14 Rules of Formatting and
Style Guides

Montezuma Publishing checks the SJSU 14 formatting rules for every theses or dissertation provided to them by SJSU students. All students must follow these rules. There are no exceptions to the rules. We suggest you print out this Google document of the SJSU 14 Rules for Formatting, or have them handy, before you begin to format your thesis for submission. Following these rules is key to a successful submission.

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1. Your name, committee members and degree title must match University records.

2. You must select a style guide as outlined on the Thesis Information Form, or select a journal format. If you select a journal format, you must provide (1) the name of the journal, (2) the Author Guidelines, and (3) a sample article from the journal.

3. Set your margins at 1.25 inches for the left margin, and 1 inch on the right, and 1.25 inches for the top, and bottom margins.

4. Use one professional font throughout in 12 pt size, including page numbers. Do not use an ornamental font based on script, cursive, or calligraphic styles. Within tables or figures, a font size as low as 8 pts may be used. Use black for all text.

5. Line spacing shall be 2.0 (double-spaced), with the exception of headings, block quotations, figure captions, table titles, footnotes (endnotes are not permissible), and bibliographic entries, which are to be single-line spaced for each entry, and double-spaced between entries.

6. All paragraph indents are .25 inches. Thereafter, indent in increments of .25 inches (certain subheadings, quotes, etc.)

7. Start the first page of each section (Acknowledgements, Table of Contents, Lists, etc.), chapter, and appendix on a new page.

8. Place your Bibliography or Reference section(s) at the end of the main document text (but before the Appendices), or at the end of each chapter, depending on your department’s style guidelines. See Rule 5 for spacing.

9. If including figures, tables, or illustrations, create a separate list for each type of item, which includes the figure/table number, figure caption/table title and the page number on which it begins.

10. Label tables, figures, illustrations, etc. uniquely and number each consecutively throughout your document. All tables and figures must be referenced in text prior to their appearance. Tables and figures should be placed as close to the first reference to them as possible, at the end of a paragraph. If there is not enough space on the page where the item is introduced, continue filling that page with text and start the table or figure at the top of the next page. The selected style guide shall govern table and

figure titles, and table and figure numbering. If the style guide does not list formatting instructions for these items, the student must place table titles above the table and figure titles below the figures.

11. Thesis document file size may not exceed 1GB. Recommend image resolution: 300 dpi. Supplementary materials such as audio, video, and oversized tables/figures must be submitted to Montezuma Publishing at the same time the thesis is submitted. NOTE: The College of Graduate Studies will forward these materials to Montezuma Publishing at the time your thesis is released to them for review.

12. The Table of Contents lists each chapter number (if used), chapter title (Level 1 headings), all subheadings under the chapter up to Level 3, and the page on which each heading or subheading begins. See a Table of Contents example. You may select one of the three different styles allowed.

13. Preliminary page numbers are lowercase Roman numerals, starting with page v. Arabic numerals are assigned to the rest of the manuscript, starting with page 1.

14. Preliminary pages appear in the following order (first numbered page must be page v):

• Title page: Mandatory; no page number

• Copyright page: Mandatory; no page number

• Signature page: Mandatory; no page number

• Abstract: Mandatory; one paragraph, one page only and double-spaced. The abstract may not contain reference citations; no page number

• Dedication: Optional; must have page number.

• Acknowledgement page (optional): must have a page number.

• Epigraph: Optional; must have page number.

• Table of Contents: Mandatory; must have page number.

• List of Tables: Mandatory when the document includes tables; must have page number.

• List of Figures: Mandatory when the document includes figures; must have page number.

• List of Abbreviations, List of Acronyms, List of Symbols: Optional; must have page number.

You must use either a style guide, departmental guideline, or a journal format for the body of your thesis or dissertation. This requirement is in addition to the 14 Rules for Formatting. We strongly recommend that you work with your committee to determine the best style guide for your discipline. For example, APA is not appropriate for technical theses or dissertations. ACS is an excellent choice for students in Chemistry. The I.E.E.E. (LaTeX) approved departmental guideline follows format rules and spacing, solving some of the more difficult formatting issues created by simply downloading the LaTeX typesetting system.

Style Guides/Manuals: You must use the most recent version of a recognized style guide or manual. This includes, but is not limited to APA, Chicago, MLA, ACS, AMA, ASA, CSE, and other discipline-specific style guides. If you choose to use a style guide, make sure that you adhere to all of the rules concerning headings and subheadings, tables and figures, citations, and references. There are many good resources for style guides available online. This is a quick guide compiled by U.C. Davis which can be helpful for you to select a style guide.

Departmental Guidelines: If you submit a thesis or dissertation based on departmental guidelines, you must submit a copy of those guidelines that include, at a minimum, heading and subheading style, and citation and reference style at the time you submit your work to the College of Graduate Studies. For Engineering students we recommend using the approved I.E.E.E. format (see Resources). Follow your departmental guidelines faithfully, since they will be used as the guiding document by Montezuma Publishing.

Journal Formats: The College of Graduate Studies suggests that using a journal format is often the best way to present scientific papers. To prepare a thesis (journal formats are not allowed for dissertations) using journal formatting, first read the section on Journal Formats in the Thesis Guidelines. When you submit your paperwork to the College of Graduate Studies, you must also include the name of the journal, a link to the Author's Instructions, and a sample journal article.

Preface Requirement - Creative Works (Thesis): Some Plan A theses and all Plan C creative projects are considered non-traditional theses and may include poetry collections, short story collections, screenplays, musical creations, and other creative work. The College of Graduate Studies requires that these works contain a preface of no less than five pages that should put the work in context for the reader, whether it be historical, cultural, societal, or other contexts, reference other works, and have a Works Cited page after the preface before the creative work begins.