final year project thesis format

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1 Final Year Project Thesis Format APPEARANCE OF THE THESIS General The Thesis must be prepared using a word processor and printed using laser printer Length Thesis should normally between 50 and 80 pages long, excluding front matter materials and appendices. Paper All copies of the thesis to be submitted must be printed on ISO A4 size (210 x 297 mm) 80-gm plain paper. Text must be printed on one side of the paper only. Additional copies may be reproduced by high quality photocopying. All signatures appearing on all copies must be original – photocopy of signatures are not acceptable on any copy. Binding Only standard hard binding is acceptable. Slide binding, two- or four-hole punching, spiral binding or comb binding are not acceptable for final copies. Margins Set margins according to the distances specified in Table 1. These margins are necessary to allow for binding and trimming. Table 1.Text Margins from Edges of Untrimmed Paper Margins Page orientation Portrait Landscape Top margin 25 mm 38 mm Bottom margin 25 mm 25 mm Left margin 38 mm 25 mm Right margin 25 mm 25 mm

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Page 1: Final Year Project Thesis Format

1

Final Year Project Thesis Format

APPEARANCE OF THE THESIS

General

The Thesis must be prepared using a word processor and printed using laser printer

Length

Thesis should normally between 50 and 80 pages long, excluding front matter

materials and appendices.

Paper

All copies of the thesis to be submitted must be printed on ISO A4 size (210 x 297 mm)

80-gm plain paper. Text must be printed on one side of the paper only. Additional

copies may be reproduced by high quality photocopying. All signatures appearing on all

copies must be original – photocopy of signatures are not acceptable on any copy.

Binding

Only standard hard binding is acceptable. Slide binding, two- or four-hole punching,

spiral binding or comb binding are not acceptable for final copies.

Margins

Set margins according to the distances specified in Table 1. These margins are

necessary to allow for binding and trimming.

Table 1.Text Margins from Edges of Untrimmed Paper

Margins Page orientation

Portrait Landscape

Top margin 25 mm 38 mm

Bottom margin 25 mm 25 mm

Left margin 38 mm 25 mm

Right margin 25 mm 25 mm

Page 2: Final Year Project Thesis Format

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Chapter titles should be typed50 mm from the top edge of the paper. Other

titles, except coverpage and title page, should be typed 25 mm from the top edge.

Header should be set 12.7 mm from the top margin for pages in portrait and 25

mm for pages inlandscape. Footer should be set at 12.7 mm from bottom margin for

both the portrait and landscape pages.

Font and Spacing

Use only BlackTahoma fontfor the entire thesis except for the cover and spine where

golden colour Tahoma font should be used.

Font

Font size : 11

Chapter Title (UPPERCASE) : 12 (Bold) Heading (Title Case) : 11 (Bold) Sub-headings

o Secondary heading (Title Case) : 11 (Bold) o Tertiary heading (only first : 11 (Bold)

Letter of the title is capitalized)

Footnotes : 10

Spacing

Main body of the text must be typed using double spacing.

Text of title page, List of Tables, List of Figures, Footnotes, chapter

title, table and figure captions, legends, headings and sub-headings,

long quotations and References should be in single spacing.

Spacing between paragraphs should be double spacing.

Spacing between lists of References should use double spacing.

One space only should be:

o Between words

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o After commas, colons, semicolons, punctuation marks at the end

of sentences, and periods that separate parts of a reference

citation.

Between a number and its unit (12 mm, 127 J, etc.)

Use no space after the beginning parenthesis and before the ending

parenthesis. Example: (Mannan &Rao 2001)

Page Numbers

Page numbers should be in 11-point Tahoma and placed at the bottomright corner of

the page. Page numbers should be placed 12.7 mm and 25 mm from the bottom margin

for pages in portrait and landscape respectively.

All pages of the thesis should be accounted for.

Front matter materials, all the pages before Chapter 1, pages are

numbered consecutively using small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, …).

Although the title page counts as page i, numbers should not appear on

this page.

Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, …) begin with the first page of Chapter 1. The

numbering begins here at 1 and continues to the end of the thesis,

including Appendices and References.

