Required Sections, Guidelines, and Suggestions
Beyond those noted on the Formatting Requirements page, the 黑料社区 School has no additional formatting requirements. The following suggestions are based on best practices and historic requirements for dissertations and theses but are not requirements for submission of the thesis or dissertation. The 黑料社区 School recommends that each dissertation or thesis conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.
For both master’s and doctoral students, the same basic rules apply; however, differences exist in some limited areas, particularly in producing the abstract and filing the dissertation or thesis.
- Information in this guide that pertains specifically to doctoral candidates and dissertations is clearly marked with the term 鈥dissertation鈥 or 鈥doctoral candidates.鈥
- Information pertaining specifically to master鈥檚 candidates and theses is clearly marked with the term 鈥thesis鈥 or 鈥master鈥檚 candidates.鈥
- All other information pertains to both.
Examples of formatting suggestions for both the dissertation and thesis are available as downloadable templates.
Title Page
Required? Yes.
Suggested numbering: Page included in overall document, but number not typed on page.
The following format for your title page is suggested, but not required.
- The title should be written using all capital letters, centered within the left and right margins, and spaced about 1.5 inches from the top of the page. (For an example, please see the template.)
- Carefully select words for the title of the dissertation or thesis to represent the subject content as accurately as possible. Words in the title are important access points to researchers who may use keyword searches to identify works in various subject areas.
- Use word substitutes for formulas, symbols, superscripts, Greek letters, etc.
- Below the title, at the vertical and horizontal center of the margins, place the following five lines (all centered):
Line 1: A Dissertation [or Thesis]
Line 2: Presented to the Faculty of the 黑料社区 School
Line 3: of Cornell University
Line 4: in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Line 5: Doctor of Philosophy [or other appropriate degree]
- Center the following three lines within the margins:
Line 1: by
Line 2: Primary or Preferred Name [as registered with the University Registrar鈥檚 Office and displayed in Student Center]
Line 3: month and year of degree conferral [May, August, December; no comma between month and year]
Copyright Page
Required? Yes.
Suggested numbering: Page included in overall document, but number not typed on page
The following format for your copyright page is suggested, but not required.
- A notice of copyright should appear as the sole item on the page centered vertically and horizontally within the margins: 漏 20__ [Primary or Preferred Name [as registered with the University Registrar鈥檚 Office]. Please note that there is not usually a page heading on the copyright page.
- The copyright symbol is a lowercase 鈥渃,鈥 which must be circled. (On Macs, the symbol is typed by pressing the 鈥渙ption鈥 and 鈥済鈥 keys simultaneously. If the font does not have the 漏 symbol, type the 鈥渃鈥 and circle it by hand. On PCs, in the insert menu, choose 鈥渟ymbol,鈥 and select the 漏 symbol.)
- The date, which follows the copyright symbol, is the year of conferral of your degree.
- Your name follows the date.
Abstract
Required? Yes.
Suggested numbering: Page(s) not counted, not numbered
Abstract formats for the doctoral dissertation and master鈥檚 thesis differ greatly. The 黑料社区 School recommends that you conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.
Doctoral candidates:
- Usually, the heading of the abstract in a dissertation is centered between the left and right margins about 1.1 inches down from the top of the page and includes the following lines:
- TITLE OF DISSERTATION
- Student鈥檚 Primary or Preferred Name, Ph.D. [as registered with the University Registrar鈥檚 Office]
- Cornell University 20__ [year of conferral]
- Following the heading lines, begin the text of the abstract on the same page.
- The abstract states the problem, describes the methods and procedures used, and gives the main results or conclusions of the research.
- The abstract usually does not exceed 350 words in length (about one-and-one-half correctly spaced pages鈥攂ut not more than two pages).
Master鈥檚 candidate:
- In a thesis, the page heading is simply the word 鈥淎BSTRACT鈥 in all capital letters and centered within the margins at the top of the page. (The thesis abstract does not display the thesis title, author鈥檚 name, degree, university, or date of degree conferral.)
- The abstract should state the problem, describe the methods and procedures used, and give the main results or conclusions.
- The abstract usually does not exceed 600 words in length, which is approximately two-and-one-half to three pages of correctly spaced typing.
- In M.F.A. theses, an abstract is not required.
Biographical Sketch
Required? Yes.
Suggested numbering: iii (may be more than one page)
- Type number(s) on page(s).
The following content and format are suggested:
- The biographical sketch is written in third-person voice and contains your educational background. Sometimes additional biographical facts are included.
