Theses Project

Thesis Organization & Formatting

Scholarly, scientific, and pedagogical theses

The following sections or elements are required in scholarly, scientific, and pedagogical theses:

  1. Title Page (Click to download editable template)
  2. Acknowledgements Page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Abstract — required of all students
  5. Body, often broken into numerous sections (literature review, etc.).  Will vary widely, depending on thesis topic.
  6. Appendixes, as needed
  7. Bibliography

Other Project Genres 

The following sections usually appear in senior projects within our other genres (creative, action research, service learning, volunteerism, experiential, leadership portfolio, cultural and wellness projects).

  1. Title Page (Click to download editable template)
  2. Acknowledgements Page (may be placed at end, especially for novels)
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Abstract — required of all students
  5. Body, often broken into numerous sections. Will vary widely and may include diagrams, original art, images, description of the creative or community service action etc.  May be conflated with #6 below.
  6. Expository section — for creative theses:  here students will discuss artistic influences upon their work, ranging from other artists to artistic movements or traditions, etc.  Students may elect to place this section before the creative work, after the abstract.
  7. Appendixes, as needed.  May feature DVD’s or CD’s.
  8. Bibliography, as needed.  May be included after the expository section, if that’s more appropriate.

Formatting

Every Honors thesis will be digitally published.  In order for them to look the best, please follow these formatting recommendations:

  • MARGINS (including tables/charts):  1.25″ left and right margins preferred, but 1″ is acceptable.  1″ margin required for top and bottom.  Go to File/Page Setup, in either Google Docs or MS Word.
  • TYPEFACE AND SIZE:  the best typefaces to use are Calibri, Cambria, Garamond, Georgia, or Times New Roman.  Others are okay, provided they’re not weird.  Definitely use 13pt (not 12) for readability
  • HEADINGS AND SUBHEADINGS:  ARE recommended. Make sure to be consistent in differentiating primary from secondary headings.  Google Docs and Microsoft Word both have good, built-in headers.
  • SPACING:  double-spaced throughout for text and bibliography.  Charts, tables, etc. can be single-spaced.
  • CHAPTER/SECTION BREAKS:  too many students repeatedly hit Enter until they get to the next page.  Don’t do this!  Instead, use hard page breaks.  In Google Docs, go to Insert/Page Break.  In MS Word, to to Insert/Break.
  • LENGTH:  varies widely, based on project.  The average tends to be around 55 pages.  
  • COLOR:  you CAN use color in your thesis, no problem.  
  • DIGITAL PUBLICATION: Please communicate if you foresee submitting two final, differently formatted theses.  This sometimes occurs when a student doesn’t want their entire thesis digitally uploaded.  Our novelists, for instance, must submit their entire manuscript — but may choose to upload only their reflective essay and opening chapter to Omeka.  
  • TITLES: as long as you need, but remember less is sometimes more