ma thesis format

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Department of English and Comparative Literature

M.A. Thesis Guidelines

The Thesis is optional in the M.A program. In other words, graduate students in the M.A. program are not required to write a thesis. You may therefore take your entire 30 units in course work and pass the comprehensive exam (Plan B). Alternatively, if you have a strong record and submit a strong proposal, you may be permitted to write a six-unit thesis as part of your 30-unit program (Plan A). 

Students planning to write a thesis should take note of the guidelines and plan ahead accordingly. In order to write a thesis, you need to do the following:

First, speak with a faculty member with expertise in the area in which you plan to write your thesis. If he or she agrees to direct your project, then write a thesis proposal with that faculty member's guidance. You will also need two additional faculty members to serve as readers on your thesis committee. When your project director is fully satisfied with your proposal, submit it to the Graduate Advisor along with a cover sheet signed by your thesis committee. Do this as early as possible in the semester prior to the semester you intend to enroll in English 299.

Ideally, you should do your preliminary research over the summer to identify your area/topic of interest so that you can discuss this with potential advisors/readers early in the fall semester in order to form your thesis committee and prepare your proposal for formal submission (usually by November 1). The proposal must be approved by the Graduate Committee. Approval is usually granted only to students who have achieved high grades in their graduate course work and who submit strong proposals.

If your proposal is approved, use the winter break to work on your thesis. In Spring, plan to submit your draft to your thesis director by February 1 and a revised draft to your 2nd and 3rd readers by April 1 to allow sufficient time for feedback and revision.  Follow the latest MLA Handbook as Graduate Studies will expect your thesis to be accurately and consistently formatted.  

Planning ahead and following the guidelines and timeline is critical to ensuring your thesis is of high quality and you are able to finish in time for May graduation.

You can find a sample proposal here. Sample MA Thesis Proposal  [pdf]

The Proposal

The proposal should have a coversheet [pdf] . The proposal itself should

• explain clearly what you want to write about and why your topic is important
• describe any previous work you've done in the field
• note what scholarly work has already been done on the topic and explain how your work will revise or augment this
• present a short, tentative outline indicating your main point and how you plan to demonstrate it
• include a brief, annotated bibliography of primary and secondary sources relevant to your topic, along with a non-annotated bibliography of works you expect to examine as you progress
• must follow the MLA format
• should be about 6 to 10 pages long, plus coversheet

The Graduate Committee understands that you can't know precisely what your argument will be until you have completed it. A proposal is simply a clear explanation of what you expect to achieve. In deciding which thesis proposals will be approved, the committee will look carefully at the quality of the writing in the proposal. This should be in every respect professional: clear, accurate, properly documented, etc.

When your project director is entirely satisfied with your proposal, bring it to the Graduate Advisor. When the advisor has also approved it, give the advisor ten copies of the proposal to be distributed to the Graduate Committee. Do this as early as possible in the semester prior to the semester you intend to enroll in English 299. (The committee will not consider proposals submitted in the last four weeks of the semester.) Remember, your proposal must be approved by the Graduate Committee, and approval will be granted only to students who have achieved high grades in their graduate course work and who submit strong proposals.

Writing the Thesis

After your proposal is approved, enroll for six units of English 299. You may take six units in one semester, or three units in each of two semesters. You will receive a Satisfactory Progress grade until you have completed the thesis; then your director will change the grade to Credit. If you fail to complete the thesis within two years, you must formally request an extension. Otherwise the grade will revert to No Credit and you will need to enroll in 299 again.

Consult frequently with your thesis director and show him or her drafts of your work as you proceed chapter by chapter or section by section. When your director decides the thesis is presentable, show your work to the second and third readers. Be sure to follow posted deadlines for consultation with readers and that you understand readers' comments before you complete a final draft.

Submit the Thesis

See Graduate Studies' General Instructions for Master's Theses and follow its required format scrupulously. Check posted deadlines for submission of theses to the Graduate Studies Office.

When your thesis has been signed by all readers, remind your director to submit the necessary form to change your 299 units to Credit.

Forms & Worksheets

Thesis Proposal Coversheet [pdf]

Completed MA Theses

Available in King Library (some in electronic form available to SJSU students only).

Master's Thesis Formatting Standards

Template To simplify the process of formatting your master's thesis, we provide you this preformatted template that conforms to many of the specifications outlined below. When you download this template, it will open an untitled Word document that you can use to write your master's thesis. Be aware that copying and pasting text from other locations can bring in formatting along with the text. It is best to use the text-only function if pasting is necessary or to copy and paste material into Notepad or TextEdit before copying and pasting into Word. While this template is designed to assist you with formatting your thesis, you are ultimately responsible for ensuring the conformity of your work to these formatting standards. General Formatting For general formatting requirements (e.g., typeface, font size, spacing, references, etc.), consult the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (henceforth, APA). What follows are institutional guidelines that clarify, specify, or amend the formatting guidelines in the APA manual.

Page Layout and Spacing Pages should be 8 ½ by 11 inches. Margins at the top and bottom must be 1”. The left and right margins must be 1.5” to allow for binding (this allows for binding double-sided pages). 