- As a page heading, use 鈥淏IOGRAPHICAL SKETCH鈥 in all capital letters, centered on the page.
- Number this page as iii.
Dedication
Required? Optional.
Suggested numbering: iv (may be more than one page)
- Type number(s) on page(s).
The dedication page is not required and can contain whatever text that you would like to include. Text on this page does not need to be in English.
Acknowledgements
Required? Yes.
Suggested numbering: v (may be more than one page)
- Type number(s) on page(s).
The following content and format are suggested, not required.
- The acknowledgements may be written in first-person voice. If your research has been funded by outside grants, you should check with the principal investigator of the grant regarding proper acknowledgement of the funding source. Most outside funding sources require some statement of acknowledgement of the support; some also require a disclaimer from responsibility for the results.
- As a page heading, use 鈥淎CKNOWLEDGEMENTS鈥 in all capital letters, centered on the page.
Table of Contents
Required? Yes.
Suggested numbering: vi (may be more than one page)
- Type number(s) on page(s).
The following are suggestions.
- As a page heading, use 鈥淭ABLE OF CONTENTS鈥 in all capital letters and centered on the page.
- List the sections/chapters of the body of the dissertation or thesis. Also, list preliminary sections starting with the biographical sketch. (Title page, copyright page, and abstract are not listed.)
- For theses and dissertations, the conventional format for page numbers is in a column to the right of each section/chapter title. The first page of each chapter/section is stated with a single number. Table of contents usually do not include a range of page numbers, such as 7-22.
- The table of contents is often single-spaced.
Two-Volume Theses or Dissertations
Required? Optional.
If the dissertation or thesis consists of two volumes, it is recommended, but not required, that you list 鈥淰olume II鈥 as a section in the table of contents.
List of Figures, Illustrations, and Tables
Required? Optional.
Suggested numbering: vii (may be more than one page)
- If included, type number(s) on page(s).
As described in the formatting requirements above, figures and tables should be consecutively numbered. The 黑料社区 School recommends that you conform to the styles set by the leading academic journals in your field. The items below are formatting suggestions based on best practices or historic precedents.
Table of contents format:
- As a page heading, use 鈥淟IST OF FIGURES,鈥 鈥淟IST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,鈥 or 鈥淟IST OF TABLES鈥 in all capital letters, centered on the page.
- There should be separate pages for 鈥淟IST OF FIGURES,鈥 鈥淟IST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,鈥 or 鈥淟IST OF TABLES鈥 even if there is only one example of each.
- The list should contain enough of the titles or descriptions so readers can locate items using the list. (It may not be necessary to include entire figure/illustration/table captions.)
- The list should contain the page number on which each figure, illustration, or table is found, as in a table of contents.
- The list of figures/illustrations/tables may be single-spaced.
Page format:
- Figures/illustrations/tables should be placed as close as possible to their first mention in the text. They may be placed on a page with no text above or below, or placed directly into the text. If a figure/illustration/table is placed directly into the text, text may appear above or below the figure/illustration/table; no text may wrap around the figure/illustration/table.
- If a figure/illustration/table appears on a page without other text, it should be centered vertically within the page margins. Figures/illustrations/tables should not be placed at the end of the chapter or at the end of the dissertation or thesis.
- Figure/illustration/table numbering should be either continuous throughout the dissertation or thesis, or by chapter (e.g. 1.1, 1.2; 2.1, 2.2, etc.). The word 鈥淔igure,鈥 鈥淚llustration,鈥 or 鈥淭able鈥 must be spelled out (not abbreviated), and the first letter must be capitalized.
- A caption for a figure/illustration should be placed at the bottom of the figure/illustration. However, a caption for a table must be placed above the table.
- If the figure/illustration/table, not including the caption, takes up the entire page, the figure/illustration/table caption should be placed alone on the preceding page and centered vertically and horizontally within the margins. (When the caption is on a separate page, the List of Figures or List of Illustrations or List of Tables can list the page number containing the caption.)
- If the figure/illustration/table, not including the caption, takes up more than two pages, it should be preceded by a page consisting of the caption only. The first page of the figure/illustration/table must include the figure/illustration/table (no caption), and the second and subsequent pages must also include, at the top of the figure/illustration/table, words that indicate its continuance鈥攆or example, 鈥淔igure 5 (Continued)鈥濃攁nd on these pages the caption is omitted.
- If figures/illustrations/tables are too large, they may be reduced slightly so as to render a satisfactory product or they must either be split into several pages or be redone. If a figure/illustration/table is reduced, all lettering must be clear, readable, and large enough to be legible. All lettering, including subscripts, must still be readable when reduced 25% beyond the final version. All page margin requirements must be maintained. Page numbers and headings must not be reduced.
