WU Style guide (Draft 2023 ed.)

Preface

This style guide contains all the information normally provided in an academic style guide. The 1993 version of this guide was already quite modern, and it was re-written in 2018 and revised through to 2021. A new Indonesian version was written in 2023, and a major English revision in the same year. This revision is so extensive that it is a new edition. It still follows Harvard rules for bibliographies but uses Vancouver layout for references.

At first, the purpose of this style guide was to provide a modern system for students where most local systems were by comparison old-fashioned. Later, the purpose was to provide a modern style guide that was free of external copyright restrictions so that it could be distributed and updated freely.

Although this style guide is adequate for all normal needs, it is impossible to anticipate all eventualities in academic writing; writers will always face sources for which there is no referencing procedure. Publishers don't always follow the same rules, and publishing standards continue to evolve. If students need help for an unusual problem, some very good help is available online.

Besides, writers now face a plethora of style guides although none of them is perfect or exhaustive, and most are very similar. Zotero now lists about 7,000 style guides, and many publishers create their own, for a range of different reasons. US universities use different style guides for different disciplines, and undergraduates and graduates often use different guides for the same discipline.

From Harvard to Vancouver

You might notice the change from Harvard to Vancouver references. The purpose of the change was to make it easier for students to learn the system and consistently be correct. It is also consistent with the evolution of sytems as described above.

Put simply, the basic Harvard layout allowed for two different forms, depending on whether it was placed in a sentence or after a sentence. The first comparison shows the two kinds of Harvard references, with the differences highlighted in bold red:
(Smith, 1988, p. 54.)
(Smith, 1988, p. 54).

The Vancouver system used a little less punctuation and has only one form, which does not differ depending on where a reference is placed. The second comparison shows the two Harvard references and the Vancouver reference, again with the differences highlighted in bold red:
(Smith, 1988, p. 54.)
(Smith, 1988, p. 54).
(Smith 1988, p. 54)

An awkward difficulty

The bibliographic entry for a work with multiple authors poses problems in some style guides. When names are separated only with commas, it is sometimes difficult to see where one name begins and another starts, especially when the same name could be either a surname or a first name, and when some names were reversed and some were not. The solution here is to separate them with semicolons.

Multiple publishers

Some modernizations have not been helpful. If two publishers publish a work jointly or simultaneously, the older practice was to place parentheses around each set of publication details, which separated them very clearly. Consequently, the older standard has been retained. (The current practice is to separate them with only a semicolon, which is much less clear.)

Contrast these fictitious examples, one with parentheses and one without:

Whitelaw, E.R. 1996. Contrasts in Russian Perspective. (Ithaca, N.Y.: Andreas Press) (London: Sceptre Publishing).

Whitelaw, E.R. 1996. Contrasts in Russian Perspective. Ithaca, N.Y.: Andreas Press; London: Sceptre Publishing.

The evolution of style guides

Guides have been modernized greatly in the last fifty years, and the main changes are as follows:

1. The Introduction is now always chapter 1, and prefatory comments are now kept to the preface.
2. References are placed in text.
3. The use of Latin terms is now minimal.
4. The references and bibliography use less punctuation.
5. The use of Roman numerals is now minimal.
6. Systems are more flexible, but usually more consistent.
7. Italics must be used and underlining is not permitted. (In a publisher's manuscript, underlining indicated italics because manual typewriters had no italics).
8. Manual typewriters could not use bold face. (In a publisher's manuscript, the editor marked boldface in the manuscript). Bold face is now used in some headings.
9. Only one space is now placed between sentences in the same paragraph. Two contiguous spaces now never occurs. (It was two spaces in the days of manual typewriters).
10. The bibliographic entry for journal articles now often includes a number for a Digital Object Identifier (DOI).
11. Justification is going through a transition. The old view (unjustified without hyphenation) is still completely acceptable, but automatic hyphenation in word processors offered new possibilities that were once only available in typesetting. Consequently, the rule is more often:
• Permitted and preferred: Justified with hyphenation
• Permitted: Unjustified without hyphenation
• Permitted: Unjustified with hyphenation
• Not permitted: Justified without hyphenation. (This can leave large gaps between words.)
12. Replace capital letters with lowercase letters where possible. Use lower case for the the main title and for chapter titles, capitalizing only the first letter and the main words that are not prepositions or particles.
13. Theses and dissertations still use Chapter One or Chapter 1 for chapter numbers. However, academic publishers now often use only the numeral, for example, 1.
14. The left-hand side margin was once always 4 cm (1.5") to allow for binding. However, 3 cm is now often permissible because documents are circulated as pdf files, and not bound as paper books.
15. The next change might be a transition from double-spacing to single spacing. Double-spacing is no longer useful because comments are no longer written between the lines. (It was based on publishers' requirements for a submitted manuscript, but most publishers now accept only soft copies.)

