Formatting Your Thesis or Project Report

The CSULB University Guidelines Manual and

Engineering Style

Thesis and Dissertation Office University Library, Room 501email: lib-thesis@csulb.edu

phone: (562) 985-4013web: http://www.csulb.edu/library/guide/serv

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday

Format Evaluators:Vivian Reed and Laurie Welch

Administrative Assistant:Sue Joshee

No One Said It Would Be Easy . . .. . . performing in the academic three ring circus

Taming ferocious piles of research

Keeping your balance on the bureaucratic tightrope

Juggling manuscript format rules

We’re Part of Your Team

Refereeing the University Guidelines Manual

Coaching you through corrections

Cheering you on until you reach your goal

For help with doing research, contact the librarian/subject specialist in Engineering

Hema Ramachandran(562) 985-5749http://www.csulb.libguides.com/ENGhema.ramachandran@csulb.edu

Research Help

Role of the Thesis and Dissertation Office

We’re here to help you prepare your manuscript according to the University Guidelines Manual and the formatting style guide approved by your department. Please call or email us whenever you have questions or problems regarding your manuscript.

Manuscripts are evaluated on a first come first served basis. For a quick turnaround time, plan to submit as soon as possible within each submission period, especially if your official transcript with degree posting is required by a specific date for a graduate school application, a job or a

raise, or if you’re relocating.

Format Evaluation Process Submit your manuscript to the Thesis and Dissertation Office before 5 p.m.

of the submission deadline date. Be sure that: > Your manuscript is printed on standard printer paper > Your signature page is complete with all signatures > Your manuscript is in a manuscript (or thesis) box > All three sections of the AUTHOR LOGIN are complete

Formatters read through manuscripts on a first come first served basis. Pages are flagged and corrections are noted on the pages. The student is emailed when read-through is done. In Spring Semester, it may take up to 6 weeks from when you submit your manuscript to when you receive an email to pick it up

Once you’ve picked it up and made corrections, return the revised manuscript to the Thesis and Dissertation Office. Set a 2 week turnaround time for yourself to ensure completing the process within the term deadline

Formatters read through corrected manuscript and contact you within a week. There are three possibilities:

> Second correction—Pages are marked with corrections needed > Cleared pending—Email is sent with list of a few (12 or less) corrections still needed > Cleared—No further corrections needed

Countdown to Clearance Letter Once the formatting is “cleared,” you take the

manuscript to the Copy Center located on the southwest corner of the University Bookstore building. You will be asked to fill out the Dissertation/Master’s Thesis Submission Form required by ProQuest, the database company, and to pay fees (about $200) to ProQuest for reproduction of your manuscript in microfiche and online. The University Library now maintains permanent copies of theses and dissertations on microfiche in the library archives and on an online database rather than keeping bound copies

IMPORTANT LAST STEP: Email or call the Thesis and Dissertation Office and tell us your receipt number. We cannot send out the clearance letter to you, your thesis advisor (committee chair), and Enrollment Services until we receive the receipt number. Until your clearance letter has been sent, your requirements for graduation will be incomplete

University Guidelines Versus Departmental Style Manuals

The formatting rules in the CSULB University Guidelines Manual ALWAYS take precedence over the style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) or other citation format styles (IEEE, AAA, etc.) required by your department

Current Style GuidesUse the style approved by your department or committee for citations:

Civil–ASCE; http://www.asce.org/Audience/Authors,--Editors/Books /General-Book-Information/Quick-Guide-to-Common-Types-of-Referenced-Material/

Computer Science—IEEE Computer Society; http://www.computer.org /portal/web/publications/authors (click on “Consult the IEEE Computer Society Style Guide,” citations start on page 30)

Electrical—IEEE; http://www.ieee.org/documents /ieeecitationref.pdf

Mechanical & Aerospace—ASME; http:// journaltool .asme.org /Help /AuthorHelp/WebHelp /JournalsHelp.htm#Guidelines/Getting_Started.htm (click on “Writing a Technical Paper or Brief”)

» URLs last verified on 01/15/ 2014

Thesis and Dissertation Office Web Pages—Format Guide Page (Original Version) Full text of official

CSULB University Guidelines Manual

Mini Manuscript (formatting exam-ples for all pages of manuscript)

Links to PowerPoints

Links to templates Go to

http://www .csulb.edu /library /guide/serv/thesis_format.html or click through from University Library homepage

Thesis and Dissertation Office Web Pages—Research Guides Page (New! Improved!) PowerPoints! Templates! Links to other

formatting information

Go to http:// csulb.libguides

.com/thesis format or click through from the Thesis and Dissertation Office Format Guide web page

Formatting EssentialsSubmit manuscripts printed out on 20 or 24 lb.

