POSTGRADUATE STUDIES PROGRAMME

THESIS GUIDELINES

NOVEMBER 2009

THESIS GUIDELINES: STYLES AND FORMATS

FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDIES PROGRAMME

by

POSTGRADUATE STUDIES OFFICE

Prepared as a guide to all postgraduate students and supervisors of

Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS in meeting the requirement
of the thesis submission
for the Degree of

MASTERS OF SCIENCE
or
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI PETRONAS

November 2009

PREFACE

The primary goal of thesis submission is to present to the reader, i.e. the
examiners and other parties, the academic contributions and achievements
accomplished by the candidates pursuing the advanced degree. Failure to present the
material in the most appropriate style and approach may lead to confusion and
frustration to the reader. Over the years, it has been noted that there has been large
variations of styles and formats adopted by the students submitting their
thesis/dissertations. For the most part, these variations have not hindered the main
objectives of thesis submissions. However, it has been noted that some of the
examiners and even supervisors have some disagreements of the style and format for
the students to adopt, causing unnecessary anxiety and confusion.
This thesis/dissertation handbook has been developed to guide the postgraduate
students pursuing advanced degrees in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS in preparing
their thesis/dissertation in partial fulfilment of their degrees. This handbook should be
used as the main reference in determining the style and format to be followed. As such
this handbook contains a wealth of information on the format of the presentation of
the thesis/dissertation as well as references to other works and to other related
materials. It is our hope that this handbook will provide a structured guide and style to
follow in order to reduce the possibility of miscommunications.
The earlier version of this handbook was originally developed by Haslina Nor
Hasni under the guidance of Professor Ahmad Fadzil Mohd Hani. Dr Nidal Kamel
and Azrina A Aziz had subsequently extended the style guide. The current version of
the Thesis Styleguide with the Reference Style Manual is prepared by the Thesis
Styleguide Committee comprising of the following persons:
Assoc. Prof. Dr Mohd Noh Karsiti (Advisor)
Dr Fawnizu Azmadi Hussin (Coordinator/Member)
Assoc. Prof. Dr Indra Sati Hamonangan Harahap (Chair)
Dr Shahrina Bt M Nordin (Member)
Dr Murni Melati Bt Ahmad (Member)
Assoc. Prof. Dr Puteri Sri Melor (Member)
iii

Dr Dayang Rohaya Bt Awang Rambli (Member)

Prof. Dr Mariyamni Bt Awang (Member)
Rabiatul Ahya Bt M Sharif (Member)
Haslina Bt Noor Hasni (Member)
Kamaliah Bt Mohd (Member)

Dr Mohd Noh Karsiti

20 November 2008

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE..................................................................................................................
Chapter
1. UNIVERSITY
REGULATIONS
GOVERNING
THE
THESIS
REQUIREMENTS........................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
1
1.1 Thesis Submission................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
1
1.2 Examiners for Thesis Evaluation.........................................................
..............................................................................................................
2
1.2.1. Membership of the Panel of Examiners..................................
.................................................................................................
2
1.2.2. Duties of the Examiners..........................................................
.................................................................................................
2
1.2.3. Report from the Panel of Examiners.......................................
.................................................................................................
3
1.3 Members for Defence (Viva Voce) Examination.................................
..............................................................................................................
4
1.4 Academic Misconduct..........................................................................
..............................................................................................................
4
2. MANUSCRIPT FORMAT REQUIREMENTS FOR A THESIS AND
DISSERTATION...........................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
6
2.1 Introduction..........................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
6
2.2 Specifications for Thesis......................................................................
..............................................................................................................
7
2.2.1 Candidates Name....................................................................
.................................................................................................
7
v

iii

2.2.2
2.2.3
2.2.4
2.2.5
2.2.6
2.2.7
2.2.8
2.2.9
2.2.10
2.2.11
2.2.12
2.2.13
2.2.14
2.2.15
2.2.16
2.2.17

Number of Copies....................................................................
.................................................................................................
7
Length of Thesis......................................................................
.................................................................................................
7
Language of Thesis..................................................................
.................................................................................................
7
Printing....................................................................................
.................................................................................................
8
Paper........................................................................................
.................................................................................................
8
Typeface and Font Size............................................................
.................................................................................................
8
Corrections...............................................................................
.................................................................................................
8
Margins....................................................................................
.................................................................................................
8
Spacing....................................................................................
.................................................................................................
9
Body Text Formatting..............................................................
.................................................................................................
9
Justifications............................................................................
.................................................................................................
9
Pagination................................................................................
.................................................................................................
10
Covers and Binding.................................................................
.................................................................................................
10
Photographs.............................................................................
.................................................................................................
11
Equations
Non-Paper Formats..................................................................
.................................................................................................
11
vi

