Electronic Submission and Basic University

Guidelines Manual Formatting Rules

A Guide for CSULB Ed.D. Doctoral Candidates

Thesis and Dissertation Office California State University, Long Beach

University Library, Room 501email: lib-thesis@csulb.edu

phone: (562) 985-4013web:

http://www.csulb.edu/library/guide/serv9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday

Contact us any time. We’ll get back to you by the next business day!

Role of the Thesis and Dissertation Office

We’re here to help you prepare your manuscript according to the University Guidelines Manual and the formatting style guide approved by your department.

Please call or email us whenever you have questions or problems regarding your manuscript.

Electronic Submission—First Time Ever!

We are happy to announce that students can now submit their manuscripts via a website set up by ProQuest, the database company that has maintained electronic theses and dissertations for CSULB since 2008.

You can submit documents and revisions any time from anywhere

You save time and money since no printing of documents is needed

Submission Process—Get Ready!

Have your signature page fully signed with all signatures

AND

Have your manuscript formatted to the best of your ability and complete in one PDF file

Submission Process—Get Set!

Deliver your signature page to the Thesis Office by 5 p.m. of deadline date

AND

The Thesis Office will email you the Internet address to use to upload your PDF manuscript

Submission Process—Go!

You must upload your PDF within 5 business days of the date that the email is sent

AND

A fee of $95 is required for Open Access Publishing at the time of upload

AND

Make a note of your User Name and Password so you can access PDFs for revisions

Revision Process—First Evaluation

Formatters read through PDFs on a first come first served basis as they are uploaded. Corrections are added to the PDF. The student is emailed when read-through is done. The annotated PDF can be downloaded from the ProQuest website

Revision Process—First Corrections

Using a version of the manuscript that’s easy to revise (usually a Microsoft Word version), the student makes revisions based on the annotated PDF. After making a PDF of the revised manuscript, the student uploads it to ProQuest website. Setting a 2 week turnaround time for this initial revision ensures completing the submission process within the term deadline

Revision Process—Second Corrections

Formatters read through revised PDF and contact the student within a week. There are three possibilities: Second correction—another

PDF is uploaded with notes about corrections needed

Cleared pending—Email is sent with list of a few (15 or fewer) corrections still needed

Cleared—No further corrections needed

Clearance Letter

Once the formatting of a student’s PDF manuscript is cleared, meaning there are no more corrections needed, the Thesis Office releases the PDF for publication on the ProQuest database.The student will receive an email “clearance letter” from the Thesis Office to confirm that the submission process is complete. A copy of the email is also sent to the student’s committee chair, the department graduate advisor and Enrollment Services.

Formatting Basics

University Guidelines Versus Departmental Style Manuals

The formatting rules in the CSULB University Guidelines Manual ALWAYS take precedence over the style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) or other citation format styles (IEEE, AAA, etc.) required by your department

Thesis Office Web Pages

University Guidelines Manual (revised version due in February) Mini-Manuscript (samples of formatting for all pages of document) Templates for signature page, title page and much more PowerPoints about formatting rules Go to http://csulb.libguides.com/thesisformat or click through from

University Library home page

Oops! We Goofed in the Mini-Manuscript!

The wording of the dissertation title page in the Mini-Manuscript is incorrect!The text in the two blocks of text following the dissertation title should read:

A DISSERTATION

Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership

California State University, Long Beach

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Education

in Educational Leadership

Font RequirementsFont StyleTimes RomanTimes New RomanCourierCourier New

Font Size = 12 point

Exceptions:Within a table, font style must match text but font size may be 10 to 12 pointWithin a figure, font style is unrestricted and font size must be legible Within the appendices, font style and font size are unrestricted

Times New Roman is the most widely used font style.

Courier New comes in second.