(standard weight) white printer paper in a thesis boxOnly these 4 font styles allowed: Times Roman,

Times New Roman, Courier, or Courier New in 12 point font size

1 ½ INCH LEFT MARGIN IS USED THROUGHOUT THESIS; one inch margin on top, right, and bottom except on the first page of every major section where a two inch top margin is used

Use TWO SPACES AFTER PERIODS (or any other punctuation) AT THE END OF ALL SENTENCES and two spaces after all colons

Two Very Important Details Overlooking either of these details could mean that you have to revise and reprint your entire manuscript:Center page numbers just ABOVE the one inch bottom

margin (footer setting between 0.7 and 0.9 inch for good placement) and match the font size and font style of page numbers with text

Use paragraph format with uniform double line spacing (one empty line between two lines of text) with no extra line spacing between paragraphs and around chapter titles or subheads. Select text above and below wide blank space and set line spacing to “0 pt.” to eliminate wide gaps

CHANGING THE POSITION OF PAGE NUMBERSTo change the position of page numbers, go to Insert tab and click on Footer and then click on Edit Footer near the bottom of the dialog box that pops up.

Look for the Footer from Bottom setting in the Header & Footer Tools menu bar and change setting to 0.9 inch.

Use the ruler at the left side of the page to see if the position of the page number has changed. To be sure, print out a test page and measure the distance from the bottom of the page to the bottom of the page number. It should be between ⅞ inch and 1 ⅛ inch. While in the Header & Footer Tools mode, you can select a page number and right click for dialog boxes to change the font style or font size of the page number (which should be the same as the text).

CREATING UNIFORM DOUBLE LINE SPACING

Uniform double line spacing means that the line spacing between chapter

titles, subheads, and paragraphs is the same as the line spacing within

paragraphs (about ¼ inch of blank space in 12 point font).

For instance, the spacing above this line is not uniform double line spacing.

To create uniform double line spacing, select text before and after any gaps,

then click on the Page Layout tab and look for the Spacing settings. The Before

and After settings should both be 0 pt. If the spacing between the lines still

seems uneven, click on the little arrow underneath the spacing settings to open

the Paragraph dialog box and set the Line Spacing to Double.

Order of Elements Abstract—If only one page, do NOT use a page number; otherwise use Arabic

numerals (1, 2) for page numbers; 2 inch top margin for first page

Guard Sheet (completely blank page—not even a page number)

Title Page

Signature Page Copyright Page (optional)

Acknowledgements (optional)—Use lowercase Roman numerals (begin with iii) for page numbers; 2 inch top margin for first page

Table of Contents—Use lowercase Roman numerals (begin with iii if there is no acknowledgements page); 2 inch top margin for first page

List of Tables, List of Figures, List of Works, and so on (as needed)—Use lowercase Roman numerals; 2 inch top margin for first page of each

Chapters—Use Arabic numerals for page numbers from here to the end of the manuscript (Chapter 1 starts with page 1); 2 inch top margin for first page of each chapter

Appendices (optional)—Each one begins with a title page; if there is more than one appendix, begin with a title page with APPENDICES centered on the page followed by title page for appendix A

References List or Bibliography—Begins with a title page with REFERENCES or BIBLIOGRAPHY centered on page; 2 inch top margin for first page

Guard Sheet (completely blank page—not even a page number)

Frequently Asked QuestionsHow do I create a 2 inch top margin? The easiest way to create a 2 inch top margin is to space down from the existing 1 inch top margin. Hit the ENTER key 5 times (using single line spacing) or hit the ENTER key 3 times (using double line spacing) to create an extra inch of blank space.How do I create different types of page numbers in the same document? The easiest way to create pages with different kinds of page numbers is to create three separate documents. One document will have pages with no page numbers (title page, signature page, etc.), another document will have pages with lowercase Roman numeral page numbers (table of contents, list of tables, etc.), and another document will have pages with Arabic numerals (the chapters, references list, etc.). If you use section breaks to change types of page numbers within a document, be sure to go to Insert and then Edit Footer to deactivate the “Link to Previous section” feature within sections where a change in page number format occurs.What happened to my signature page? During the first read-through of your manuscript, the signature page is removed from your manuscript. Because of concern about signatures being readily available (and easy to copy) online, the signature page is no longer part of PDF that is made available through the ProQuest database. The signature pages are kept on file in the Thesis Office, and students can contact the office to request a copy of their signature page if one is needed.