3. THESIS PREPARATION..............................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
12
3.1 Typing Requirements...........................................................................
..............................................................................................................
12
3.2 Sections in Thesis.................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
13
3.2.1 Preliminary Pages....................................................................
.................................................................................................
13
3.2.2 Body Text.................................................................................
.................................................................................................
13
3.2.3 References...............................................................................
.................................................................................................
14
4. PRELIMINARY PAGES...............................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
15
4.1 Status of Thesis....................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
15
4.2 Approval Page......................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
15
4.3 Title Page..............................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
15
4.4 Declaration...........................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
16
4.5 Dedication (if any)...............................................................................
..............................................................................................................
16
4.6 Acknowledgement (if any)...................................................................
..............................................................................................................
16
4.7 Abstract................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
17

vii

4.8

Copyright Page.....................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
17
4.9 Table of Contents.................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
18
4.10 List of Tables........................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
19
4.11 List of Figures......................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
19
4.12 Preface..................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
19
5. BODY TEXT.................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
20
5.1 Contents...............................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
20
5.2 Chapters and Sections..........................................................................
..............................................................................................................
21
5.2.1 Subsection Title...........................................................................
..............................................................................................................
22
5.2.1.1 First-level Heading..........................................................
..............................................................................................................
23
5.2.1.2 Second-level Heading.....................................................
..............................................................................................................
23
5.2.1.3 Third-level Heading........................................................
..............................................................................................................
23
5.3 Appendices...........................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
23
5.4 References............................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
24
5.5 Glossary...............................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
24
viii

5.6

Footnotes..............................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
24
5.7 Translation ...........................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
24
5.8 Page Headers........................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
25
5.9 Charts, Graphs, Maps...........................................................................
..............................................................................................................
25
5.10 Oversized Pages...................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
25
5.11 Overlays...............................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
25
5.12 Multiple-Volume Thesis.......................................................................
..............................................................................................................
26
APPENDICES
A. Front Cover
B. Spine of Thesis
C. Status of Thesis
D. Approval Page
E. Title Page
F. Declaration Page
G. Dedication and Acknowledgement
H. Abstract
I. Copyright Page

ix

CHAPTER 1
UNIVERSITY REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE THESIS
REQUIREMENTS
Candidates pursuing advanced degrees in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS are
normally required to submit a thesis or dissertation as a partial fulfilment of their
degree programs. This thesis/dissertation would serve as the main submission to be
evaluated by a panel of examiners to ascertain that the candidates have successfully
completed their academic works that can be considered as a significant contribution to
the respective field of expertise.
The following information is quoted from the Postgraduate Studies Rules and
Regulations, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS.

1.1 Thesis Submission

1. A candidate is required to submit a notice regarding submission of thesis and
the final title of the thesis to the respective Head of Department with a copy to
the Postgraduate Studies Programme Office using the specified form at least
three (3) months before the submission of the thesis.
2. A PhD thesis must not exceed 80,000 words and a Masters thesis must not
exceed 50,000 words. The number of words excludes quotations, translations,
footnotes and end-notes, appendices, figures and illustrations. Candidates who
wish to exceed the maximum number of words permitted must have the
permission of the Postgraduate Studies Committee through the Supervisor at
least three (3) months before the thesis submission.
3. All theses must be written in the English language and abstracts in English and
Bahasa Melayu must be included.
1

4. Five (5) soft bound copies of the thesis certified by the supervisor must be
submitted.
5. In the preparation of the thesis, the candidate must always refer to the
guidelines on thesis format and other specific requirements as decided by the
Postgraduate Studies Committee from time to time.
6. A candidate is not allowed to submit a thesis or part thereof which has been
prepared for another degree without explicit written permission.
7. All theses submitted to UTP whether successful or not become the property of
UTP. UTP reserves the right to make copies of the thesis in whole or in part.

1.2 Examiners for Thesis Evaluation

1.2.1

Membership of the Panel of Examiners

The Panel of Examiners shall consist the following:

a) One (1) external examiner, and
b) One (1) internal examiner, who is not the Supervisor or Co-Supervisor of the
candidate

1.2.2

Duties of the Examiners

The examiners are required to:

a) Evaluate the thesis of the student independently, and
b) Provide a comprehensive report and point out the syntactic and semantic
errors in the thesis, and
c) Provide an indication of the original contribution made by the candidate.
2

The examiners are given a maximum of four (4) weeks to examine the thesis.

1.2.3

Report from the Panel of Examiners

After receiving the Examiners reports and reviewing the performance of the
candidate in the oral (viva voce) examinations, the Viva Voce Committee shall
recommend one of the following:
1. The candidate be conferred the degree without any corrections and without
conditions;
2. The candidate be conferred the Degree subject to minor modifications
(spelling and typographical errors, use of terminologies and other aspects
considered minor/ technical) to the Thesis as elaborated in the Viva Voce
Committee;
3. The candidate is to make modifications and corrections which are not minor
in nature (rewriting small sections of the thesis, additional information, re-do
of illustrations and others that is considered not to jeopardise the quality of the
thesis) to the thesis as elaborated in the Viva Voce Committees Report. The
candidate is not required to re-sit for the oral examinations;
4. The candidate is to re-submit the Thesis to be re-examined after the candidate
has made major modifications and corrections (rewriting of major sections of
thesis or after having included additional results of further studies) as
elaborated in the Viva Voce Committees Report. The candidate is required to
attend the oral (viva voce) examination again; or
5. The candidate is not suitable to be conferred the MSc/PhD degree and also not
allowed to resubmit the thesis for re-examination. Candidate is deemed to
have failed.