Generally speaking, the layout of theses and dissertations has followed the changes in academic publishing, and is often quite similar to the requirements for a manuscript being presented to a publisher. Academic institutions have been conservative, while publishers have been more progressive. In particular, referencing systems have changed for the following reasons:

• Footnotes were difficult. They were difficult to type on a manual typewriter, and publishers found them expensive to produce in typesetting. Early word processors could not produce them. Footnotes are still used, but are less common in most fields and are not used for references.
• Fewer people understood the more obscure Latin footnotes such as idem, infra, supra, and passim. Most modern readers probably don't know the difference between op. cit. and loc. cit.
• Writers wanted to be able to move blocks of text without revising all footnotes. Older systems were difficult because the order of references determined what was to be included in them. For example, in the Latin footnote system, ibid. (short for ibidem) referred to the same place in the same source as the previous footnote. Op. cit. and loc. cit. also depended on previous references. With in-text references, it is now easy to move blocks of text.
• Some older systems had some unfortunate redundancies. The first reference to any work included full publication details in a footnote, and later references to the same work were abbreviated in footnotes. The same information would also be given in the bibliography. In more modern systems, that information is given only once, in the bibliography.
• Older systems also had some unfortunate inconsistencies. In one system, the layout of publication details in footnotes was different from the layout of the same information in the bibliography. In another system, in-text references were set out differently from those at the end of an extended quotation.

Some Latin terms are still in use. Some have become common in English and no longer need italics; their Latin source is no more than an etymological curiosity. Others remain because no better replacement has been created. Examples include:

• cf. from confer, meaning ‘compare.’
• i.e. from id est ‘that is.’
• e.g. from exempli gratia ‘for example.’
• etc. from et cetera ‘and other similar things.’
• et al. from et alia ‘and the others’ used to refer to other writers when items have multiple authors.
• sic ‘thus’ indicating the correct transcription of an error in the original.
• s.v. from sub verbo ‘under the word’ used to refer to items in alphabetical order in dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Technology has also brought about changes. Previous systems were designed for manual typewriters and paper, while modern systems are largely automated and generally apply to word processing and electronic documents:

1. Word processor templates and styles do most of the work of formatting text.
2. Programs like Zotero and Endnote store and then format references and bibliography.
3. Software can generate graphs and diagrams.
4. Students tend to submit written works as pdf files instead of paper. Then, after graduation, theses and dissertations are circulated as pdf files, not as bound paper books.

Quoting and referencing

All work that is not yours should be referenced in the text and its source listed in the bibliography.

The main reasons for referencing are to respect the work of others, thus preventing plagiarism, and to inform the assessor which is your work and which is the work of others. If you paraphrase the work of others but do not quote it, you must provide references, because you are using their intellectual contribution.

Referencing has several main principles:

• References for written sources must be full enough for someone else to locate the document to check what you said.
• References for non-written sources provide as full as possible accountability.

Check that you have everything referenced, the wording and the layout of the references is consistent, and that all sources are included in the bibliography.

Quoting

Quotations are laid out differently depending on their length:

• Short quotes (up to four lines) use quotation marks and are inserted into the double-spaced text of the paragraph with in-text references.
• Long quotes (more than four lines or more than 100 words) must be single-spaced and indented 1 cm from the left.

In-text referencing

The Vancouver in-text referencing system is only one of many, but its main advantages are:

• It maintains all standards of accuracy and accountability.
• The procedure is very easy to memorize and use.
• You can move sections around without having to change the references.
• You only give the full publication details once, in the bibliography.

If it has a drawback, it is only that readers do not have full bibliographic details of a source on the same page as the text that refers to it. The bibliography is placed at the end of the work.

In-text basics

The basic reference pattern for a source comprises four main elements: the name of the author, the year of publication, the page number, and parentheses:
    (Smith 1988, p. 54)
    (Jones 2001, p. 47)

Multiple pages:
    (Smith 2001, pp. 22, 45)
    (Jones 2001, pp. 47-53)

Several ranges of pages:
    (Jones 2001, pp. 47-53, 65-69)

Notes:
  • Use p. for individual pages.
  • Use pp. for multiple pages.
  • As with any range of numbers, you may use a hyphen: 211-224. (Some style guides require an n-dash [–]).

This basic pattern is primarily suited to books and journals, but it is so flexible that allows for a huge number of variations and combinations. It also works for:

• dictionaries and encyclopaedias
• unpublished literature
• interviews
• correspondence
• internet sources.

In-text reference variations

This basic pattern has many variations for different contexts and uses.

Included in sentence

If you include the reference in a sentence, do not capitalise the first word (unless it is a proper noun) and omit the full stop (period). For example:

Perhaps birth practices reflect patterns of family solidarity (see McDonald 1995, p. 187), but several analysts have suggested that …

If you include the reference at the end of a sentence, or after the sentence, so you may choose either:

• place the reference inside the sentence. Do not to capitalise the first word (unless it is a proper noun), and place the full stop (period) outside the parentheses, or,
• place the reference after the sentence. Place the full stop (period) before the opening the parentheses, and capitalise the first word.

For example, both the following are correct, with the differences highlighted in red:

Some observations indicate that the meeting outline follows a well-established cultural pattern (see Robinson 1999, p. 211).

