The graduate community

Arrangement of contents

The thesis or dissertation typically includes the following parts arranged in the order given below. Students must follow the department’s guidelines for content and formatting.

Approval sheet

The function of the approval sheet is to enable the student’s director, committee and the dean of the school, or the dean’s representative, to indicate that the work satisfies the thesis or dissertation requirement for the particular degree. It includes the title of the thesis or dissertation, the student’s name and places for the prescribed signatures

Electronic theses and dissertations that do not have the approval form completed by the student’s entire committee, school or college dean and the dean of the Graduate School cannot be accepted by the Graduate School.

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Copyright page

Copyright is vested upon creation of any original work. Although it is not required, students may indicate copyright with a separate sheet following the prescribed copyright form.

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Title page

The title page is counted as page i, but the number is not typed on the page. The title should be centered with the first line of the title beginning two inches from the top of the page. Words are underlined in the title only when they themselves are titles or when they are scientific terms that customarily are underlined. The title should use descriptive words that will ensure electronic retrieval. Use word substitutes for formulae, symbols and superscript.

The partial fulfillment statement should begin two lines below the title. The final line of the title page shows the date that the thesis/dissertation was approved by the committee. It is typed at the bottom margin, 1¼ inch from the bottom of the page. The student’s name and degree information and the thesis or dissertation director’s name, title and department should be situated evenly within the remaining space.

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Acknowledgment page

An acknowledgment page expressing the student’s recognition of and appreciation for any special assistance is optional, but customarily included. If it is used, the word “Acknowledgment” should be centered without punctuation two inches from the top of the page. The text of the acknowledgment should begin on the fourth line below. This page should be numbered as ii.

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Table of contents

The contents page should be headed “Table of Contents,” with the heading centered without punctuation two inches from the top of the page. The listings begin at the left margin four spaces below the heading. The table of contents lists all material following the contents page. The titles of chapters, parts or sections must be listed and worded exactly as they appear in the body of the thesis or dissertation. The page number for the start of each part is listed flush against the right margin on the same line as the last word of the division heading. Any space between the last word of the title of a part and the page number can be filled with a dot leader.

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Lists of tables, figures, abbreviations and symbols

The format for the list of tables and the list of figures is the same as for the table of contents. The list of abbreviations or symbols should follow the form normally used in the student’s discipline and approved by the school dean.

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Abstract

The abstract is an essay summary of the thesis or dissertation — a statement of the experiment or problem, the procedure followed, the results and the conclusions. The abstract of a doctoral dissertation should follow scrupulously the instructions given here, since it will be published in “Dissertation Abstracts International” without revision or editing. The maximum length for a dissertation abstract is 350 words; for a thesis, it is 150 words. It should be a succinct account, allowing readers to make an accurate decision as to whether the full contents will aid their review.

The heading “Abstract” is centered two inches from the top of the page. The title of the dissertation, typed in all capital letters, begins at the left margin four lines below the heading. The student’s full name and degree are typed two lines below the title. The partial fulfillment statement, which should follow exactly the pattern of the partial fulfillment statement on the title page, is typed two lines below the student’s name. “Virginia Commonwealth University” should be typed two lines below the partial fulfillment statement, followed by the year in which the degree is granted. The name, title and department of the major director, again following the pattern of the title page, are typed two lines below the name of the institution. The body of the abstract, typed and double-spaced, begins on the fourth line below the major director information. Include pertinent place names, full names of people and other proper nouns that are useful in electronic retrieval. Diagrams, charts, tables or other illustrated materials and formulas or equations must not be included in the abstract. Display symbols, as well as foreign words and phrases, clearly and accurately. Include transliterations for characters other than Roman and Greek letters and Arabic numerals as well as accents and diacritical marks.

As with the title page, the abstract is assigned a number, continuing the consecutive Roman enumeration begun with the title page, but the number is not typed.

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Body of thesis or dissertation

The text — or body — of the thesis or dissertation, is to be typed and double-spaced using one side of each page. Chapters will begin a page. The heading for the division should be centered without punctuation two inches below the top of the page, the next beginning four lines below the heading. The pages of the text are numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals from the first page of the text through the bibliography and the vita.

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Reference material or bibliography

The reference section should begin with a cover sheet headed “Bibliography,” “List of References,” “Literature Cited” or other heading, as determined by the discipline, centered without punctuation. This page is counted and numbered. The heading is repeated on the first page of the bibliography itself, two inches from the top, centered and without punctuation. The list of sources begins four spaces below the heading.

The sources themselves frequently are arranged in alphabetical order by the author’s last name or the first major word of the title of anonymous publications, but some disciplines may suggest a different grouping of sources. The precise content of the entry should be determined by the discipline, but the intent is to provide all of the information necessary for the reader to locate and consult the sources. Regardless of the form used, each citation should include the title of the article, author’s name, the journal in which it is published, the volume number and year, and pages. Format of literature citations should conform to those used by the major journals in the investigator’s specific field. Entries should be double-spaced with single spaces within entries.

Because the thesis and dissertation are considered a professional contribution, students should follow the method of annotation used in their disciplines. Most scientific journals publish instructions to authors on required manuscript style and format. The three style manuals listed below are commonly used and can be helpful references. When contradictions arise, however, the style manual approved by the school normally takes precedence.

Campbell, William Giles, and Stephen Vaughan Ballou. Form and Style: Theses, Reports, Term Papers. Latest Edition, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.

Turabian, Kate. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Latest Edition, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Latest Edition.

Except where specifically contradicted by the Graduate School’s thesis and dissertation manual, students should follow the style manual used in their disciplines.

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Appendices

The appendix provides a place for supplementary material that is not necessary to the text. Tables too detailed for text presentation, technical notes, schedules, forms, case studies and illustrative material are common appendix materials. Each category of material should be given a separate number or letter following the same consecutive sequence. Appendixes can be titled descriptively at the discretion of the author but if one is titled, all must be.

The heading “Appendix (followed by a letter or number)” should be centered two inches below the top of the page. If a descriptive title is used, it is centered two lines below the heading. Text or illustrative material begins four lines below the title. Each page of an appendix is numbered.

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Vita

The vita is a brief biographical sketch of the writer, giving date and place of birth, statement of present citizenship, education (institutions attended), degrees and honors, accomplishments, the titles of publications, teaching or professional experiences and any other relevant data. This section should be headed “Vita,” with the word centered two inches below the top of the page and the text beginning four lines below. The page is numbered.

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