Abstract Two inch top margin on first page Uniform double line spacing in

title area and text area Title is centered and in all

uppercase letters Use inverted pyramid format for

title (longest line first followed by progressively shorter lines)

Match wording and line breaks of title on abstract, title page, and signature page

Your name must match on these three pages too

Use Arabic numerals (1, 2) for page numbers ONLY if the abstract is more than one page long. No page number is used for a one-page abstract

No citations or direct quotations Paragraph format Template online

Title Page Fill page from top margin to

bottom margin Use double line spacing within

five blocks of text EXCEPT use single line spacing

between names of committee members

Space blocks of text evenly on the page

Title is centered and in all uppercase letters

Use inverted pyramid format for title (longest line first followed by progressively shorter lines)

Match wording and line breaks of title on abstract, title page, and signature page

Your name must match on these three pages too

NO page number Template online

Signature Page Fill page from top margin to

bottom margin Leave enough room for

professors to sign their names The person who signs the last

signature (College Designee) varies by department. The Thesis Office Format Guide web page has a list with names of college designees

Title is centered and in all uppercase letters

Use inverted pyramid format for title (longest line first followed by progressively shorter lines)

Match wording and line breaks of title on abstract, title page, and signature page

Your name must match on these three pages too

NO page number Template online

Table of Contents Two inch top margin for first page Use lowercase Roman numerals

for page numbers—begin with iii if there is no acknowledgements page

List all major sections, all chapter titles and all first level subheads

Match the wording of listings in table of contents with the wording of titles in text

Double check that page numbers match too

If you choose to include even one second or third level subhead in the table of contents, then ALL second AND third level subheads must be included in the table of contents

Table of Contents—Second Page Include headings—CHAPTER (above

column of chapter numbers) and Page (above column of page numbers)

On the first page, the headings are located within the other elements. On all other pages, they are located at the top of the page

Subheads and multi-line chapter titles are single line spaced, but leave a blank line before and after chapter titles and appendix titles as well as other elements using all uppercase letters like LIST OF TABLES and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Dot leaders end in alignment 3-4 spaces before the longest page number (programmed as a right-aligned tab)

Page numbers are also right aligned using a right-aligned tab

Template online

List of Tables Two inch top margin for first page Use lowercase Roman numerals for page

numbers Match the wording of listings in list of tables

with the wording in text Match page numbers in text Include headings—TABLE (above column of

table numbers) and Page (above column of page numbers)

On the first page, the headings are located under title (LIST OF TABLES). On all other pages, they are located at the top of the page

Headline style capitalization for table titles Table titles are indented 3-4 spaces Leave blank line between table titles Use single line spacing for multi-line table

title, increase indent for lines that follow first line

Dot leaders end in alignment 3-4 spaces before the longest page number (programmed as a right-aligned tab) and page numbers are also right aligned

Template online

List of Figures Two inch top margin for first page Lowercase Roman numeral page numbers Match the wording of listings in list of figures with

the wording in text Include all words up to the first period in figure

caption—begin caption with short descriptive phrase to simplify list of figures

Match page numbers in text Include headings—FIGURE (above column of

figure numbers) and Page (above column of page numbers)

On the first page, the headings are located under title (LIST OF FIGURES); on all other pages, they are located at top of page

Sentence style capitalization for figure captions Figure captions are indented 3-4 spaces Leave blank line between figure captions Use single line spacing for multi-line figure

caption, increase indent for lines that follow first line

Dot leaders end in alignment 3-4 spaces before the longest page number (programmed as a right-aligned tab) and page numbers are also right aligned

Template online

Text—General Rules Two inch top margin for first page of

each chapter and one inch top margin for all other pages

Chapter 1 begins with page 1 (Arabic numerals) and all pages that follow have page numbers, numbered in sequence, to the end of the document

Paragraph format throughout chapters Uniform double line spacing in text,

chapter titles and subheads Uppercase letters for chapter number

and chapter title If URLs are used within text, break

URLs to fill line with text before continuing to a new line

Be consistent with capitalization and use of hyphens within words or phrases

Block quotes can use single line spacing or double line spacing with line spacing consistent for all block quotes

Text—SubheadsFIRST LEVEL SUBHEAD Underlined Headline Style of Capitalization On a line by itself CenteredSECOND LEVEL SUBHEAD Underlined Headline Style of Capitalization On a line by itself Begins at left marginTHIRD LEVEL SUBHEAD Underlined Sentence style of capitalization Paragraph indentation On the same line as text Ends with a periodSPACING For first or second level subheads,

subheads of two or more lines are single line spaced

Text – Numbered Items1. Microsoft Word automatically formats

numbered items with uniform left indentation as the first three numbered items illustrate.