Paragraphs

All paragraphs in the main text should be justified between margins.

First line of each paragraphshould be indented by 12.7 mm.

There should be a double space between a paragraph heading and its text,

and also between paragraphs. There should be 2 double spacing between

the last paragraph and the headingfollowing it.

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A paragraph spanning two pages should have at least two lines of text on

both pages. A single line of text appearing as widow or orphan1 is not

permitted.

A heading or sub-heading cannot appear alone at the bottom of a page. It

must appear together with at least two lines of text of the following

paragraph.

Thesis Cover

Front Cover

The cover page must contain the University name, the Faculty name, the thesis

title, the student name, and year the thesis submitted. Title should be typed

forming a reversed pyramid paragraph. All contents on the cover page should be

in 18-point font size, single spacing, all caps, bold and in golden colour typeface.

Spine

Spine should contain the student name, name of the degree and the year the

thesis is submitted, typed in Tahoma single spacing, all caps, bold in golden

colour typeface. Figure A1, in Appendix A – Sample Pages, shows the

arrangement of the texts for the front cover and the spine.

Language

The thesis should be written in English. Text should be written in third person and

indirect speech. Use the terms “author”, “authors”, etc. instead of I, we, us, or phrases

like “personally speaking…”. Use past tense in abstract, introduction and methodology,

and present tense for results and discussion sections.

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ARRANGEMENT OF THESIS CONTENTS

Introduction

Every thesis is composed of three sections:Front matter or preliminary pages, Main

body, and References. It may also contain an optional Appendices section. Each section

may have several sub-sections.

Front Matter

This section should have the following sub-sections in this order: Title Page, Declaration

page, Acknowledgement, Abstract, Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures,

Symbols and/or Abbreviations.

Title Page

This page should contain thesis title, student‟s name, the intended degree, name of the

Faculty and the University, and the year of submission. An example is shown in Figure

A2. A long thesis title should be avoided. As a guide, title should not be more than 100

characters long including spaces between words.

Common symbols, such as scientific fonts, should not be used in the title. Thesis

titles containing formulas, symbols, superscripts, Greek letters, or other non-

alphabetical symbols should use word substitutes for those symbols. For

example, “Calcium Hydroxide ..” instead of Ca(OH)2.

Declaration

This page should contain the signed declaration by the student on the authenticity of

the thesis. The DECLARATION title should be all caps, bold, centre-aligned and typed

25 mm from the top edge of the page, followed by a 3 single spaces before the text.

The exact wording and format of the declaration should be as shown in Figure A3.

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Acknowledgement

Any form of substantial professional assistance or financial support extended or granted

by an individual or organization that was important for the completion of project or in

the preparation of the thesis are recorded on this page. Typically, your

acknowledgements should include specific references to the following:

The aid and support given by your supervisor(s).

Any help received from various other members of the University faculty or other

researchers in the preparation of the thesis.

Support of any type, particularly financial and materials, from a company,

foundation, or a government agency; this applies not only to grants made

directly to you but also those made to your supervisor which helped you in the

research.

You may extend thanks to those friends and family members who have provided

personal support throughout the thesis process.

The title ACKNOWLEDGEMENT in all caps, bold, centre-aligned should be typed 25

mm from the top edge of the page, followed by 3 single spaces before the text.

Acknowledgement text must be in single space with a single spacing between

paragraphs and should not exceed one page.

Abstract

This page contains the synopsis of the thesis. Abstract should be between 150 and

250 words long. It must contain the following information:

The objectives and scope of the research project

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Methodology such as methods, process, techniques and their application details.

New findings or results such as improved solutions, inventions, new theory,

interpretation or accurate re-evaluation of old ideas or concepts and their

implications.

An abstract should be written in plain language for a general engineering

audience. Do not include mathematics, direct quotes or references to other literature in

an abstract. As a general guide, use past tense for procedures and present tense for

results.

The title ABSTRACT in all caps, bold, centre-aligned format should be typed 25

mm from the top edge of the page followed by 3 single spacing before the text. Abstract

text should be typed in a single paragraph, using single line spacing, 11 font size. A

Bahasa Malaysia version of the abstract should follow the English version of the

abstract. See Figure A4 for an example.