Some observations indicate that the meeting outline follows a well-established cultural pattern. (See Robinson 1999, p. 211)

More than one mention in a paragraph

If you mention an author more than once in one paragraph, one reference at the end of the paragraph is adequate. For example:

As Callahan notes, some social insularity is normally inevitable in such cases, due mainly to the interdependence of most members. However, that kind of insularity appeared insignificant in the general community, because so many other kinds of interdependence resulted in observable social relationships with other community members. He foresaw this possibility and responded with an appropriate strategy. (Callahan 1998, p. 81)

Omitting parts of the reference

If the name of the author is provided in the text clearly associated to the source, you may omit the name in the reference. For example:

Jones pointed out another possibility relating to the use of sacrifice as a kind of propitiation. (1997, p. 96)

If both name of the author and year of publication is provided in the text and clearly associated to the source, you may omit both name and year of publication in the reference. For example, both the following are correct:

Gunther’s 1927 edition was the first to report observation of the funeral rituals, which took place over many days and involved all members of the village. (P. 54)

Gunther’s 1927 edition was the first to report observation of the funeral rituals, which took place over many days and involved all members of the village (p. 54).

Refer, see, contrast or compare

This kind of reference gives the options to refer to an item as a source, or to see, compare or contrast with another item:

1. See a page: (See Smith 1988, p. 54)
2. Compare to a page: (Cf. Smith 1988, p. 54)
3. Contrast to a page: (Contr. Smith 1988, p. 54)
4. Whole source: (Jones 2001)
5. See the whole source: (See Smith 1988)
6. Contrast the whole source: (Contr. Smith 1988)
7. See elsewhere in the present work:
   (See Chap. 3.)
   (See below.)
   (See above.)
8. Compare elsewhere in the present work:
   (Cf. above.)
   (Cf. below.)

Other variations

1. Source is identified by volume and page numbers: (Brown 1979, IX:87) In this reference, IX:87means Volume nine, page eighty-seven.
2. Multiple sources in one reference: (See Smith 1988, p. 43; Green, 1998, p. 7)
3. Two authors: (Smith and Brown 1986, p. 198)

Bibliographies

A bibliography is simply a long list of all sources used, with the full details of each one. The current trend is to put all works cited into one list in alphabetical order, including all unpublished or unwritten sources and abbreviations used for bibliographic entries.

Surnames of authors are the basis for determining alphabetical order. (Other principles apply to names with no hereditary family name.) When there is no author surname, other forms are used instead. When a title is used to determine alpabetical order, The, A, and An are ignored.

Bibliography entries are typed single-spaced, with a blank line between entries. The place and name of the publisher are put in parentheses ()

Bibliography entries always end in a full stop (period) .

Check (and double-check and triple-check) that:

• All references are represented in the bibliography
• Punctuation is correct and consistent.

See an example bibliography

Books: The basic pattern

There are two basic pattern for a book’s bibliographical entry. The only difference is that one does not need to give the state in the US or the country of publication for London or New York, because these two cities are very major and unambiguous. Examples are as follows:

Smith, Ronald. 1998. The Development of Contextualization. (Austin, Tx: Andreas Press).

Jones, Richard. 1998. The Development of Emotional Intelligence. (London: Matthey Press).

It comprises the following main elements:

• the full name of the author as given in the title page, surname first, separated from the forenames or initials by a comma, and ending in a full stop (period)
• the year of publication, ending in a full stop (period)
• the full title, italicised, as given in the title page, ending in a full stop (period)
• open parentheses
• either:
• the city of publication (followed by a comma), then the state in the US or the country of publication, followed by a colon
• the name of the major city of publication (if it is London or New York), followed by a colon
• the name of the publisher, followed by a close of parentheses
• a final full stop (period), and
• a hanging indent layout, which means that all lines except the first are indented.

The layout has clear reasons for being as it is:

• The author’s surname is placed first because it determines the place in alphabetical order in the bibliography.
• The comma after the author’s surname indicates that the surname and forenames are not simply switched.
• The hanging indent makes the surname easier to see in the list of bibliographical items.
• The state in the US or the country of publication is helpful because some place names are obscure, and because two different places can have the same name.

Use the form of the author's name, the full title, and the name of the publisher found on the title page. Use the title page even if the front cover says something different. The year of publication is usually found on the back of the title page as the copyright year. The place of publication might be listed on either the title page or the following page.

Italicizing the title signifies a work that is published and circulated separately. Italics is used for titles of books and periodicals. This has two consequences. First, titles of articles in books or periodicals are not italicized, because they are only circulated as part of the book or periodical. Second, titles of unpublished sources are not italicised.

Books: The full pattern

The full pattern for a book includes other elements that don't always apply, but should be listed if they do:

Jones, Donald. 1997. The Growth of the Asian Church: An Historical Review. Four vols. Ed. Roger Gilroy. The Asian Religion Series. Second ed. (Ithaca, N.Y.: Andreas Press).

Other elements are:

• Subtitle (separated from the title by a colon)
• Number of volumes (if more than one)
• Name of any editors, revisers, or translators
• The name of the series
• The name or number of the edition if it is not the first edition. It is a first edition if no edition details are mentioned. (Editions can be named e.g. Revised edition or numbered e.g. Second edition, or both e.g. Second revised edition.)

Do not mention the number of the printing, unless the book states that the work was revised between printings, that is, it is actually a new edition, not just another printing.

Other kinds of sources

Articles from journals or periodicals | Encyclopaedias and dictionaries | Article in a book | Interviews | Internet sources | Letters | Minutes of meetings | Newspapers | Quoting a quotation | Theses and dissertation | Unpublished notes

Articles from journals or periodicals

Articles from journals or periodicals have a different pattern for bibliographical entries:

Smith, Ronald. 1989. Leadership Training in Hierarchically-cultured Churches The Journal of Leadership Development. Vol. 2, no. 45 (June), pp. 47-62.

