholar should check their school manual for the exact style requirements for their dissertation or thesis.

The Required Order and Structure of the Dissertation/Thesis

The document should comprise of at least three basic sections which include preliminary or front pages consisting of the tittle page, abstract, table of contents, and list of figures and tables if applicable. The body/text of the dissertation or thesis should contain introduction, theory, tools and methodology, results, discussion, conclusion and recommendations. The end consists of a list of references, appendices, and bibliography, where applicable. All the sections should conform to the specific guidelines acknowledged by the institution or department.

Font Requirements

The font, font size, and font alignment must be consistent throughout the dissertation/thesis. This exempts tables and figures prepared from a different software and inserted into the document. One should ensure that font requirements apply across all text, captions, footnotes, and citations inclusive.

Margins

The scholar should make sure that their completed dissertation/thesis has margins that adhere to one’s departmental guidelines or style requirements. There should be conformity to these margin requirements in all parts of the document, including the items in the appendix.

Words and Text Divisions

One must make sure that words are divided correctly at the end of a line throughout the dissertation/thesis. Short lines appearing at the end of a paragraph, at the top of a page, and any heading, or subheading at the bottom of a page that is not followed by text should be avoided.

Spacing

When formatting a thesis/dissertation, one should ensure that all text is double-spaced. An exception is provided for quotations, captions, graphs, charts, footnotes or endnotes, items within tables, or lists in appendices. On each page, the text must appear in a single column throughout the document. Chapter texts must not be arranged in multiple columns. One should use regular tab indentation to show new paragraphs. The document text must be left-justified, not centered or right-justified. The scholar should make sure that headings are not left hanging alone on the bottom of a prior page. The heading should be moved down or the text that follows should be moved up.

Pagination

When numbering the pages, the scholar should ensure that all pages of the dissertation/thesis preceding the first page of chapter one are numbered using lower case Roman numerals. The introduction or chapter one of the text should be numbered using Arabic numerals which must be included on all pages that follow. One should follow the requirements of the selected style guide to correctly number the pages of the dissertation/thesis.

Landscape Format

Where the tables and figures do not seem to fit in the standard portrait orientation, one should present them in landscape format for the required page margins to remain. However, one must ensure that the page numbers still appear on the same position, and the text faces the same direction as the other pages with portrait orientation.

Reproducing the Dissertation

The scholar should make sure that final copies of the dissertation are clear and attractive to the reader. One should review each copy for evenness and clarity of type, to identify and insert any missing pages, and correct any errors in text. Colored paper should separate volumes and copies of the dissertation/thesis.

Length of the Dissertation/Thesis

The length of a dissertation/thesis may vary depending on one’s topic and guidelines given by supervisors or departmental requirements. The scholar should make sure that their document is divided into appropriate sections. If the dissertation or thesis is too long, one should consider dividing it into chapters, divisions, and subdivisions. One should write for brevity rather than length. Unnecessary repetition and use of irrelevant phrases should be avoided. When writing a dissertation/thesis, they should aim at making the document as short as possible, but ensure that it contains all the relevant information on the research topic.

To make one’s document short and precise, they should consider tabulating repetitive information, select only the relevant material for the reader to understand the argument, use text to outline the most important patterns and trends represented in the figures and tables, and delete results, conclusions, and interpretations, that have no supporting evidence, not directly supported by observations, and that are inconclusive respectively.

Elements of the Dissertation/Thesis

Elements of a dissertation/thesis include the preliminary pages, main text, and end matter. These are briefly discussed below. The preliminary pages comprise of the following:

The Title Page

The title page marks the beginning of a thesis/dissertation provides a concise description of the thesis/dissertation. The scholar should ensure that the wording and format of the title adheres to the given style requirements. Though this page remains unnumbered, it is considered page one in the front matter Roman numeral sequence.

Approval Page

The approval of a dissertation/thesis should indicate that scholar’s advisory committee has recommended the approval of the thesis or dissertation. The original approval sheet must be submitted alongside the copy of the thesis/dissertation, with conformity to the style and format requirements. The scholar must ensure that the approval page is exactly as shown in Appendix, containing the same number of signature lines as there are committee members of the dissertation. All copies must bear the original signatures of the thesis or dissertation committee.  One should ensure that approval sheets are numbered in the Roman numeral sequence but the page number should not appear on it.

Abstract

The abstract should provide a brief description and a concise summary of the dissertation/thesis. The problem statement, tools and methodology used, and the results, or conclusions should be included in this section. One should ensure that this element of dissertation/thesis conforms to the given guidelines. Foreign words should be avoided in the abstract as they cannot be searched. Diagrams and mathematical formulae should also be avoided in this section.

