Thesis and Article Writing: Format and Styles of Referencing with Examples UGC NET
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Thesis and Article Writing: Format and Styles of Referencing with Examples UGC NET
Meaning
Thesis refers to the major claim or point made by an author in a work of writing. It refers to the part of an essay where the writer establishes his position regarding a topic.
Steps for Arrangement of Thesis:
1. Cover page: includes the title, author, degree (“Thesis/Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Ph.D. of … in …”), and date.
2. Cover page color: Pink
3. Thesis/Project Approval Form.
4. Plagiarism policy compliance statement.
5. Copyright page that grants MU the right to use and reproduce fully or partially the work being presented.
6. Dedication page (optional).
7. Acknowledgments page (optional).
8. Abstract: a concise summary of the essential information of the work being presented, namely of the study’s scope, purpose and results. The reference-free single spaced abstract should not exceed two pages.
9. Table of Contents: includes all the subsections of each chapter and the list of appendices (if applicable) and page numbers.
10. List of Figures: includes figure number, caption, and the page number.
11. List of Tables: includes table number, caption, and the page number.
12. Abbreviations page: lists all the abbreviations used in the text alongside their fully written unabbreviated form.
13. Thesis/Project text; the layout is described in the next section.
Layout of Thesis
1. Introduction: background; statement of the problem; definition of terms; purpose of the study; theoretical basis; contributions of the study; organisation of the remainder of the study.
2. Literature Review: chronological, categorical or related theoretical view points related to topic.
3. Proposed Solution/Methodology: research design or approach (quantitative, qualitative or algorithmic); population and / or sample; collection and tabulation of data; and data analysis procedures.
4. Solution Validation, Analysis of the Data, Results, and Discussion: presentation and discussion of the findings, including limitations.
5. Conclusions, Recommendations: summarises the entire research effort; addresses the initial purpose of the study (stated in the introduction); stresses the importance of the work accomplished; leaves a final impression on the reader. It can also include suggestions for further work.
6. Bibliography/References: references should acknowledge any work done by someone other than the author.
7. Appendices: material too detailed or lengthy for inclusion in the body of the study.
Most Common Format of Thesis
1. TITLE PAGE: Title of project, Subtitle (optional), Date, Author, Organization, Logo
2. PROJECT BACKGROUND
3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
4. SUMMARY
5. LIST OF CONTENTS
6. LIST OF TABLES
7. LIST OF APPENDICES
8. INTRODUCTION
9. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
10. OBJECTIVES
11. METHOD
12. RESULT/FINDINGS
13. DISCUSSION
14. CONCLUSIONS
15. RECOMMENDATIONS
16. REFERENCES
17. APPENDIX
Styles of Referencing:
The four widely-used referencing styles or conventions are as follows:
1. MLA (Modern Languages Association) system
2. APA (American Psychological Association) system
3. Harvard system
4. MHRA (Modern Humanities Research Association) system
A thesis statement is the sentence in a composition that introduces the main argument or main point of view.