It comprises the following main elements:

• the full name of the author as given in the article, surname first, separated from the forenames or initials by a comma
• the year of publication
• the full title of the article, in inverted commas, as given in the article
• the full title of the periodical
• the volume and number of the edition (if given)
• the date or other identifier of the edition (e.g. Summer Edition) Some periodicals are primarily identified by date or edition name, while others are only identified by volume and number.
• a final full stop (period),
• the page numbers of the article, and
• a hanging indent layout, which means that all lines except the first are indented.

Italics (or underlining) of the title of the journal signifies a work that is published and circulated separately. Consequently, titles of articles in periodicals are not italicised or underlined, because they are only circulated as part of the periodical.

Encyclopaedias and dictionaries

Encyclopaedias and dictionaries are special cases for several reasons:

• Page numbers might be irrelevant when items are listed in alphabetical order, so you need to refer primarily to the word under which they are listed.
• Authors of individual items are not usually mentioned, so the title is the main identifier. However, titles of specialised encyclopaedias and dictionaries are often quite long, so abbreviations are necessary.

For example:

ENTL 1993, s.v. Patristics.

This refers to an encyclopaedia, which you will find in the bibliography under ENTL. The reference is sub verbo ('under the word') Patristics.

Internet sources

There are two ways to handle dates. The first applies to pages that give a date on the page. The second used when the page does not contain a date, so an accessed date is necessary:

Hamilton, Graham. 2002. Conceptions of Fellowship in Eastern European Evangelical Churches. www.churchofhope.org/easterneurope. July 21.

Jones, Henrietta. N.d. History of the Cornish Language. www.internet.com/histcornishlang.htm. Accessed on May 20, 2022.

A URL is not adequate for some Internet sources, and the reader needs navigation guidance. Use the symbol ❯ to indicate a navigation link:

Biggs, Ronald. N.d. History of the Irish Language. www.internet.com/languages.htm ❯ History ❯ Irish. Accessed on May 21, 2022.

Article in a book

An article in a book requires two bibliographic entries, one for the article and one for the book:

Jackson, L. P. 2002. The Changing Worlds of Southern Africa in K. P. Donovan (ed.), 1986, pp. 98-137.

Donovan, K. P. (ed.). 1986. Contemporary Essays on Africa. Nairobi: University Press.

Interviews

Smithson, Milton. 1997. Interview held at New College, Oxford, 14 March.

Letters

Briggs, Adam. 1942. Personal letter sent to Gertrude Smythe in London, dated 12 April.

Minutes of meetings

Minutes of the Association for Old Testament Exegesis, Dundee, Scotland, 12 September, 1912.

Newspapers

If the source is a newspaper article, give the newspaper title, the article title, the full date, and the page number. If volume and number are given, you should include them:

London Daily Journal. 2001, Dynamics of African Change, 17 February, 2001, p. 22.

Rock City Daily Express. 1999. Changes in Education—For Better or For Worse. 21 May (Vol. 34, no. 15), p. 56.

Quoting a quotation

A quotation can be taken from a source where it is quoted, even though you do not have access to the original work. It requires two bibliographic entries:

Grundy, William. 1901. The Ancient Near East New York: Boxman Publications, p. 52, cited in Evans 1994, p. 251.

Evans, K. R. 1994. The East-West Dialog. Atlanta, Ga.: Johanine Press.

Theses and dissertations

Hassel, John. 1989. Conceptions of Personal Transformation in Oral Narrative: An Indian Perspective. Thesis submitted to the University of Western Tasmania for the degree of Master of Arts.

Unpublished notes

Franklin, Ernest. 1998. Conceptions of Hope in Chinese Christianity. Unpublished notes from a seminar held at the Centre for South American Missiology, Pasadena, Ca., 15-21 July.

Special cases: Author names

Organization as author | Pseudonym | Same author produces two works the same year | Same author uses two different names | Two authors with the same name | Two or three authors | More than three authors | No author | Book of articles edited by one person | A book edited or collated rather than written

Organization as author

If an organization is the author and has a short name, use the whole name.

However, if an organization is the author and has a long name, use an acronym to save space. The acronym will be provided in one location in the bibliography and full details given elsewhere in the bibliography, so that the whole bibliography stays in strict alphabetical order.

(ASSSTEA 2002, p. 34)

ASSSTEA. See Association of Scottish Secondary School Teachers and Education Administrators.

Association of Scottish Secondary School Teachers and Education Administrators. 2002. General Conference Proceedings. (Glasgow, UK.: Educational Press).

Pseudonym

If the author is confirmed to have used a pseudonym, the pattern is:

Whiteman, Robert. [Pseud. for Charles Gregson.] 1993. Changes in Yemeni Worldview. (Chicago, Il.: Mark Press).

Same author produces two works the same year

Lower case letters after the name can differentiate the two sources; they are also used in the bibliography:

(White 1997a, p. 34)
(White 1997b, p. 187)

White, Glenda. 1997a. Structure in Theology. (Wilington, U.K: Pellen Press).

White, Glenda. 1997b. Finding Relevance in Dogmatics. (Carlingsgate, U.K: Wessex College Press).

Same author uses two different names

Some authors use one name on the cover and another on the title page. For example, an author might be Jim on the cover but James on the title page. Use the version of the title page.