Table of Contents

In the table of contents, the scholar should include a list of all contents of the dissertation/thesis. For all listed items, page numbers must be included. The contents should be listed orderly the way they follow each other in the document. The table of contents should not contain listings for the pages that precede it, but it must list all parts of the thesis or dissertation that follow it. All appendices and references also should be included in this section, with page numbers, and without assigning them separate chapter numbers.

List of Tables and Figures

One should list all the tables appearing in the document by their title and page numbers. On a separate page, all figures appearing in the dissertation should similarly be listed. There should be consistency in the use of titles given to the tables and figures in the text of the dissertation/thesis. These items should appear as close as possible to their first mention in the document. One should number them with Arabic numerals, ensuring consistency in style. If the information fits on the page, table and figure data must be kept together and landscape orientation can be used.

List of Abbreviations

This is an optional element of a dissertation/thesis. It provides the scholar with an opportunity to list unfamiliar terms, or symbols if any, and their meanings. The list of abbreviations and symbols makes referencing convenient. The heading should be in capital letters and one should arrange the abbreviations in alphabetical order. The List of Abbreviations page(s) must be numbered with consecutive lower case Roman numerals.

The Body/Main Text

The main text of the dissertation/thesis is considered its body. It comprises aspects such as introduction, theory, tools and methods of data collection and analysis, results/findings, discussion, conclusion, and recommendations. One should use Arabic numerals when numbering pages of the main text. The document must be divided into consisted logical schemes, chapters being the most used. The number of chapters and their titles may vary according to topic under study and faculty.

The Introduction is the chapter where one states the aims of the dissertation/thesis and should provide enough background information to enable the reader to understand the context and significance of the document. The thesis/dissertation question should be the main focus area in the introduction, and all cited information must be directly relevant to the document. The scholar should make sure that the introduction draws the reader’s attention and makes them want to read the rest of the paper. It should also give a citation for previous research in the area of study and why more research is still needed in the same field.

A literature review involves collecting and analyzing sources that are relevant to one topic. This helps one to gain a clear understanding of the academic work that has already been done on their topic, and develop a coherent argument that justifies one’s own research. In this chapter, descriptive questions on the relationship between variables can be answered.

Methodology elaborates how the research was conducted and allows the readers to judge its validity. One should include aspects such as the type of research conducted, data collection and analysis methods and tools, where the research took place, any obstacles faced during the research, and one’s justification for the research methods they used.

In the results section, the scholar should report results that are relevant to their research objectives, questions, and hypothesis. Where applicable, one should use tables, graphs, and charts to provide additional results in a way that adds value to their text. Both positive and negative results should be broken into logical segments, stating fundamental results in clear sentences at the beginning of paragraphs without interpreting them.

The discussion chapter is where the scholar explores the meanings and implications of the results in relation to one’s research questions. It should give a detailed interpretation of the results explaining whether they answered the research questions or not. Generally, this chapter is meant to provide interpretations for the results and an exploration of their implication, as well as acknowledging their limitations.

Recommendations should be included only when necessary. One should suggest the remedial action required to solve the research problem or relevant interventions. Suggestions and direction for further research to fill section.in the gap of understanding on the topic is given in this

In the conclusion section, one should concisely give the answer to the main research question and give the reader a clear understanding on their argument and contribution of the research. The strongest and most important observation and broader implications of one’s findings are stated here.

Appendices

The scholar should put appendices at the end of the dissertation/thesis, before the references. One should consecutively number the appendices through the entire work, and include all headings and titles in the table of contents. One should ensure that each appendix adheres to margin and pagination requirements.

References

When referencing, one should begin references on a separate page at the end of entire dissertation/thesis, after the appendices as the final component in the document. The appropriate heading for this section should be selected depending on the style guide provided. The reference section should be numbered with strict compliance with margin and pagination requirements.

Formatting Already Published Work

When formatting a dissertation/thesis that has already been published, one must ensure that all fonts, margins, chapter headings, citations, and references match the formatting and placement used within the rest of the dissertation or thesis. On the first page of the chapter, one should include the citation for previously published work as the first footnote or endnote. The date on the title page should be the year in which the thesis/dissertation committee approves the document, regardless of the date of completion of individual chapters.

Understanding the aspects discussed in this article will make the formatting task easy and enjoyable. It is necessary that scholars should have excellent skills and tips for formatting in order to produce the best quality dissertation/thesis.