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Senior Thesis Style Guide: History, Politics, & International Studies

Introduction to Formatting

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.

 

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, usage, and punctuation.  Consistency with the style, punctuation, headings, the use of capitalization, and the placement of figures and tables and their corresponding captions should be observed. The presentation of data should be clear and clutter-free, utilizing a legible font and size.

Need Help?

If you have any questions about Word or Google Docs contact us at dominican.scholar@dominican.edu or Make an appointment with the Scholarly Communications Librarian 

Word Processing Applications

Google Docs

Available to all students via their University Gmail account, Google Docs is an excellent word processing tool, especially if working on group projects. Google Docs does have some limitations and is not as comprehensive as Word in its capabilities, especially in formatting for accessibility.

Microsoft Word

All students have access to Microsoft Word (along with the complete Office suite) through Office 365 in the Okta dashboard.

Word is a robust application that, like Google Docs, allows for shared documents and shared editing.  With Word you can do all the formatting needed for your manuscript and  the Library has created an ever growing suite of tutorials that specifically address formatting requirements.

Apple Pages

Also an excellent word processing application, but the Library does not support Pages and cannot advise you regarding the formatting of your manuscript using Pages.

Required Order of Thesis Pages

Table 1 Required order of pages in your thesis
Page Page Number Page Notes
Title Page 1 Required. Page number is not visible
Copyright Statement 2 Required.
Abstract 3 Required. 250 - 300 words. One page.
Acknowledgements 4 Optional.
Table of Contents 5 Required.
List of Tables 6 Required if any table appear in your paper
List of Figures 7 Required if an images appear in your paper
List of Abbreviations 8 Optional.
The Body of your paper numbers continue from previous section Required. The main content of your manuscript
Bibliography numbers continue from previous section Required. Well formatted citations
Appendices numbers continue from previous section Optional. Appendix titles appear in your Table of Contents

 

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 are single-spaced

Page Numbers

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

Tutorial

Step by Step: Basic Set Up of Your Paper in Google Docs 

This tutorial covers the basic set up for your senior thesis:

  • Page orientation and Size
  • Type Style
  • Line Spacing
  • Page Numbers

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.
Block quotes
  • For quotations longer than 40 words (APA) or 4 lines of text (Chicago)
  • inset 0.5” from the left and right margin
  • The In-text citation follows the last punctuation mark of the paragraph

Step by Step: Creating a Block quote in Google Docs

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.

Tutorial

Step by Step: Using Heading Styles in Google Docs

Tables and Figures

  • Figures may not appear on the title page or other introductory pages.
  • Diagrams, drawings, graphs, charts, maps, photographs, or any other type of illustrations should be referred to in the manuscript as a figure.
  • Tables and figures must be referenced in your text.
  • Tables and figures should follow their first reference in the text within a page or two at the most.
  • If more clarity is provided by placing tables and figures in an appendix, this style is also acceptable. In this case, they should appear after the References.
  • Figures should use word wrapping that is inline with the text.
  • Figures should include Alt Text
  • All tables and figures must conform to the margin requirements. Images can be resized to meet the margin requirements OR for large tables and figures the page may be landscape orientation.
  • All tables and figures, even if there is only one, must be listed in a List of Tables and/or a List of Figures immediately after the Table of Contents.
  • Do not use screenshots of tables from other sources in your work. If you have an image of a table from another source, recreate the table in your word processor.
Captions and Numbering
  • All tables and figures in your paper must include a proper caption located either above or below the table or figure. Be consistent in placement
  • Tables and figures should be numbered and ordered sequentially as they appear in your paper
  • Table and figures in appendices should be captioned and continue the numbering sequence used in the text
  • All tables and figures should be listed in a List of Tables and a List of Figures located after the Table of Contents
  • The Lists of Tables and Figures should include a Table/Figure number along with descriptive text (usually a portion of the caption)
Large Tables and Figures
  • Large tables or figures can be placed on the page in landscape orientation
  • The top and bottom margins should be the same as on a regular page

Step by Step: Flipping a page into landscape orientation in the middle of your document

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 Senior Thesis 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

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
  • The abstract states the purpose, design, and results of the research or a description of your project;
  • written concisely, usually no more than 350 words
  • not to exceed 1 page.

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.

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.

Tutorial

Step by Step: Apply Heading Styles in Google Docs

Step by Step: Insert a Table of Contents in Google Docs

  • If you have any tables in your manuscript you must include a List of Tables on it's own page after the Table of Contents
  • The List of Tables includes each table (even if there is only one) listed sequentially as they appear in your paper
  • Each item in the List includes the table number and a short description (usually the whole or a portion of the table caption) and the page number on which the table appears.

Tutorial

Step by Step: Creating a List of Figures or List of Tables

Additional Information

  • The List of Figures includes each figure (even if there is only one) listed sequentially as they appear in your paper.
  • Each item in the List of Figures includes the figure number and a short description (usually the whole or a portion of the table caption) and the page number on which it appears.

Tutorial

Step by Step: Creating a List of Figures or List of Tables

The body of your thesis is the main portion of your manuscript. Follow the general formatting as described below.

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.

  • The References, Works Cited, or Bibliography heading is a major heading and the formatting should be the same as other major headings in the manuscript
  • Use most appropriate citation style for your discipline (APA, Chicago, or MLA). Include hanging indents if that is indicated for your style
  • If you are using a citation tool, such as RefWorks, it is the author's responsibility to make sure that citations are correct including fixing typos and capitalization when needed.

Online Tools

  • An appendix should be introduced with a cover page bearing only the title of the appendix centered and 1" from the top of the page. 
  • The content of the appendix begins on the next page with the standard margins.
  • Table and figures in appendices should be captioned and continue the numbering sequence used in the text