Two authors with the same name

If two separate authors have the same name, use the initial or forename:

(Smith, K.L. 1934, p. 324)
(Smith, Kathleen 1991, p. 12)

Two or three authors

Reference:
(Whitman & Evans 1993, p. 22)
(Smith, Jones & Brown 2020, p. 297)

Bibliographic entries:

Whitman, Derek; Evans, K.J. 1993. Changes in Egyptian Society. (Ithaca, N.Y.: Andreas Press).

Smith, Jeffry; Eric Jones; Amanda Brown. 2020. Developments in Middle Eastern Social Structures. (Ithaca, N.Y.: Andreas Press).

From four to ten authors

If the source has from four to ten authors, use et al. (meaning ‘and the others’) in the reference:

(Jones et al. 2002, p. 345)

List them all in the bibliography, separated by semicolons. Only the first name needs to be last name first, for the purposes of the alphabetical listing:

Jones, Donald; Charles Smith; Bethany K. Austin; Emma O'Malley. 2002. Asian Cities and Their People. (Ithaca, N.Y.: Andreas Press).

More than ten authors

List only either:
  • the lead author followed by et al. or
  • the leading editor.

No author

If no author is listed, the work is anonymous (anon.):

Anon. 2001. The World of Old India. (Fresno, Ca.: Intentional Press).

Book of articles edited by one person

A book that is edited by one person but comprises articles written by many others. It also works similarly if it has multiple editors:

Donovan, K. P. (ed.) 1986. Contemporary Essays on Africa. (Nairobi: University Press).

A book edited (or collated) rather than written

Johnson, Patrick L. (ed.). 1995. Folk Tales of the Congo. (Deerfield, Il.: Atlantic Educational Press).

Special cases: Publishers, places, and dates

Two publishers | No publisher | Publishers with many branches | No place | No dates

Two publishers

If two publishers publish it simultaneously, the pattern is:

Whitelaw, E.R. 1996. Contrasts in Russian Perspective. (Ithaca, N.Y.: Andreas Press) (London: Sceptre Publishing).

No publisher

If no publisher is given, use the abbreviation N.p. for ‘no publisher’ (the two meanings of the same abbreviation can be differentiated by their location):

Jones, Donald. 2001. The Shape of Japan. (Ithaca, N.Y: N.p.).

Publishers with many branches

If the publisher lists many branches all over the world, the place of publication is the one nearest the printing.

Some major publishers have branches in multiple cities around the world (e.g. New York, London, Los Angeles, Sydney, Johannesburg, Calcutta, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc.) and all of them are listed as the place of publication. However, it is impractical to list them all in the bibliography. Simply state the one closest to the printing location as the place of publication.

No place

If no place of publication is given, use the abbreviation N.p. for ‘no place’:

Jones, Ken. 2001. Context and Theology: Contemporary Essays. (N.p.: International Books).

No date

The source has no date mentioned, the date is given as N.d, meaning ‘No date’.

(Green n.d., p. 75)

Green, Joseph. N.d. The Measure of Maturity. (London: Hawk Press).

Different sources by the same author when the publication date for one or both both is unknown

The date is still given as N.d. (meaning ‘No date’), and the two sources are still differentiated by a and b.

(Black N.d.a, p. 52)
(Black N.d.b, p. 27)

Black, Emma. N.d.a. The Fabric of Society. (Helmsford, U.K: Eagle Press).

Black, Emma. N.d.b. The Class Structure and its Survival. (Axton, U.K: Alabaster Press).

Special cases: Edition names

No edition details

It is a first edition, so the edition details need not be mentioned.

Reprint editions

Reprint editions are often identical to the old original editions, but are actually produced by different publishers in a more recent year.

Fellows, James. 1893. Word Studies in the Classics. [Repr. Delman Books, 1976] (New York: Greenmeadows Press).

Typing and layout

Format | Electronic formats | Paper | Font | Underlining or italics | Page margins | Page numbering (pagination) | Chapters | Chapter beginnings | Spacing and indenting | Orphans and widows | Section headings | Specific typing rules | Common typing errors

Electronic or paper

Submit your work as a pdf file; paper copies are not required.

Electronic formats are best for online institutions and those that want the option of including dynamic graphics in theses and dissertations. The preferred electronic format is a pdf file because it is very stable. However, if you need to include dynamic graphics, check with your supervisor on whether they can be included in the text or enclosed as a separate file.

Font

Use either Times New Roman Roman or Garamond in 12 point for the whole document, and the whole document must be in the same font. The only exceptions are excerpts in languages that use other orthographies (e.g. Greek, Hebrew).

Times New Roman Roman or Garamond are book-face fonts, which is a category of fonts used for the main text of a published book. Book-face fonts have the following characteristics:

• They use space efficiently on the page.
• They help the reader to read rapidly in print.
• They are plain and unobtrusive. (Readers probably never notice them.)
• They are always serif fonts. (A sans serif font is a font without serifs.) Serifs are the little feet or hooks at the ends of many strokes. Here's an example with some of the serifs arrowed:

Underlining or italics

Use italics consistently and do not use underlining. (Underlining and italics mean the same thing. In a manuscript going to the publisher, underlining indicated to the typesetter any text that was to be set in italics.)