Table of Contents

The table of content is used to locate the contents of the thesis. Every chapter heading,

the main titles, and all numbered headings and sub-headings within the text, along with

the page on which they appear, should be listed in the table of contents. The title

TABLE OF CONTENTS in all caps, bold, centre-aligned format should be typed 25 mm

from the top edge of the page followed by 3 single spacing before the text. See Figure

A5 for an example.

List of Tables

All the tables in the thesis including appendices should be listed in the List of Tables

along with the page number on which they appear. They should be sorted according to

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the order in which they appear in the thesis. The title LIST OF TABLES in all caps,

bold, centre-aligned format should be typed 25 mm from the top edge of the page

followed by 3 single spacing before the text. See Figure A6 for an example.

List of Figures

All the figures in the thesis including appendices should be listed in the List of Figures

along with the page number on which they appear. They should be sorted according to

the order in which they appear in the thesis. The title LIST OF FIGURES in all caps,

bold, centre-aligned format should be typed 25 mm from the top edge of the page

followed by 3 single spacing before the text. See Figure A7 for an example.

List of Symbols or Abbreviations

All the symbols (except units), major abbreviations or terminology (as the case may be)

should be listed in alphabetical order. In determining the alphabetical order, the Roman

letters (capital letter first) should be listed first, followed by Greek letter or symbols. The

title LIST OF SYMBOLS in all caps, bold, centre-aligned format should be typed 25 mm

from the top edge of the page followed by 3 single spacing before the text. See Figure

A8 for example.

Main Body of the Thesis

The main body of the thesis starts after the front matter or preliminary pages described

above. This section should be between 50 and 100 pages long.

Every part of the thesis should be set down in a logical pattern – so that readers

are never unsure about what the author is trying to prove and how a particular fact or

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point fits into the development of the work. A carefully organized outline can make

writing of a thesis much easier.

The organization of the contents of a thesis varies considerably depending on the

type of the project carried out such as research, development, design, review or a case

study. As a guide, the following is an example of the contents of a thesis.

(i) Introduction

This part introduces the topic with general background, identify the problem, and

defines the objectives and the scope of the work. A brief description of the

general organization of the thesis may also be included.

(ii) Literature Survey

This part contains the summary of the literature surveyed and the state of art on

the topic of the project. It discusses all the theoretical and logical bases, based

on which subsequent work will be done and decisions are to be made.

(iii) Methodology

This part contains the detail of the methods, means or procedures adopted for

the work/research, along with their advantages, limitations, etc., and the bases

of their selection. Provide sufficient information about your methods or

procedures so that it is possible for someone who reads the thesis to replicate

the work.

(iv) Observation and results

This part contains the details of results of observations, results of analysis or

design, and behaviour or characteristics of a design.

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(v) Analysis of results and general discussions

The purpose of this section is to evaluate and interpret the results, especially

with respect to the original research question. This part contains the detail

analysis of all results and comparison of results with the theoretical expectation

on characteristics or behaviour of a design as compared to a fixed decision.

(vi) Conclusions and recommendations

The overall outcomes of the project are summarized clearly. All findings, results

and invention must be summarized irrespective of whether they are expected or

otherwise. You might (or might not) also mention any limitations of the study,

and any suggestions for future research in this section.

Never use phrases like “… the first objective has been achieved..” etc.

The overall outcomes of the project should be summarized clearly.

Chapters

All contents of the text should be divided into chapters. Each chapter will start on a new

page. Chapters do not have preceding title pages. After typing the chapter heading,

leave 2 double spacing between chapter number and title and starting text. See Figure

A9 for an example.

Heading and Sub-headings

Chapters are customarily divided into sections and sub-sections with headings that have

slightly differing font styles and are designed first-, second-, and third-level. The first-

level title should have greater attention value than the lower levels. Capitalization, bold-

or italic-face types have more attention value than plain text.

