General form of a dissertation paper

A dissertation paper is one of the most important documents a student submits in his whole academic career. Else then a few font and size specifications by the particular university the dissertation papers are generally of the same format.

The thesis

Your thesis or dissertation must exhibit a scholarly viewpoint of the subject under concern and should be written in a concise and precise manner. It must have an organized touch and should be able to present a picture of scholar’s deep knowledge over the concerned subject. A critique of the subject’s background and the scholar’s compilation of the subject and its relevant material must be explained.

The format

Here is the acceptable general format of a dissertation paper

• Preliminary Pages
• Cover Page
• Label Page
• Thesis Committee- this contains a list of names of the committee members who will approve the thesis. Along with the names their designations and titles are also mentioned. Further space is left for the date of approval and signatures in front of their names.
• Thesis Examining Committee- this contains the list of names of members of thesis examining committee. Along with names their affiliations and titles are also listed. A space is left for the date and signatures by each.
• Dedication– it is optional and must be brief. The word “dedicated” is not necessarily used in the dedication.
• Acknowledgement- this too is optional and must be no longer than one page. This is where student thanks his seniors and colleagues who helped him with the project.
• Abstract- The ideal length of an abstract is one page-with single spaces. It must be followed by the translation of abstract and the title in Arabic. An abstract actually gives an overview of the thesis and is mandatory.
• Epigraph-This is optional and has the name of the author who wrote it.
• Table of Contents- self expressive name, the table of content has the entire content list that appear in a thesis.
• List of Tables- this is a list that enlists all the tables that appear in the document in a numerical order.
• List of Figures– The list of figures is optional as well.it contains the figures and their page numbers written in a numerical order.
• List of Symbols and Abbreviations- This too is optional. It enlists all the signs and shorter terms that one uses in his paper. The terms and signs are also organized in an alphabetical order.
• Glossary- The glossary in a dissertation is optional. It is arranged in an alphabetical order. Usually dissertation papers that contain a lot of foreign terms are bound to have a glossary that explains these terms.