Italics have limited purposes:

1. They are used for emphasis, but this is seldom appropriate in non-fiction academic writing)
2. Titles of published works that are circulated as separate items (e.g. book titles, journal titles)
3. Words or phrases that are not in the language of the written work. If you write in English, items in other languages are italicized, unless they are direct quotations.

Page margins

In all kinds of written work, every page must have margins:
  • The left hand margin must be 3 cm.
  • The top, bottom and right margins must be 2.5 cm.

Page numbering (pagination)

The preliminaries (i.e. all pages before the beginning of the introduction) are numbered using lower case roman numerals i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc. A number is not placed on the title page but is centered place at the bottom of the page for all other preliminaries.

The first page of the Introduction is page 1 and pagination continues from there to the last page of typing. The page numbers are numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) placed at the center bottom of each page without adornment.

Chapters

Essays may not be divided into chapters.

Thesis and dissertation must be divided into chapters. Chapter one is the introduction and is an integral part of the work. It usually contains the statement of the problem, the approach, and the assumptions. (If a well-meaning soul tells you that introductions should not be chapter one, it is because introductions were once used as a kind of longer preface. Besides, some authors of published works once invited a better-known author to contribute an introductory article as a marketing strategy.)

Chapter beginnings

The top one third of the first page of each chapter should be blank with only the chapter number and chapter title in it. The white space makes chapter beginnings easier to find, and also makes the page more attractive. Use a numeral for the chapter number; do not spell it out as a word.

Spacing and indenting

The text should be double-spaced, and the first lines of paragraphs are indented one centimetre.

Items that must be single-spaced include long quotations, abstract, preface, acknowledgments, and footnotes.

The bibliography is single spaced with a space the size of an empty line between entries.

Orphans and widows

Definitions of orphans and widows vary greatly but this is common: An orphan is the last line of a paragraph printed by itself at the top of a page. A widow is the first line of a paragraph printed by itself at the bottom of a page. In particular, do not leave a page at the end of a chapter with only an orphan on it. (Word processors can protect against them.)

Section headings

The introductory paragraph in a chapter or in an essay does not need a separate Introduction title. It is obviously the chapter introduction, being directly under the chapter title.

In essays and longer thesis chapters, you might need sub-headings for sections. In general, it is recommended to use only one level of subheading. This is the most common level of heading, and will probably meet all your needs:

Hint: You can use this heading with a subtitle to minimize the number of levels of titles. For example, here's an example of a series of headings that avoids a separate higher level heading for Social Structure:

Multiple levels of section headings

It is possible to have a hierarchy of headings, so that larger sections can be divided into smaller sections. As a general rule, the fewer levels you use the better. Below are three levels, and these are sufficient for almost all kinds of work.

Note: The top level is only used in unavoidably long chapters that need to be clearly broken into several large sections.

Specific typing rules

1. Leave only one space after periods between sentences.
2. Right margins should be jagged.
3. The order of appendices must follow the order they occur in the text. This also applies to tables, plates and diagrams.
4. Place one space before and after mathematical operators + =
5. Italize pi Π
6. Use colons to start lists.
7. Use an m-dash for a dash. (—)

Common typing errors

These errors might appear unimportant, but they can result in theses and dissertations being rejected:

1. Failing to follow the institution's style guide exactly, for example, failing to follow specific guidelines for page layout, margins, headings, spacing, and punctuation.
2. Typing spaces at end of a sentence · .
3. Typing two spaces between sentences. This sentence is ending. · · The next sentence begins ...
4. Capitalizing words for no reason.
5. Capitalizing names of fields of academic study. This practice was discontinued early last century.
6. Incorrect use of italics and underlining.
7. Failing to indent paragraphs.
8. Numbering section heading. This has been common in Europe, but is not standard in English.

Graphical content

Graphical content includes figures, plates, maps, and graphics. (For some strange reason, diagrams are called figures.)

Figures and maps should preferably be in black and white so that they can be photocopied effectively, unless color is essential to the information. Use gif files. Use grayscale for figures only if the grayscale is essential to the information. In these cases, .png files are best, but your supervisor might allow high quality .jpg files.

Plates are usually photographs but some are printouts from data-collecting equipment. The principles are the same as diagrams. Use black and white if possible, grayscale if essential to the information, and color only when it is essential to the information. Again .png files are best.

If your institution permits theses and dissertations to be only in electronic form, your supervisor can permit you to include dynamic graphical data representations, such as moving parts in a diagram, and three-dimensional representations of data. The general principle is that the software format must be a public standard (not private proprietary software) and suited to all major browsers.

For each kind of graphical content, give each item a number and a brief descriptive caption. The numbers follow the order they occur in the text. This means that you could have Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, Plate 1, Plate 2, Plate 3, Map 1, Map 2, Map 3.

Tips

1. Detail should be at least 300 x 300 pixels per inch.
2. gif files are suited to solid blocks of color.
3. png and jpg files are suited to photographs.
4. png files do not reduce the actual data. jpg files always reduce data, even if the loss is imperceptible to the eye.
5. Do not use .bmp files for anything because they are very large for the same amount of data. Some publishers, however, still want them for book manuscripts.

Portfolio presentation

The basic idea is to present a collection of essays, formally typed up, and presented like a thesis. It should be also bound if it is the culminating effort for the qualification.