Margin Requirements 1 ½ inch left margin is used

throughout the manuscript 1 inch bottom and right

margins are used throughout the manuscript

1 inch top margin is used for most pages of the manuscript

2 inch top margin is used for the first page of the sections listed on the right

The easiest way to create a 2 inch top margin is to space down from the existing 1 inch top margin. Hit ENTER key 3 times (using double line spacing) or 5 times (using single line spacing) for the extra inch of blank space

Use 2 inch top margin for the first page of these sections:

ABSTRACTACKNOWLEDGEMENTS*TABLE OF CONTENTSLIST OF TABLES**LIST OF FIGURES**LIST OF WORKS**LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS*EACH AND EVERY CHAPTERREFERENCES LIST

*This section is not required.**This section is only required if numbered items (tables, figures, etc.) are part of manuscript.

Spacing Within Text Requirements

Within the text of the abstract, acknowledgements and all chapters, use two (2) spaces after punctuation at the end of sentences; commonly this is a period, but it could be a question mark or exclamation mark

Also, two (2) spaces are required after colons in text, titles or subheads

This rule does not apply to citations in footnotes or references list

2 SPACES RULE

Paragraph Format Requirements

All text should be formatted as paragraphs with consistent indentation for the first line and left justification only

Bullet points are not allowed

Numbered items use paragraph format with NO uniform left indentation

FORMAT NUMBERED ITEMS LIKE PARAGRAPHS

1. Microsoft Word automatically formats numbered items with uniform left indentation. 2. The University Guidelines Manual requires paragraph format. 3. University Guidelines Manual wins! Indent the first line of each item, including the number, like a paragraph, and start all other lines at the left margin.

Uniform Double Line Spacing RequirementsSpacing between lines of text should be uniform with no extra blank space between paragraphs or before and after titles and subheads.

For instance, the line spacing in this sentence is

not uniform.

To create uniform double line spacing, select text above and below the gap in the text.

Then click on the Page Layout tab and click on the little arrow underneath the spacing settings to bring up the Paragraph dialog box.

In the Paragraph dialog box, set Line spacing to “Double” and set the Spacing boxes (marked Before and After) to “0 pt”

Page Number Placement RequirementsPage numbers are centered at the bottom of the page and positioned just above the one inch bottom margin.

To change the position of page numbers, go to the Insert tab and click on Footer.

Then click on Edit Footer near the bottom of the dialog box that pops up.

A new menu bar, “Header & Footer Tools,” will appear at the top of the screen. Look for the Footer from Bottom setting and change setting to 0.9 inch.

While in the Header & Footer Tools mode, you can select a page number and right click for a dialog box to change the font style or font size of the page number (which should be the same as the text).

Order of Elements and Page Numbers Required

Abstract—If only one page, do NOT use a page number; otherwise use Arabic numerals (1, 2) for page numbers

Title Page—NO PAGE NUMBERCopyright Page (optional)—NO PAGE NUMBERAcknowledgements (optional)—Use lowercase Roman

numerals (begin with iii) for page numbersTable of Contents—Use lowercase Roman numerals (begin

with iii if there is no acknowledgements page)List of Tables, List of Figures, List of Works, and so on (as

needed)—Use lowercase Roman numeralsChapters—Use Arabic numerals for page numbers from here

to the end of the manuscript (Chapter 1 starts with page 1)Appendices (optional)—Each one begins with a title page. Use

title page with APPENDIX and its title for one. If there are two or more appendices, begin with a title page with APPENDICES centered on the page followed by title page for APPENDIX A

References List or Bibliography—Begins with a title page with REFERENCES or BIBLIOGRAPHY or WORKS CITED centered on page

Much, Much More!

These are only the fundamental formatting rules that must be used in your manuscript. There are specific rules for every section of the document. Be sure to go online and check out the other PowerPoint slideshows with formatting rules. Don’t forget the Mini-Manuscript, templates and the University Guidelines Manual itself. All of them can be accessed from: http://csulb.libguides.com/thesisformat

We love questions!

(562) 985-4013lib-thesis@csulb.edu