1.3 Members for Defence (Viva Voce) Examination

1. After the candidate has submitted the corrected thesis, arrangements will be
made for defence examination.
2. Members of the Defence (Viva Voce) Examination Committee for
postgraduate degrees will consist of the following:
a)

Director of Postgraduate Studies Programme as Chairperson (PhD) or

Head of Department (MSc) or representative appointed.

b)

External Examiner

c)

Internal Examiner

3. The defence examination will consist of public presentation as well as closed

door defence session. The presentation is open for public while the closed
door session is limited to only the panel of examiners. However the supervisor
and few selected audiences may be permitted by the chair.

1.4 Academic Misconduct

Academic misconduct includes cheating and plagiarism. Cheating implies dishonesty
in fulfilling academic requirements. Plagiarism may involve presenting another
persons work as ones own, including

Direct duplication, by copying or allowing to be copied another persons work

or submitting ones own work which has already been submitted for
assessment purposes for other purpose; or

The act of taking an idea, writing, data or invention of another person and
claiming that the idea, writing, data or invention is the result of ones own
findings or creation; or

An attempt to make out or the act of making out in such a way, that one is the
original source of the creator of an idea, writing data or invention which has
actually been taken from some other source.

The University may, in the case of academic misconduct, suspend or terminate the
candidature of the student.

CHAPTER 2
MANUSCRIPT FORMAT REQUIREMENTS FOR A THESIS AND
DISSERTATION

2.1 Introduction
This is a guide for the preparation of a postgraduate thesis of Universiti
Teknologi PETRONAS. It covers information on the format of the thesis,
arrangement of the chapters in the thesis, design and layout of the cover and
preliminary pages, pagination and use of font size and font type.
This guide also contains samples of the important preliminary pages as well as
an extensive bibliography style guide to be used. This document has been prepared
in MS Word document format that can be used as a template for the preparation of
the thesis. Candidates may simply copy & paste the required format accordingly.
If a thesis is not presented in the form required in this guide, it will not be
accepted. It is the responsibility of the student and the supervisor to ensure that the
thesis complies in all respects to these guidelines.
Candidates are strongly encouraged to read this guide thoroughly before
proceeding in preparing the final manuscript of the thesis/dissertation. Candidates
are advised against using other thesis as a reference as they not fully adhere to the
formats. Whenever there are questions in regards to style, mechanics or formats that
have not been addressed by this handbook, the candidate should consult his/her
supervisor, Head of Department or other representatives that are responsible for
graduate studies within the department.
6

The order of precedence for combining manuals and department format

guidelines is:
1. Thesis Guideline: Styles and Templates

This guideline takes precedence over all other thesis preparation guidelines.
2. Departmental style guides
3. Thesis manual, publication manual or journal format

2.2 Specifications for Final Thesis (Final bound thesis)

2.2.1

Candidates Name

Throughout the thesis/dissertation, the candidate must us his/her full legal name.
This legal name shall be the name as that which appears on his/her official university
record as well as other legal documents such as the National Identification Card
(NIC) or international passport.

2.2.2

Number of Copies

A candidate is required to submit five unbound copies of the thesis and an electronic
thesis to Postgraduate Office within one month after the approval. One copy of the
thesis will be placed in the Information Resource Centre (IRC). The Postgraduate
Office will bind the thesis after students submission of the final unbound copies.

2.2.3

Length of Thesis

Master Thesis should normally be less than 50,000 words. Ph.D. thesis should
normally be no longer than 80,000 words.

2.2.4

Language of Thesis

Thesis may be written in American or British English, as long as it is used

consistently throughout. Final oral defense is also be conducted in English.
7

2.2.5

Printing

Thesis must be printed using laser quality printer or better. Inkjet printer is not to be
used for final thesis submission as the quality tends to degrade over time.

2.2.6

Paper

High quality bond paper A4 size, (8.27 x 11.69 or 21.0 cm x 29.7 cm) and weight
80 g/m2 must be used for the bound copies, except for such charts and diagrams. This
paper should be white in colour, acid free and non-erasable.

2.2.7

Typeface and Font Size

Typeface to be used is 12 point Times New Roman. The same typeface should be
used

throughout

the

thesis

including

the

title

page,

approval

page,

acknowledgements, bibliography and appendices. The same font with its italic and
bold variants may be used wherever necessary, for instance scientific names should
be written in italic fonts. Exception to this can be made for footnotes, subscripts and
superscripts, and for tables, figures or illustrations imported from other sources.

2.2.8

Corrections

Corrections of typographical errors, or changes in the text, figures or tables, must be

made as cleanly and invisibly as possible. Correction fluid is not to be used.
Corrections should be made on the original before recopying or reprinting the
corrected page.

