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Graduate Thesis Style Guide: MFA in Creative Writing

Introduction to Formatting

Master’s Theses, Capstone Projects, and Culminating Projects

Because a manuscript or project is usually an objective, unbiased investigation based upon the author's scholarly work, it should be written in a formal scholarly manner appropriate to academic publications.  It is important to be consistent in matters of style, punctuation, headings, the use of capitalization, and the placement of figures and tables and their corresponding captions. The presentation of data should be clear and clutter-free, utilizing a legible font and size.

IMPORTANT! The Guidelines take precedence over other style guides or department handbooks and example theses provided to you by your instructor. If there seems to be a serious conflict, check with the Library and have your manuscript advisors do the same.

Manuscript front matter, margin, pagination, and document structure requirements are specified throughout this guide, and must be observed as stated, no matter what other guidelines dictate. Remaining format issues are governed by standard publication manuals and/or standards of publication in your discipline.

Required Order of Manuscript Pages

 
Page Page Number Page Notes
Title Page i Required. (Page number is not visible)
Copyright Statement ii Required.
Abstract iii Required.  (Less than one page)
Acknowledgements iv Optional. (Less than one page)
Table of Contents v Required.
The Body of Your Thesis 1 Required. 

Formatting of Your Manuscript

Page Size and Margins

  • The entire document is letter sized (8.5" x 11")
  • Portrait orientation
  • 1-inch margin on all sides (top, bottom, right, and left)
Pro Tip: If you have a large Table or Figure that needs more space you can change the page orientation for that Table or Figure into landscape orientation.

Type Style

  • Choose a font that is clear and business-like; avoid unusual or difficult to read fonts.  We recommend using standard fonts like Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial.
  • Use 12 point font size. 

Line Spacing

  • Use double-spacing throughout your manuscript.
  • Blockquotes and bibliographies may be single-spaced

Page Numbers

  • Page numbers appear at the top right corner of each page

Running Heads

  • Do not use running heads in the final version of your manuscript

Paragraphs

  • Left aligned
  • Indent the first line of each paragraph 0.5”
  • When dividing paragraphs across pages, at least two lines of text should appear at the bottom of the page and at least two lines of text on the next page.

Headings

Major Headings
  • Sections starting with a Major heading (Heading 1) should begin on a new page. Do not place a major heading in the middle of the page.
Subheadings
  • Subheadings within a chapter do not begin on a new page unless the preceding page is filled. 
  • Subheadings at the bottom of a page require at least two lines of text following the heading, otherwise the heading should be pushed to the next page.

Special Formatting

  • Title is bold-faced
  • Text is centered on the page

Additional Information

The title page has 3 sections:

  1. The title, byline, and author name: 
    • appears at the top of the page and has 3 lines (1st line) Title (2nd line) by (3rd line) author name(s)
  2. Fulfillment statement: 
    • centered vertically and horizontally on the page 
    • Use the following statement:
      A culminating [thesis or capstone project] submitted to the faculty of Dominican University of California in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of [degree name] in [major]
  3. Location and graduation date: 
    • has 3 lines (NOTE: do not include the numbers):
    1. Dominican University of California
    2. San Rafael, CA
    3. Your graduation year (e.g. 2022)

Tutorial

Google Docs
MS Word

You automatically own the copyright to your work and no one may legally copy any part of it without your permission.   You also may choose to use a Creative Commons copyright to give readers more flexibility with what they can do with your manuscript or sections of your manuscript.  If you have questions about copyright options please contact The Scholarly Communications Librarian

Special Formatting

  • The copyright statement appears centered and at the top of the page

Additional Information

  • Use the following statement, replacing the brackets with the appropriate information
    Copyright © [author's name] [year of publication]. All rights reserved.

Abstract

The Abstract states the purpose, design, and results of the research or a description of your project;

Acknowledgements

An acknowledgments page includes a short paragraph acknowledging those people who helped and supported you through the manuscript process. People have included instructors, advisors, parents, siblings, significant others, pets, etc.

Length of Abstract and Acknowledgements Pages

Both the Abstract and Acknowledgments are double-spacedd and should be short and concise and not to exceed 1 page.

Your manuscript must include a Table of Contents listing all major headings that appear including the Abstract, Acknowledgements, List of Tables, and List of Figures.

Page numbers listed in the table of contents correspond with the material presented in your manuscript. If you are asked to make revisions within your manuscript, make sure to check that the page numbers listed in the Table of Contents, List of Tables, and List of Figures are still correct.  Any headings, subheadings, or captions listed in the front matter must match exactly with those that appear within the manuscript.

Tutorials

Google Docs

MS Word