2. The University Guidelines Manual requires paragraph format.

3. University Guidelines Manual wins! Indent the first line of each item, including the number, like a paragraph, and start all other lines at the left margin. The highlighted lines to the left and items 4 and 5 below illustrate numbered items formatted like paragraphs. 4. One way to create numbered

paragraphs is to type in the text of the numbered items without the numbers and indent the first line of each item. 5. Start with the last item in the numbered list and add a number, a period and two spaces before the first word. Add a number, a period and two spaces to each item, working in reverse order and ending with 1.

Text—Big No-NosNo bold font

No font color other than black

No highlighting or shading

No contractions

No outlines

No bulleted lists

No right justification

Text—Other Common Mistakes Use 12 point font size for

text, page numbers, footnotes, table titles and table notes, and figure captions

Periods and “commas,” inside “quotation marks.”

Use two hyphens—with no space before or after dashes—to create “em” (long) dash

Widows and orphans (single lines at top or bottom of page) are not allowed; move subheads at bottom of page to the top of the next page

The first time each acronym (or abbreviation) is used in text, write out the complete term followed by the acronym in parentheses; after that, the acronym can be used in all text that follows without the term being written out

Use consistent style for quotation marks: "straight" versus “smart” (curved)

For ellipsis . . . use 3-4 period dots with a space before and after each dot

Tables Table titles are placed

ABOVE the table Each line of the table title

begins at the left margin. The table title begins with the header TABLE (all uppercase letters) then the number of the table, a period and two spaces

The wording of the table title uses Headline Style of Capitalization (first word and all significant words capitalized). Multi-line table titles are single line spaced

Align all numbers in each column of a table by decimal or assumed decimal and use commas in numbers 1,000 or more

Tables—Continued to Second Page Do not box tables; omit lines on

the left and right edge Notes are placed underneath

tables. Each line of a note begins at the left margin. Use single line spacing for table notes

Font style within a table matches font style of text, but a slightly smaller font size (10 or 11 point font) can be used

Tables must fill a complete page before continuing to another page. For subsequent pages of a table, include the column headers used on the first page of the table and use the title:

TABLE [# of table]. Continued

Figures Figure captions are placed

BELOW the figure Each line of the figure caption

begins at the left margin. The caption begins with the header FIGURE (all uppercase letters) then the number of the figure, a period and two spaces

The wording of the caption uses Sentence style of capitalization (first word capitalized plus anything that would be uppercase in a sentence). Multi-line figure captions are single line spaced

A figure must be complete on one page

Figures-Landscape Orientation Different font styles and font sizes

and can be used in figures as long as text is legible

Color and shading can be used in figures

Figure captions end with a period but do not have to be grammatically correct sentences

To simplify the list of figures, begin captions with a short descriptive phrase ending with a period and then add as much information as needed. In the list of figures, you only need to include the words of each caption up to the first period

Landscape orientation can be used for figures or tables. A text box is used to insert a page number to match location of page number on other pages

1 ½ inch left margin is the top margin in a landscape oriented page Use a text box to insert page number

Placement of Tables and FiguresOPTIONSTables and figures can be placed in an appendix OR on pages by themselves (one, two, or three on a page) OR on pages with text OR any combination of these optionsIN APPENDIXPlacement of tables or figures in sequence with no text simplifies formatting of tables and figures and makes them easy for readers to locate

ON PAGE WITHOUT TEXTIf a table or figure appears on a page without text, center the table or figure on the page; that is, use the same amount of blank space above and below the table or figure

ON PAGE WITH TEXTIf a table or figure appears on a page with text, there should be extra spacing—3 to 4 blank single line-spaced lines (from ½ to ¾ inch of blank space)—between the text and the table or figure. Add extra spacing above if text appears above the table or figure, add extra spacing below if text appears below the table or figure, and add extra spacing above and below if text appears above and below the table or figure