While former editions of APA allowed for double spacing between sentences, the latest edition of APA has abandoned this practice (6.1 Spacing After Punctuation Marks, p. 154) and a single space after punctuation marks at the end of sentences should appear in all drafts of a master's thesis. Page Numbering Center all page numbers below the bottom margin, 0.7 inch from the bottom of the page. The number stands alone without “page” or any phrase or punctuation. Every page in your paper except the Copyright page will be counted in page numbering, however, not every page will show a number. The title page counts as the first preliminary page, but it does not display a number. Preliminary pages are numbered with lower case Roman numerals (e.g. i, ii, iii, iv). The first page of the body of the text uses Arabic numerals and restarts the numbering. See the chart in the section below for more specific details about page numbering. Arrangement The chart below shows (1) the proper order pages and sections, (2) whether these pages/sections are required, (3) whether they are counted in the page count, and (4) whether the page number should appear or not and with what kind of numeral.

Copyright Page Students must agree to the Copyright License when submitting their final draft to Proquest Dissertation and Theses. Since the thesis is submitted in satisfaction of a part of Master’s degree and the act of depositing these materials in the College Archives indicates a willingness by student authors to share their work with the Rhodes community and with the general public, the College Archivist will permit public access to it. Signing this form does not prevent you from further publication of your work. The copyright page should include the word “Copyright,” followed by the copyright symbol ©, followed by the anticipated year of graduation, followed by the author’s full legal name (no initials). Below this line, the copyright notice should appear single-spaced and read, “All rights reserved. Rhodes College has been granted permission to copy, publish, post and or disseminate this document in any form by any means at the sole discretion of the College, including without limitation, for purposes of preservation or instruction.” Title Page The top of the first line of the title appears 2 inches from the top of the page. APA recommends titles be "focused and succinct." See further guidelines at 2.4 Title (pp. 31-32). If multiple lines are used, arrange the lines in inverted pyramid form (that is, each line shorter than the one above it). If the title contains both a main title and a subtitle, then the main title may appear on a separate line or lines from the subtitle, even if this means not using the inverted pyramid form.   The following items of information should be evenly spread out over the remainder of the title page:

2. Name as it appears in official College records

3. Educational Studies

Rhodes College

Memphis, Tennessee

4. Year of Graduation

5. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the Master of Arts in Urban Education

Committee Approval Page The words “Committee Approval” (in Title Case) appears centered 2 inches from the top of the page. On the second single-spaced line below the heading, type your thesis title as it appears on the title page. On the fourth single-spaced line below your title, print your full name (do not include the word “by”). On the fourth single-spaced line below your name, include “Read and approved by:” left justified. On the fourth single-spaced line below this, include a 3.5-inch solid line, indented 0.7 inch. On the next single-spaced line indent 0.7 inch and type the title and formal name of the of your thesis committee followed by the parentheses “(Chair)”. On the fourth single-spaced line below the name of the chair or faculty supervisor, include another 3.5-inch solid line, indented 0.7 inch. On the next single-spaced line indent 0.7 inch and type the title and formal name of the second reader of your thesis committee (no parenthetical designation follows this name). Repeat the previous instructions for the third member of your committee. On the fourth line below the name of the last reader, type the word “Date” left justified followed by a 2.5-inch solid line. Consult the College’s website for the formal name of the members of your thesis committee and include the highest earned degree after the formal name.