2.2.9

Margins

The thesis must be printed on both sides of A4 papers (i.e. double-sided printing).
Therefore, the margins for even and odd numbered pages are slightly different as
explained below.

Odd-numbered pages
The left margin must be 1.5 inch (40 mm) while all the other sides (right, top and
bottom) margins must be 1 inch wide (25 mm) except for the first page of each
chapter and other major sections where the top margin must be at least 2 inches (50
mm).
Even-numbered pages
The right margin must be 1.5 inch (40 mm) while all the other sides (left, top and
bottom) margins must be 1 inch wide (25 mm) except for the first page of each
chapter and other major sections where the top margin must be at least 2 inches (50
mm).
In MS Word, this setting is called Mirror Margins, where the oddnumbered pages margins mirror that of the even-numbered pages. When printed on
both sides of the paper, the mirrored margins would match exactly. To do this in MS
Word, in Page Setup, select Mirror Margins under the Multiple Pages setting.

2.2.10 Spacing
Text should be typed 1.5-spaced, on both sides of the paper. All information
excluding page numbers must be within the text area. All typing, print, illustrations,
etc. should be on both sides of the paper. Single-sided printing is not allowed.
Notes should be typed, single-spaced, and double-spaced between entries.
Abstract should be typed, 1.5-spaced, and must be double-spaced between entries.
Single spacing may be used in extensive quotations within the body of the text and in
extensive Table of Contents, List of Tables, or List of Figures - as long as there is
double or 1.5 spacing between entries.

2.2.11 Body Text Formatting

Under Format, the Chapter texts Font settings are 12-point font size, Regular font
style and Times New Roman font and no Effects boxes are checked. In MS Word,
9

Under Format, the Chapter texts Paragraph settings are Alignment set to Justified,
Outline Level set to Body Text, Indentation set to 0 for both Left and Right,
Spacing set to 12 pt for Before and 0 pt for After, and Line Spacing set to 1.5
lines. For the first paragraph of every section and subsection, under the Paragraph
setting, Special set to None to remove the first-line indentation for the first
paragraph.
For the other paragraphs in the section or subsection, the first line of each
paragraph (such as this one) should have a 0.66 cm or 0.26 left indentation. In MS
Word, under the texts Paragraph setting, Special set to First Line, By set to 0.66
cm or 0.26.

2.2.12 Justification

The thesis must be fully justified (i.e., have even left- and right-hand margins).

2.2.13 Pagination

Page numbers are to be placed at least 1 inch from the edge of the page at the bottom
centre of the page. Every page except the title page must be numbered. Preliminary
pages are to be numbered in lower case Roman numerals (iv, v, vi etc). Status Page,
Approval Page and Title Page are numbered iiii but the numbers are not to be
printed on the page.
The content pages are to be numbered in Arabic numerals (e.g. 1, 2, 3, ) and
all pages must be numbered consecutively and continuously, irrespective of volumes.

2.2.14 Covers and Binding

The final thesis must be hard bounded according to the following colours:

MSc Dark Green with Gold Lettering

PhD UTP Blue with Gold Lettering

10

Typeface to be used on the front cover and spine of the thesis is Times New Roman.
Font size to be used for:

Front Cover of the Thesis (Appendix A)

Title of thesis, name of candidate, degree awarded, name of university, and
month & year of thesis submission: 18

Spine of the Thesis (Appendix B)

Name of candidate, title of thesis, degree awarded and year of thesis
submission: 14. Direction of lettering: run from the top of spine.

2.2.15 Photographs

Photographs should be black and white whenever possible. Pages containing

photographs should be numbered as regular pages. The photographs used are to be
scanned, using a minimum of 300300 dpi resolutions. It is not acceptable to tape,
glue or use any type of adhesive to insert photographs. Pages with photographs
should be copied using a colour photocopier.

2.2.16 Equations

Equations are not indented. They should be numbered consecutively and the
corresponding number should be placed at the end of the line between parentheses.
Equations are called by these numbers within the manuscript. It is important to
remember that only equations that are called should have a number.

2.2.17 Non-paper formats

All non-paper materials must be properly labelled. Labels should include at least

Authors name

Degree date
11

Copyright notice

Specific label is also expected for the following materials:

1. Videotapes

length of videotape (in minutes)

silent or sound

colour or black and white

width of tape (e.g. 19 mm or 13 mm)

programme segments

format (e.g. NTSC, PAL, SECAM)

2. Computer disks

operating system

density

hardware required (if appropriate)

all disks should be write-protected.