Mind the Gap Extra blank space cannot be left at the bottom of a page of text to

accommodate placement of a table or figure

Figures cannot be split onto two pages and tables can only continue to another page if the table is long enough to fill more than one page

If more text remains in the chapter following a table or figure, that text should be moved forward to fill blank space at the bottom of a page that has text on it

Text should be moved forward even if that means separating a table or figure from text that describes it or even if that text includes a new subhead

Include the required blank space (1/2 inch or 3-4 blank single line-spaced lines) below a table or figure

If only one line of text or a subhead and one line of text can fit below the space below the table or figure, then that text can be moved to the next page

As a rule of thumb, there should not be more than an inch of blank space on a page below the text or below a table or figure on a page with text

WRONG PLACEMENT

OPTION ONE

OPTION TWO

Single Appendix Use appendices for material that cannot

be formatted with paragraph structure such as flyers, computer code, or instruction manuals

Title pages are used to introduce appendices. Titles use all uppercase letters and double line spacing and are centered on the page

For appendix titles, fill line with text before continuing to another line

If there is only one appendix, use the word APPENDIX as the first line and then the title of the appendix on the next line

In the table of contents, refer to the page number of the title page; for a single appendix, there is only one listing in the table of contents

APPENDIX: TITLE OF APPENDIX

and then dot leaders and page number

Multiple Appendices For more than one appendix, begin with a

separate APPENDICES title page followed by the title page for the first appendix which contains the words APPENDIX A then the appendix title

In the table of contents, refer to the page number of the title pages

APPENDICES……………...……… 45

A. TITLE OF APPENDIX …… 46

Each page of the material within appendices (as well as all title pages) must have page numbers in sequence following the last page of the text

All material within appendices must maintain the 1 ½ inch left margin and 1 inch top, right, and bottom margins

Consider blocking out or omitting personal email addresses and phone numbers if included on flyers or forms

References List Each department has designated a style

guide to use for formatting the citations in the references list (style guides listed on the Thesis Office web page)

A separate title page comes before the references list with a title like REFERENCES or BIBLIOGRAPHY (in all uppercase) centered on the page. The page number of this title page is the page number listed in the table of contents

Begin the first page of citations with a title (such as REFERENCES or BIBLIOGRAPHY) in all uppercase letters and centered on the first line; use a two inch top margin for the first page

Format each citation with a hanging indent. The first line begins at the left margin with subsequent lines indented; both numbered and unnumbered citations use hanging indent

References List Use single line spacing within

the citations and leave a blank line between citations

Do not break up a citation onto two pages. Move a “broken” citation to the top of the next page if needed

All sources cited in your manuscript must be included in the references list

Be consistent with spacing within citations: single spacing following periods and colons is acceptable in the references list; use one space or zero space consistently between initials

Plagiarism and Copyright PermissionPlagiarismIf you are unsure about giving credit to a source, then for your own protection you should cite the source

Copyright Information A brief discussion of copyright is available at the Thesis and Dissertation Office web page: http://www.csulb.edu /library/guide/serv/copyr.html You can register your manuscript with the Copyright Office. Also, at the time you pay fees to ProQuest at the Campus Copy Center, the database company will offer to register your manuscript at the Copyright Office for you. The registration fee is slightly more through ProQuest

Copyright Permission (from Owner of Copyrighted Material You Are Using in Your Manuscript)Samples of copyright permission request forms are available at the Thesis and Dissertation Office web page. Keep copies of any permission forms you obtain and bring them to Copy Center with your manuscript when you go there to pay fees to be sent to ProQuest

Using Other Theses as Samples and Getting Outside HelpReferring to Other ThesesPeople often refer to theses on the ProQuest database, available through the University Library website, for sources and ideas for topics. Do not base your thesis formatting completely on these samples. Use the University Guidelines Manual

Working with a TypistIf you hire a typist or editor or formatter, make sure that they are familiar with the CSULB University Guidelines Manual. Otherwise, you may find yourself having to pay more to do revisions on the manuscript

It’s Not the End of the World Do not let your frustration level get

too high. Contact us with any questions or problems. We are here to help and we love specific questions

Many people hire a typist or editor or formatter if the task becomes too overwhelming

You are responsible for your manuscript being formatted in a professional manner that adheres to all university and departmental formatting guidelines. The manuscript should be formatted to the best of your ability when it is submitted, but there will be opportunities to correct errors after it has been submitted