If one of your committee members does not have a professional title (i.e. Dr.), use either Mx., Ms., Mr., or an alternative title of their choosing. Abstract The abstract, a brief summary of your work, should be 150-250 words and double-spaced. For advice about crafting your abstract, consult APA 2.9 Abstract (p. 38). The word “Abstract” appears centered 2 inches from the top of the page. On the second single-spaced line below the heading, type your thesis title as it appears on the title page. On the fourth single-spaced line below your title, print your full name (do not include the word “by”). On the fourth single-spaced line below your name, begin your thesis abstract. Table of Contents The heading “Table of Contents” (in Title Case) appears 2 inches from the top of the page. On the third line below the heading, the table of contents (TOC) should appear. Use double-spacing for the contents of the table that follow.  The entries correspond to all headings, either of pages or body sections) that follow the TOC. If the heading is too long for one line, subdivide the entry and single-space. First-level entries should appear left-justified with no indentation. Each deeper level in the TOC should indent 0.25 inches (e.g., level 2 is indented 0.25 inch, level 3 is indented 0.5 inch). Include all levels of headings (e.g., second-level, third-level, etc.) unless doing so would lengthen the table to more than two pages. In such cases, limit the table of contents to first- and second-level headings or to first-level headings, whatever produces a sufficiently detailed table without excessive length. Leaders from an entry to its page number should be arranged using periods (not dashes, solid lines, or other characters). Page numbers are justified to the right margin; the last number of each page reference should line up vertically.  Manually break long, multi-line entries in the table to allow at least half an inch of space between any portion of the text of the entry and the page number. Each page in the TOC is numbered with lower case Roman numerals centered at the bottom of each page beginning with iv (pages i-iii are the three previous pages which are counted but not numbered). List in Preliminary Pages The style guidelines for a list of tables or figures follow the same style guidelines for the Table of Contents (above). Choose the title (e.g., “List of Tables”) that best describes the type of data display you are documenting. Ideally, you would have no more than two lists, one of tables and one of figures. However, use the categories and the number of lists that make the most sense for your particular project. For all other formatting related guidelines, see APA chapter 7 Tables and Figures (pp. 195-250). Acknowledgments The acknowledgments section is a place to acknowledge the influence, assistance, or support of individuals or organizations throughout the course of your education and/or particularly during the course of your thesis work. As a place for personal reflection, it should not include any argumentation of or discussion about your thesis. The heading “Preface” appears 2 inches from the top of the page. The preface begins on the fourth line below the heading.  Main Text Follow the general guidelines for formatting the body of text according to the instructions in APA, particularly those instructions in chapter 2, Paper Elements and Format (pp. 29-67). While APA discourages a first-level "Introduction" heading at the head of the body of your main text, such a heading is actually useful for the table of contents (especially one with hyperlinks for ease of navigation, like our template produces). You can disregard APA's instructions here. Alternatively, you could use a different label than the word "Introduction" as the initial heading of your paper. Footnotes appear infrequently in APA style. If footnotes are necessary, consult section 2.13 Footnotes (pp. 40-41). Begin using Arabic numerals for the pagination of the body of text, beginning with 1. Continue this sequence of Arabic numbering through the remainder of the paper, including appendices and references. Appendices The heading “Appendix” appears 2 inches from the top of the page. The preface begins on the fourth line below the heading. For all other formatting-related matters, consult APA 2.14 Appendices and  2.15 Supplemental Materials (pp. 41-43). References The references section contains every work cited in the thesis and only those works that are cited. The heading “References” appears 2 inches from the top of the page. The preface begins on the fourth line below the heading. Use a 0.5-inch hanging indent for entries. For all other formatting-related matters, consult APA 2.12 References (pp. 39-40) and chapters 9 and 10.

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• Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates

Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates

Published on June 7, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on November 21, 2023.

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical early steps in your writing process . It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding the specifics of your dissertation topic and showcasing its relevance to your field.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation , such as:

• Your anticipated title
• Your abstract
• Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review, research methods, avenues for future research, etc.)

In the final product, you can also provide a chapter outline for your readers. This is a short paragraph at the end of your introduction to inform readers about the organizational structure of your thesis or dissertation. This chapter outline is also known as a reading guide or summary outline.

Table of contents

How to outline your thesis or dissertation, dissertation and thesis outline templates, chapter outline example, sample sentences for your chapter outline, sample verbs for variation in your chapter outline, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis and dissertation outlines.

While there are some inter-institutional differences, many outlines proceed in a fairly similar fashion.

• Working Title
• “Elevator pitch” of your work (often written last).
• Introduce your area of study, sharing details about your research question, problem statement , and hypotheses . Situate your research within an existing paradigm or conceptual or theoretical framework .
• Subdivide as you see fit into main topics and sub-topics.
• Describe your research methods (e.g., your scope , population , and data collection ).
• Present your research findings and share about your data analysis methods.
• Answer the research question in a concise way.
• Interpret your findings, discuss potential limitations of your own research and speculate about future implications or related opportunities.

For a more detailed overview of chapters and other elements, be sure to check out our article on the structure of a dissertation or download our template .

To help you get started, we’ve created a full thesis or dissertation template in Word or Google Docs format. It’s easy adapt it to your own requirements.

 Download Word template    Download Google Docs template

It can be easy to fall into a pattern of overusing the same words or sentence constructions, which can make your work monotonous and repetitive for your readers. Consider utilizing some of the alternative constructions presented below.

Example 1: Passive construction

The passive voice is a common choice for outlines and overviews because the context makes it clear who is carrying out the action (e.g., you are conducting the research ). However, overuse of the passive voice can make your text vague and imprecise.

Example 2: IS-AV construction

You can also present your information using the “IS-AV” (inanimate subject with an active verb ) construction.

A chapter is an inanimate object, so it is not capable of taking an action itself (e.g., presenting or discussing). However, the meaning of the sentence is still easily understandable, so the IS-AV construction can be a good way to add variety to your text.

Example 3: The “I” construction

Another option is to use the “I” construction, which is often recommended by style manuals (e.g., APA Style and Chicago style ). However, depending on your field of study, this construction is not always considered professional or academic. Ask your supervisor if you’re not sure.

Example 4: Mix-and-match

To truly make the most of these options, consider mixing and matching the passive voice , IS-AV construction , and “I” construction .This can help the flow of your argument and improve the readability of your text.

As you draft the chapter outline, you may also find yourself frequently repeating the same words, such as “discuss,” “present,” “prove,” or “show.” Consider branching out to add richness and nuance to your writing. Here are some examples of synonyms you can use.

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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When you mention different chapters within your text, it’s considered best to use Roman numerals for most citation styles. However, the most important thing here is to remain consistent whenever using numbers in your dissertation .

The title page of your thesis or dissertation goes first, before all other content or lists that you may choose to include.

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

• Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review , research methods , avenues for future research, etc.)

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