Minor Thesis Guide for Honours & Postgraduate Diploma

Presentation of the Thesis

Length

The thesis is 12,000 words in length. This word length includes all quotations and epigraphs included in the body of the text; it excludes supplementary text (footnotes or endnotes, bibliography, abstract (synopsis), title page, acknowledgements, or appendices).

Footnote, Endnote and Bibliography Styles

These sections of your thesis should conform to a style used by your discipline, as advised by your supervisor.

Preparation of the Final Copies of the Thesis

Two copies of the thesis are to be submitted, one of which will be returned after examination and the other will be kept in the School.

The number of volumes is a matter of practicality and commonsense. One volume is appropriate if the text, notes, bibliography and illustrative material can be reasonably contained within a single document up to about seventy pages. A second volume usually becomes necessary if a large number of illustrations or appendices are incorporated.

Volume 1 should contain, in this order:

Title Page (example pdf)

Abstract (see above)

Table of Contents (example pdf)

Acknowledgments (if desired).

The acknowledgements should acknowledge any special assistance provided by interviewees, librarians, archivists, correspondents and so forth. It may include thanks to friends, family, and others who provided moral or emotional support. If any part of the thesis has a contribution by someone other than the author, such as the drawing of diagrams, computer generated charts etc., this must be acknowledged. If any aspect of the thesis develops from, builds on, or relates in some way to work done for some other course, or job etc., this should be explained in a preface or in the introduction.

Introduction (which sets out the problem to be investigated and the way it is to be tackled)

The text, divided into chapters according to the nature of the material (usually 4 to 6 chapters). The first chapter is normally an Introduction (see below). The last chapter may be a Conclusion, although in many cases the conclusion can be absorbed into the last chapter.

Bibliography (if only one volume is used)

List of illustrations (if only one volume is used)

Illustrations (if only one volume is used)

Volume 2, if used, should contain, in this order:

Bibliography

List of illustrations

Illustrations

Page layout

Page Size:

Use A4 paper, printed on one side of the sheet only.

Margins:

Use a left margin of not less that 4 cm, and top, bottom, and right margins of not less than 2.5 cm.

Font:

Text should be one-and-a-half spaced, set in 12 point type, using a legible font. Avoid fancy fonts. Palatino or Times Roman usually work well.

Headings and Subheadings:

Use display fonts sparingly, for headings and subheadings. The overall page layout should allow for easy navigation and immediate identification of textual elements. Check this by viewing the text in page preview form on your computer screen. In a clearly layed out thesis, the distinct elements (headings, paragraphs, quotations, notes) should be easily distinguished even in the reduced page size of the computer screen.

Binding:

Theses should be presented in binders (normally spiral binding).

Waiver Form

You will be asked to sign a waiver form, allowing researchers to read your thesis. You may refuse to sign the waiver, or write in qualifying clauses, or sign it unconditionally. The one copy of your thesis is kept in the School.