The essays will normally be presented as separate works. However, they may also be combined in various ways to make a smaller number of essays. If you want to combine parts, the key is to locate papers on the same topic that prove the same point, to eliminate redundancies, and to smoothe the structure. In combinations, literature reviews normally belong at the beginning of a piece of work and analyses belong toward the end. The bibliography for each essay is placed at the end of the essay, not at the end of the portfolio.

The title page is much like a thesis and everything on it is centred. (View example.)

The contents page is also similar to that of a thesis, except that the essays are not chapters.

Hint 1

• You can use free software like Zotero to help you collect and cite research.
• Otherwise, keep your bibliography file on the desktop, especially while writing literature reviews. That way, when you use a source (for example, quoting a book) you can go straight to your bibliography, type the reference and check it. By doing the referencing and the bibliography at the same time, you'll save a lot of work. Save often, so you don't have to do it all again if the computer crashes.

Hint 2

• Save your work regularly and keep back-ups. (Hard drives fail.)

Hint 3

• Before your final version, check that no titles are left alone at the bottoms of pages with no text under them. Modern word processors have generally fixed this problem, but check anyway.

Hint 4

• When you have finished writing and on-screen editing, print out the chapters and bibliography. It is easier to proofread hard copy than on screen, and you will see more errors.

Hint 5

• To produce a table of contents, use the word processor's automated feature. However, it hasn't worked equally well for everybody, but it is so easy that you should get advice or do an internet search.

Hint 6

• Some kinds of newer software can now edit writing style. WordRake is recommended, and often offers a free seven-day trial version. (http://www.wordrake.com/). If you don't want to pay full price, wait until you've done your own edit of the whole manuscript and then try Wordrake.
  See also Grammarly, PaperRater, StyleWriter from Editor Software, and ProWritingAid. Beware, this kind of software is not always perfect, but is often better than MS Word.

Preliminaries

The preliminaries for a thesis are the same as those for a project.

Title page

On the title page, the title should be a quarter way down the page and should follow the inverted pyramid shape. The date should sit at the bottom of the page. See an example title page. When you write your name, omit prenominals and postnominals. It is recommended that you use one version of your name consistently in academic work, and it should be your legal name in Latin letters, which should be the name under which you enrolled. You have two options:

1. Use your full legal name.
2. If you abbreviate parts of your name, use the same version consistently. For example, if John D. Smith chose that name, he should not also use J. Smith, J.D. Smith, or J. Donald Smith.

Choosing a title

Even if you have a working title from the early stages of planning, choose the final version last to make sure you get it exactly right.

1. The title must reflect the topic of the paper; your readers must to be able to identify the topic easily from the title alone. It needs to be clear enough for them to know whether or not they need to access an abstract or perhaps the full text.
2. The title must be a phrase, not a sentence or a question.
3. The title must objective, and it must sound like a research report. Resist the temptation to make a big impression with something that sounds creative, glitzy, cute, or eye-catching.
4. Do not include a detailed description of the research population in the title.
5. The title must be not be so long that it is unwieldy.
1. For an essay, the arbitrary length limit is ten words.
2. For theses and dissertations, the main title may not exceed fifteen words. If necessary, use a subtitle to further specify the exact topic.

Table of Contents

Use the title TABLE OF CONTENTS, although your supervisor might let you use the more modern title CONTENTS. There is no need to put a row of dots between the title and the page number. This is also old-fashioned and makes the page look cluttered.

If all titles are relatively short, you can make the table a little narrower so it is easier to relate each title to its page number. See an example of a contents page.

Indexes of other items

Include lists of tables, maps, graphs, diagrams, or abbreviations (as appropriate). If these lists are short enough and you have more than one, you can put more than one on the same page. Each list must be included in the table of contents.

About prefaces

As a general principle, prefaces are not permitted, although they can be necessary. A preface states the author’s personal background in relation to a thesis. For example, it would be important for the reader to know if you were the person in charge of a project discussed in the thesis, or have lived on location in a ethnic village for ten years before you described an aspect of its culture. If you took a personal role in events beyond your role as a researcher, you should recount it briefly, especially if you were an important participant in historical events. The preface also includes brief acknowledgements of help, funding, or cooperation. (See below.)

In short:

• If you are writing a thesis or dissertation, omit the preface unless your supervisor advises otherwise.
• Do not include a preface in an an essay.

If you do need to write a preface, keep it as brief as possible and avoid flowery or emotive language. A matter-of-fact tone is best for an academic work. You may write your name or initials at the end of a preface, but it is not a requirement. If you write your name, omit any prenominals and postnominals.

Acknowledgements

You may need to acknowledge special permissions, funding, or other assistance. You should not acknowledge the assistance of your assigned supervisor or any assistance for which you paid in full.

If you write a preface, acknowledgements should be included in the preface, usually separately in the last paragraph. If you do not write a preface, the acknowledgements page is a brief statement on its own page. The layout is the same as a preface.

Dedication

Do not include a dedication.

Appendices

Some kinds of information should be included in the thesis or dissertation. However, they need to be separated from the main text because they are outside its train of thought and would prevent a smooth reading of the text. These may include:

• An ethics committee (IRB) approval letter
• Data-gathering instruments, such as questionnaires.
• Copies of letters of permission if permission was complex or non-routine.
• Minutes of meetings.
• Unless your supervisor advises otherwise, put your raw data in appendices. It is usually boring reading and distracts the readers' attention if put in the text, but you need to make it available to readers so they can see what you interpreted. For example, quantitative data might large tables filled with lists of numbers. In other cases, the data comprises printouts.