- While there are no specific rules for the typographic format of figure/illustration/table captions, a consistent format should be used throughout the dissertation or thesis.
- The caption of a figure/illustration/table should be single-spaced, but then captions for all figures/illustrations/tables must be single-spaced.
- Horizontal figures/illustrations/tables should be positioned correctly鈥攊.e., the top of the figure/illustration/table will be at the left margin of the vertical page of the dissertation or thesis (remember: pages are bound on the left margin). Figure/illustration/table headings/captions are placed with the same orientation as the figure/illustration/table when they are on the same page as the figure/illustration/table. When they are on a separate page, headings and captions are always placed in vertical orientation, regardless of the orientation of the figure/illustration/table. Page numbers are always placed as if the figure/illustration/table was vertical on the page.
Photographs should be treated as illustrations. To be considered archival, photographs must be black-and-white. (If actual color photographs are necessary, they should be accompanied by black-and-white photographs of the same subject.) Color photos obtained digitally do not need to be accompanied by a black-and-white photograph. Make a high-resolution digital version of each photograph and insert it into your electronic document, following the guideline suggestions for positioning and margins.
Optional Elements
List of Abbreviations
As a page heading, use 鈥淟IST OF ABBREVIATIONS鈥 in all capital letters, centered on the page.
List of Symbols
As a page heading, use 鈥淟IST OF SYMBOLS鈥 in all capital letters, centered on the page.
Preface
Required? Optional.
Suggested numbering: xi (may be more than one page)
- Type number(s) on page(s).
As a page heading, use 鈥淧REFACE鈥 in all capital letters, centered on the page.
Body of the Dissertation or Thesis: Text
Required? Yes.
Suggested numbering: Begin page number at 1
- Text (required)
- Appendix/Appendices (optional)
- Bibliography, References, or Works Cited (required)
Please note that smaller font size may be appropriate for footnotes or other material outside of the main text. The following suggestions are based on best practice or historic precedent, but are not required.
- Chapter headings may be included that conform to the standard of your academic field.
- Textual notes that provide supplementary information, opinions, explanations, or suggestions that are not part of the text must appear at the bottom of the page as footnotes. Lengthy footnotes may be continued on the next page. Placement of footnotes at the bottom of the page ensures they will appear as close as possible to the referenced passage.
Appendix (or Appendices)
Required? Optional.
An appendix (-ces) is not required for your thesis or dissertation. If you choose to include one, the following suggestions are based on best practice or historic precedent.
- As a page heading, use 鈥淎PPENDIX鈥 in all capital letters, centered on the page.
- Place in an appendix any material that is peripheral, but relevant, to the main text of the dissertation or thesis. Examples could include survey instruments, additional data, computer printouts, details of a procedure or analysis, a relevant paper that you wrote, etc.
- The appendix may include text that does not meet the general font and spacing requirements of the other sections of the dissertation or thesis.
Bibliography (or References or Works Cited)
Required? Yes.
A bibliography, references, or works cited is required for your thesis or dissertation. Please conform to the standards of leading academic journals in your field.
- As a page heading, use 鈥淏IBLIOGRAPHY鈥 (or 鈥淩EFERENCES鈥 or 鈥淲ORKS CITED鈥) in all capital letters, centered on the page. The bibliography should always begin on a new page.
- Bibliographies may be single-spaced within each entry but should include 24 points of space between entries.
Glossary
Required? Optional.
Suggested numbering: Continue page numbering from body
If you choose to include a glossary, best practices and historic precedent suggest using a page heading, use 鈥淕LOSSARY鈥 in all capital letters, centered on the page.
Index
Required? Optional.
Suggested numbering: Continue page numbering from glossary
If you choose to include one, best practices and historic precedent suggest using a page heading, use 鈥淚NDEX鈥 in all capital letters, centered on the page.
Font Samples
Sample Macintosh Fonts
- Palatino 12
- Bookman 12
- Garamond 14
- New Century School Book
- Helvetica 12 or Helvetica 14
- Times New Roman 12
- Times 14 (Times 12 is not acceptable)
- Symbol 12 is acceptable for symbols
Sample TeX and LaTeX Fonts
- CMR 12 font
- Any font that meets the above specifications
Sample PC Fonts
- Times New Roman 12
- Arial 12
- Bookman 12
- Garamond 14
- Helvetica 12
- Times 14 (Times 12 is not acceptable)