12

CHAPTER 3
THESIS PREPARATION

3.1 Typing Requirements

In preparing the thesis/dissertation, the following guidelines must be observed
throughout. In most cases, most word processing software will automatically format
the text accordingly. However it is the responsibility of the author to know and ensure
these guidelines are adhered to.
1. A heading appearing at the bottom of the page must be followed by a
minimum of two lines of text, or otherwise pushed to the following page.
2. Hyphenated words may be divided only at the hyphen. The last word in a
paragraph should not be divided in separate pages. The last word must appear
entirely in the following page.
3. When a paragraph begins at the bottom of the page, it must consist of at least
two lines of text. Otherwise, the entire paragraph must be placed in the
following page.
4. When a last paragraph of a chapter appears at the top of a page, it must consist
of at least two lines of text. One word or one line appearing at the top of a
page should be avoided.
5. Figures and tables should appear entirely in a single page and properly
labelled with an appropriate caption. Long tables must be divided into
separate tables with their own captions. Large illustrations that require foldout must adhere to the guidelines to be described at a later section.
13

3.2 Sections in Thesis

A thesis should normally have three sections: the preliminary pages or the front
matter, the text or the body matter, and the references or back matter.

3.2.1

Preliminary Pages

The Preliminary Pages include:

a.

Status of Thesis

b. Approval Page
c.

Title Page

d. Declaration
e.

Dedication (optional)

f.

Acknowledgements (optional)

g. Abstract
h. Copyright Page
i.

Table of Contents

j.

List of Tables (if any)

k. List of Figures (if any)

l.

List of Plates (if any)

m. List of Symbols, Abbreviations, Nomenclature (if any)

3.2.2

Body Text

The Body Text should be divided into chapters that properly present the work
completed. A typical arrangement of the chapters should include the following:
a.

Introduction

b. Review of Literature
c.

Method of Investigation (Methodology)

d. Analysis of Data, Discussion of Results

14

e.

3.2.3

Conclusions

References

The References consist of:

a.

Appendices (if any)

b. References or Bibliography
c.

Glossary

d. Endnotes
e.

Index (optional)

15

CHAPTER 4
PRELIMINARY PAGES

4.1 Status of Thesis

Status of the thesis must be clearly indicated as either confidential or otherwise. If the
thesis is to be classified as confidential, reason for the requested status must be
indicated and approved by the respective supervisor. Please refer to Appendix C for
sample of the status page. The status of thesis page is counted as page i, however,
the number is not to be printed.

4.2 Approval Page

Approval page must contain the exact title that will appear in the Title Page as well
the endorsement of the supervisor verifying that all corrections have been made and
that the thesis is ready for submission. Please refer to Appendix D for sample of the
approval page. The status of approval page is counted as page ii, however, the
number is not to be printed.

4.3 Title Page

The form and contents of the title page must follow the format of the example given
in Appendix E. Title should be capitalized and double-spaced. The title of the thesis as
it appears on the Title Page MUST BE IDENTICAL to the title found on the Approval
16

Page including the capitalisation and punctuation. The name of the author must be the
authors legal name as it appears in the Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS records.
The full name of the degree and programme must be written out. The month and year
cited on the title page are the month and year of thesis submission. The title page is
counted as page iii, however, the number is not printed.

4.4 Declaration
The declaration form must contain the authors declaration on the originality of the
thesis and must be duly signed by the author. Please refer to the format in Appendix F.
Its page is numbered with a consecutive lower-case Roman numeral.

4.5 Dedication (if any)

This section is optional. Similar format is to be used for this Dedication and
Acknowledgement sections. Please refer to Appendix G for reference. Its page is
numbered with a consecutive lower-case Roman numeral.

4.6 Acknowledgement (if any)

This is a brief acknowledgement of assistance given to the author in researching and
writing the thesis. Its page is numbered with a consecutive lower-case Roman
numeral.

17

4.7 Abstract
This is a summary of the thesis, which will state the problem, the motivation for the
work, the methods of investigation, results and the general conclusion. A sentence at
the end with the major conclusion is useful. Since abstract is normally used in an
abstracting service or search database, it should be informative and complete on its
own to be of use to others seeking material within the area of interest.
An abstract should only be one-page long. Line spacing is one and half spacing
and double-spacing between paragraphs. Typeface to be used is Times New Roman
and the font size is 12. Hyphenated words or words separated by a slash are
considered as two words. (Appendix H).

4.8 Copyright Page

Since thesis and dissertation is a form of publication all procedures relating to
copyright related laws must be adhered to. This is necessary that the work is protected
by the copyright law as well as ensuring the use of other peoples work meets legal
requirements. Students and supervisors are advised to refer to the UTP Copyright
Manual for clarification on unresolved issues relating to copyrights.
Generally, work undertaken at postgraduate level may qualify under the doctrine
of Fair-Use as the work may be classified as for educational purposes in which the
reference to other peoples work would relate to either

Based on facts obtained from published or unpublished work of the author or

other authors,

A form of criticism, analysis, quoted passages or reworded piece with proper

acknowledgement and citation placed in the text,

Illustration or data presented with proper acknowledgement to the original

source and copyright owner.
18

Written permission to reprint sections of fewer than 500 words or few tables and
figures is not required as it qualify under the doctrine of fair-use as long as proper
acknowledgement and citation to the source is clearly indicated in the text. For the use
of sections more than 500 words and extensive reproduction of the figures and other
materials, written permission from the copyright owner must be obtained and filed
with the Office of Postgraduate Studies.
Acknowledgement and citation to the original source must be indicated in the
section containing the reprinted material in one of the following form

Place the section in quotation followed by citation to the author of the original
source

Insert the phrase reprinted with permission in the caption of figures or title
of tables followed by citation to the author of the original source

Indicate the contribution in the acknowledgement section or the copyright

page.

