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Format and Formal Style |
Format
FIU students must follow the Regulations for Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Manual in regards to format.
It is the responsibility of your committee to judge your thesis or dissertation from all standpoints, including neatness, mechanics, and technical and professional competency. Therefore, continuing current practice, it is important that you provide them a copy of your thesis/dissertation before your defense.
As in the case of printed thesis or dissertation, the ETD, is a public display of the quality of work acceptable to the student's department and to the University Graduate School for meeting graduate degree requirements.
Preparing an ETD is similar to the process of preparing a manuscript for publication. For both, the student must prepare the information for the document, present it in an orderly fashion, undergo a review cycle, and achieve publication. For the ETD, however, the student must complete the electronic publication process (usually the responsibility of the publisher) by submitting the ETD according to the rules that follow.
Formal Style
Each department should specify or develop an acceptable formal style or styles for ETDs prepared by its graduate students. Students are urged to consult with their committee regarding both the subject and general plan of investigation as well as style preferences. Generally, the style should conform to the professional journals or style manuals in the student's area of study. The department may wish to specify a style directly; otherwise the department may develop its own or suggest a journal whose style is acceptable. The student should learn the accepted style and how it applies to various word processors before preparing the ETD. As to format, the regulations included in the Regulations for Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Manual supersede any style manual instructions.
For additional reference, there are many books that deal specifically with writing style. Among those with general applicability are:
- A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Kate L. Turabian
- Form and Style in Thesis Writing, William G. Campbell
- The Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White
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formatstyle.html Revised June 13, 2000