The rules for appendices are as follows:

1. Appendices are called Appendix A, Appendix B, and so on, with their own title.
2. Each appendix starts on a new page with the same layout as a chapter commencement.
3. They must support the content of the main text.
4. If the thesis or dissertation must be approved by the institution's research ethics committee (IRB), the approval letter is Appendix A.

Begining to end outline

1. Preliminaries
1. The title page
2. The approval page
3. The abstract
4. Table of contents
5. Lists of tables, maps, graphs, diagrams or abbreviations (as appropriate).
6. A Preface or Acknowledgments, but only if necessary.
2. Chapters
1. Introduction (Chapter 1)
2. Other chapters
3. Conclusion (Final chapter)
3. Closing
1. Appendices
2. Bibliography

Examples and templates

Essay examples

Title page | A brief article (Links open new windows.)
The brief article about a fictitious scoundrel is written in the style of a biography of a national hero. It demonstrates many of the writing conventions for layout, references, and bibliography.

Bibliography example

Bibliographies are the same for essays, theses and dissertations: Example (Link opens new window.)

Thesis and dissertation examples

(Links open new windows.)
Title page | Title page for two languages | Contents page | Chapter page (Links open new windows.)

Thesis and dissertation template

Below are links to templates for theses and dissertations:
Serif dissertation template.

How to use a template:

• The templates use pre-formatted word processing styles.
• Do your writing and editing in your normal word processor in a separate file. It will be easier to keep track of chapters if each chapter is a separate file.
• When you are ready to put your text into the template, copy it and then paste it as unformatted text into the template. Unformatted text will take the format of the template. (If you paste it in as formatted text, it will follow the formatting of your original and not of the template.)
• Use word processing styles to format any headings, extended quotes, etc. Most word processors have a selector at the top of the page. Simply block the heading or paragraph to be re-formatted and select the style.

Bible references

The abbreviations for the books of the Bible below are in common use although they have not been standardized, and most have several varients. The two-letter version is prefered if it is already quite clear. In a few cases, a whole syllable seemed more pleasing to the eye (e.g. Numbers). Otherwise, a longer variant is chosen if it would reduce confusion or possible ambiguity (e.g. Ezra cf. Ezekiel, Philippians cf. Philemon).

Bibliography

American Psychological Association. 1974. Publication Manual of the American Psychlogical Association Second ed. (Washington DC: American Psychological Association).

Anderson, Jonathon; Berry H. Durston; Millicent Poole. 1970. Thesis and Assignment Writing. (Brisbane, Australia: John Wiley & Sons).

Anon. 2002. Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers. Revised by Snooks & Co. Sixth ed. (N.p.: John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa - Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi Ejaan Bahasa Indonesia yang Disempurnakan. Edisi kelima. https://ejaan.kemdikbud.go.id/ Accessed February 23, 2023.

Ciptaloka Caraka. 1984. Teknik Mengarang. Cet. ke-enam. (Yogyakarta: Penerbit Kanisius).

Kompas. 1990. Hanya Sepuluh Persen Mahasiswa Rajin Membaca Buku Teks. Kompas. No. 274, thn. ke-25, Kamis 5 April, pp. 1, 16.

Open University. Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right)s https://www.open.ac.uk/library/referencing-and-plagiarism/quick-guide-to-harvard-referencing-cite-them-right. Accessed February 23, 2023.

Open University. Referencing and plagiarism https://www.open.ac.uk/library/help-and-support/referencing-and-plagiarism. Accessed February 23, 2023.

Open University. Transcript - The why and how of referencing (using OU Harvard). https://www.open.ac.uk/library/transcript/the-why-and-how-of-referencing-using-ou-harvard. Dated Feb 17, 2023.

Payne, Lucile Vaughn. 1965. The Lively Art of Writing. (New York: Mentor).

Persekutuan Theologia Ekstensi Indonesia. N.d. Resource handbook untuk pendidikan theologia ekstensi disusun oleh Persekutuan Theologia Ekstensi Indonesia, Jakarta, pp. 817-818.

(The) Royal Society. 1974. General notes on the preparation of scientific papers. Third ed. (London: The Royal Society).

Ryan, Peter. 1966. The Preparation of Manuscripts. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press).

Seminari Theologia Baptis Indonesia. N.d. Pedoman STBI bagi laporan penyelidikan buku bacaan/pelengkap dalam Persekutuan Theologia Ekstensi Indonesia. Pp. 817-818.

Subagio, Bambang. 1980. Menulis paper. (Semarang: Seminari Theologia Baptis Indonesia).

Turabian, Kate L. 2018. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissetations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers Eds. Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, William T. FitzGerald, & and the University of Chicago Press editorial staff. Ninth ed. (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press).

Victoria University. Harvard Referencing: Getting started with Harvard referencing https://libraryguides.vu.edu.au/harvard/getting-started-with-harvard-referencing Accessed February 23, 2023.

Wahyu, dan Masduki, Muhammad. 1987. Petunjuk praktis membuat skripsi. (Surabaya: Usaha Nasional).

Wandt, E. (Ed.) T.thn. A Cross-section of educational research. (New York: David Mckay). Cited in Anderson et al., 1970, p. 188.