All thesis and dissertation resulting to works undertaken in the university and
under the supervision of UTP staff is subjected to the IP policy of the university. The
university claim the IP rights of all properties created under this context and must be
properly indicated properly. The copyright page must indicate the original author,
followed by the legal name of the university and the year the material is submitted as
indicated in Appendix I.

4.9 Table of Contents

This table must include the entries for preliminary pages (copyright, abstract,
dedication, and acknowledgement, lists of tables and figures, and preface), text (main
divisions and subdivisions of the thesis), appendices, notes, references and index.
Typeface to be used is Times New Roman and the font size is 12. (The format is given
in Appendix J).
19

4.10

List of Tables

This list provides the list of table numbers, full title and page numbers. Tables must be
numbered consecutively in order of appearance in Arabic numerals (Table 1.1, 1.2,
1.3 or 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, etc). The title of the table must appear on the top section of the
table and centred. A tables is not to appear in more than one page. For the table that
requires more than one page, it must be sectioned properly with separate headers and
titles. Typeface to be used is Times New Roman and the font size is 12 (as shown in
Appendix K).

4.11

List of Figures

Figures, i.e. graphs, photographs and other illustrative material are to be listed on a
separate page. Number, title and page are to be given. Figures must be numbered in
Arabic numerals consecutively (Fig. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 or 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, etc) in order of
appearance and captioned. The title of the figure must appear at the bottom section of
the table and centred. The entire figures must appear within the margin of a page.
Illustrations that require space larger than allowed by the margin must adhere to the
guideline on the oversized material. Typeface to be used is Times New Roman and the
font size is 12. (Appendix L).

4.12

Preface

This is a brief explanatory statement of why the author came to study the subject of
the thesis. Typeface to be used is Times New Roman and the font size is 12.

20

CHAPTER 5
BODY TEXT

5.1 Contents
Body text contains the chapters of the thesis, in logical order, and should be written in
a third person voice and past tense. For example, instead of We did this study it
should be written as The purpose of this study was to. However, active voice can
be used if the message of the sentence is somehow altered or becomes ambiguous.
Even though the organisation of the text may vary slightly, the body text should
include the following items:
a.

Introduction
This section should include background of the research, definition of the
problem, brief history leading to the problem, justification for the research,
scope and key assumptions, and outline of the thesis.

b. Review of Literature

Review should contain critical evaluation and discussion of other related

researches. It should include discussions of what has been done along the line
of the problem, the issues and challenges faced by the other researchers and
the summary of the general body of knowledge.
c.

Method of Investigation
Method of investigation vary from problem to problem, thus this section
generally should describe the general framework of the problem being
addressed. It may also discuss the research methods, instrumentations and
equipments being used in the study with sufficient precision so that a skilled

21

person could set up similar work that would be able to duplicate the research
if necessary and desirable.
d. Analysis of Data and Discussion of Results

These sections should include detailed description of the results obtained,

followed by discussions, analysis, and interpretations of the data obtained.
Tables, charts and figures should be used wherever suitable to present the data
in a more concise manner and easy to understand.
e.

Conclusion
As the final section in the thesis, the conclusion should summarise the results
of the research reported in the thesis as based on the factual finding. It is a
good practise to recap the scope of work and research method, summarise the
results and findings, and recap the main contributions of the work completed.
It should not add new information that has not been presented earlier or
attempt to generalise the finding beyond the scope of the work. In many
instances, the work done may uncover many interesting and valuable allied
problems that could be considered for future research. It is thus recommended
that suggestions for future work be included for possible improvements or
new directions that may extend the current work to other related areas.

5.2 Chapters and Sections

To provide coherent presentations, the thesis must be divided into separate chapters
that contain major topic to be discussed. It is recommended that the organisation of
the chapters be discussed and agreed by the supervisor to meet the departmental
requirement.
Each chapter must begin on a new page. The chapter title must be placed at two
inches from the top centre of the new page and capitalised. If the title requires more
than one line, the lines must be double-spaced and centred with inverted pyramid
justification.

22

Each chapter is usually segmented further into separate sections and subsections
as necessary. Each section must be numbered accordingly (e.g. 2.1., 2.1.1, etc). Each
of these sections must begin with section headings.
Each chapter begins with a chapter overview and ends with a chapter summary.
The will ease the reading of the thesis.
E.g. 1.0

Chapter overview introduce the contents of the chapter.

.
1.n

Chapter summary summarize the contents of the chapter.

The objectives and contributions of the research should be clearly stated in the
first chapter. The conclusion chapter should include making references to the
objectives of research stated earlier in the thesis and suggesting recommendations for
future work.

5.2.1

Subsection Title

If your work needs to be subdivided into separate sections to provide clarity, make
sure that the subsections do not become too deep. Section depth should be limited to
maximum of three levels. Thus, prepare your outline well and your reader would find
it easy to follow your report.
In each chapter, the first level section is numbered X.X. For example, a section
that is numbered with 1.1 is the first level, 1.1.1 is the second level, and 1.1.1.1 is the
third level. The use of subsequent level subsections (e.g. 1.1.1.1.1, etc.) is not
allowed.
Each of these sections and subsections must begin with section headings as
described below.

23

5.2.1.1 First-level Heading

The first level heading should be formatted as follows. Typeface is 12 point Times
New Roman, boldface, left-aligned with no left indentation. One-and-a-half line
spacing, 36-point and 6-point top and bottom spacings, respectively.

5.2.1.2 Second-level Heading

The second level heading should be formatted as follows. Typeface is 12 point Times
New Roman, boldface, left-aligned with no left indentation. One-and-a-half line
spacing, 36-point and 6-point top and bottom spacings, respectively.

5.2.1.3 Third-level Heading

The third level heading should be formatted as follows. Typeface is 12 point Times
New Roman, italic, left-aligned with no left indentation. One-and-a-half line spacing,
36-point and 6-point top and bottom spacings, respectively.

5.3 Appendices

The pages should be numbered continuously with the rest of the text. Numbering
Appendices page A1, B1, etc. is not acceptable. Typeface to be used is Times New
Roman with the font size of 10 and 1.5 line spacing.
Each appendix must be referred to in the body of the text. Materials that are not
referred to cannot be included in the appendix. Any list of publications resulted from
the research may be included in the Appendix.

24

5.4 References

Every reference quoted or cited in the thesis must be included in the list of references
and numbered accordingly. References should be ordered alphabetically. Typeface to
be used is Times New Roman with the font size of 10 and 1.5 line spacing.
There must be a single, unified list of references in the thesis. It is not permissible
to put individual listings at the end of each chapter in lieu of full references. Refer to
your departments referencing guideline for specific requirements on the
approved/recommended referencing style.

5.5 Glossary
The pages should be numbered continuously with the rest of the text. Typeface to be
used is Times New Roman with the font size of 10 and one-and-a-half line spacing.

5.6 Footnotes
The footnotes may be numbered consecutively throughout the thesis, or throughout
each chapter. Footnotes may be placed at the foot of the page (footnotes proper), in a
group at the end of a chapter (called Notes), or grouped at the end of the thesis
before the bibliography (called Endnotes). If notes or endnotes are collected at one
place in the thesis, their location must be shown in the table of contents by title and
page. Typeface to be used is Times New Roman and the font size is 8. Single spacing
with a double spacing between entries.

5.7 Translation
When long passages of translation are necessary, use a side-by-side columnar format.
25

5.8 Page Headers

These may be used as long as there is a line across the entire page to separate the
headers from the text.

5.9 Charts, Graphs, Maps

The use of charts, graphs, maps and tables that are larger than the standard page
should be avoided. Photographically reduced pages are acceptable if they are clearly
legible. If oversized pages are used, they will be microfilmed in sections so that they
read from left to right and top to bottom.

5.10

Oversized Pages

Oversized pages can be included in the thesis as fold-outs, but they must be folded to
no more than eight inches (21.5 cm) wide to avoid being cropped in the bindery.
Oversized pages may be placed in a pocket at the end of the thesis. They must
then be referred to in the body of the thesis as being in a pocket, and listed as such in
the Table of Contents.

5.11

Overlays

Overlays must be carefully aligned with underlying maps or charts. In order to

produce the most legible image, the underlying sheet is filmed alone. The overlay is
then placed on the underlying sheet and both are filmed together.

26

5.12

Multiple-Volume Theses

For very long theses, for which more than one bound volume is required:
Each volume must have its own prefatory pages.

The Title Page, Approval Page and Abstract must be in the first volume.

Each additional volume must contain a Table of Contents, a List of Tables, and
a List of Figures, etc., that lists the portion of work found in that particular
volume.

Page numbering of the body of the thesis must flow consecutively from one
volume to the next.

When the appendices are bound in a separate volume, this volume must have a
title page duplicating that of the main volume, but with the addition of the
word Appendix or Appendices just below the title of the thesis. The word
Appendix or Appendices as well as the short title must then appear on the
spine. Numbering of the appendices must flow in sequence from the first
volume.

27

APPENDIX A
FRONT COVER

50 mm from the top

of the page

45 mm from the left margin

DISSERTATION TITLE: UP TO FOUR

LINES, IN ALL CAPS, INVERTED
PYRAMID FORMAT

45mm from the right margin

Title of Thesis
Typeface: Times New Roman
Font size: 18

Name of Candidate
Typeface: Times New Roman
Font size: 18

CANDIDATE LEGAL NAME

TITLE OF DEGREE
NAME OF DEPARTMENT
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI PETRONAS
NOVEMBER 2008
Degree awarded, Name of
University and Month & Year
of thesis submission
Typeface: Times New Roman
Font size: 18

50 mm form the
bottom of the page

APPENDIX B
SPINE OF THESIS

CANDIDATE LEGAL NAME

2008

MSc

DISSERTATION TITLE: UP TO TWO LINES, ALL

CAPS IN INVERTED PYRAMID FORMAT
spine

20 mm from the bottom of the

Degree awarded & Year of

Thesis submission
Typeface: Times New Roman
Font size: 14

If space on spine is not sufficient,

the title can be summarized (with
supervisors approval) to fit
within the available space.

Name of Candidate and Title of

Thesis
Typeface: Times New Roman
Font size: 14

20 mm from the top of the spine

APPENDIX C
STATUS OF THESIS

STATUS OF THESIS
Title of thesis
I _________________________________________________________________________
(CAPITAL LETTERS)
hereby allow my thesis to be placed at the Information Resource Center (IRC) of Universiti
Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) with the following conditions:
1. The thesis becomes the property of UTP
2. The IRC of UTP may make copies of the thesis for academic purposes only.
3. This thesis is classified as
Confidential
Non-confidential
If this thesis is confidential, please state the reason:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
The contents of the thesis will remain confidential for ___________ years.
Remarks on disclosure:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Endorsed by
________________________________
Signature of Author

__________________________
Signature of Supervisor

Permanent address:________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________

Name of Supervisor
__________________________

Date : _____________________

Date : __________________

APPENDIX D
APPROVAL PAGE

(This page must have a 2 inch top margin.)

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI PETRONAS

DISSERTATION TITLE: UP TO FOUR LINES, IN ALL CAPS, INVERTED
PYRAMID FORMAT.
by
CANDIDATE LEGAL NAME
The undersigned certify that they have read, and recommend to the Postgraduate
Studies Programme for acceptance this thesis for the fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree stated.

Signature:

_______________________________________

Main Supervisor:

_______________________________________

Signature:

_______________________________________

Co-Supervisor:

_______________________________________

Signature:

_______________________________________

Head of Department:

_______________________________________

Date:

_______________________________________

APPENDIX E
TITLE PAGE

(This page must have a 2 inch top margin.)

DISSERTATION TITLE: UP TO FOUR LINES, IN ALL CAPS, INVERTED

PYRAMID FORMAT

by

CANDIDATE LEGAL NAME

A Thesis
Submitted to the Postgraduate Studies Programme
as a Requirement for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY or MASTER OF SCIENCE

NAME OF DEPARTMENT
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI PETRONAS
BANDAR SERI ISKANDAR,
PERAK

MONTH YEAR

APPENDIX F
DECLARATION PAGE

DECLARATION OF THESIS
Title of thesis
I _________________________________________________________________________
(CAPITAL LETTERS)
hereby declare that the thesis is based on my original work except for quotations and citations
which have been duly acknowledged. I also declare that it has not been previously or
concurrently submitted for any other degree at UTP or other institutions.
Witnessed by
________________________________
Signature of Author

__________________________
Signature of Supervisor

Permanent address:________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________

Name of Supervisor
__________________________

Date : _____________________

Date : __________________

APPENDIX G
DEDICATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

(This page must have a 2 inch top margin.)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgement normally contains text to list and describe the assistance

provided by various parties in preparing the thesis and the work undertaken.
Dedication normally describes the person(s) to whom the author dedicates the work
and writing.
Please continue to use 12-point font size, regular font style and Times New
Roman font and no Effects boxes are checked. Under Format, this sections Paragraph
settings are alignment set to justified, outline level set to Body Text, indentation set to
0 for both left and right, Spacing set to 12 pt for before and 0 point after, and line
spacing set to 1.5.

APPENDIX H
ABSTRACT

(This page must have a 2 inch top margin.)

ABSTRACT
This is a summary of the thesis, which will state the problem, the motivation for
the work, the methods of investigation, results and the general conclusion. A sentence
at the end with the major conclusion is useful. Since abstract is normally used in an
abstracting service or search database, it should be informative and complete on its
own to be of use to others seeking material within the area of interest.
An abstract should be limited to maximum of 350 words. Line spacing is one and
half spacing and double-spacing between paragraphs. Typeface to be used is Times
New Roman and the font size is 12. Hyphenated words or words separated by a slash
are considered as two words.

APPENDIX I
COPYRIGHT PAGE

(This page must have a 2 inch top margin.)

In compliance with the terms of the Copyright Act 1987 and the IP Policy of the
university, the copyright of this thesis has been reassigned by the author to the legal
entity of the university,
Institute of Technology PETRONAS Sdn Bhd.
Due acknowledgement shall always be made of the use of any material contained
in, or derived from, this thesis.

Name of candidate, Year of Thesis submission

Institute of Technology PETRONAS Sdn Bhd
All rights reserved.