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Each primary heading (Level 1 headings) of section in the text should be numbered

consecutively and according to the chapter number. Primary headings should be typed

bold with the first letter of all major words capitalized. Example: “Cost Analysis for

Conventional and Recycled Concrete” (non-major words or articles not capitalized);

incorrect style: “Cost Analysis For Conventional And Recycled Concrete” (all

words capitalized).

Secondary section headings (Level 2 headings) should be numbered following the

primary headings. Secondary headings should be typed bold, with the first letters of all

major words capitalized, and left-aligned.

Tertiary headings (Level 3 headings) should be numbered following the secondary

headings. Tertiary headings should be typed bold, with only the first letter of the title

capitalized, and aligned left.

Quotations

“Quoting” someone is using their exact words. Quotations are sparingly used in

engineering text. Frequent or long quotations should be avoided. Paraphrasing is

preferable to quotations. Use quotation when it is necessary. Page numbers should be

cited for direct quotes.

Equations

Simple equations can be typed within the line of text, e.g. “…from the above we note

than sin() = (x + y) z, and …”. However, relatively complex and all referred equations

should be typed on separate lines using an equation editor found in most word

processing programs. Equations should be centre-aligned. Number referred equations

consecutively following chapter number, and place the number within parentheses at

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the end of the line, aligning right margin. Within the body of text, always refer to

equations as Eq. 4.1, or Eqs. 4.7-4.9, etc. See Figure A10 for an example.

Lists and Bullets

Lists are used to introduce parts or a series of related items or conditions. Use

numbered list (i), (ii), (iii), …; or (a), (b), (c), …) when it is necessary to identify each

item, or indicate total number of parts, items, or their sequence. If you do not need to

identify the individual items or their particular order, use bullets rather than numbers in

lists.

Bulleted items may be words, short phrases or of paragraph length and they should be

tied together under a general heading. If the numbered or bulleted items are short

phrases, then the first letter of each item may not be capitalized, but use a full stop only

at the end of the last item. However, in lists of items with one or more full sentences,

always capitalize the first letter and terminate each item with a full stop. Use only small

filled circular standard bullets () in lists. Indent bullets by a tab from the left margin.

References

Any thesis that makes use of other works, either in direct quotation or by reference,

must contain a reference listing of these sources.

Type the heading REFERENCES in bold, all caps and centre-aligned at the top

of the page. Leave 3 single spacing before the first entry.

Each entry should be typed single spacing and spacing between reference list

should be 2 single spacing.

List only the sources, which have been cited in the text.

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The references list should be arranged in alphabetical order according to the

author family name. See Figure A11 for an example.

Appendix or Appendices

Appendices contain those materials, which are very important to help understand or

workout the materials of the thesis, but are too big and detailed so that cannot be

accommodated in the body of the main text. These usually includes long tables and

huge raw data, computer print-outs, listing of computer codes, plans, maps, detailed

sample calculations, detailed work programs, etc. appendices should not be listed as

chapters in the thesis.

If there are more than one appendix then they should be marked APPENDIX

A, APPENDIX B, etc. and a cover sheet should be used before them. On the

centre of the cover sheet, type APPENDICES.

Font size 11, single spacing, the cover sheet should be counted, but page

number is not printed on it.

An appendix should start on a new page if it is half-page or more long.

However, shorter appendices can be placed one after another on a single

page.

Each appendix must have its own title. Type APPENDIX A, APPENDIX B,

etc., right-aligned at the top of the page.

Tables and figures in the appendices must be numbered consecutively

following the appendix number; captioned and listed in the List of tables and

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List of Figures. The figures or tables in the appendices will be numbered A.1,

C.1, B.5, etc.

Contents should strictly conform to margin requirements.

FIGURES AND TABLES

General

All photographs, diagrams, drawings, graphs, maps and all other non-verbal materials

used in the body and appendices should be classified as “figures”. The word “table”

designates tabulated numerical data used in the body and appendices of the thesis.

A set of data should either be presented in table form or as graph based on the

suitability and purpose. The same set of data should not be repeated as both table and

graph, to avoid unnecessary duplication.

Captions of Figures and Tables

Every table and figure must bear a caption. Captions of figures and tables should be

typed using single spacing, bold, centre aligned and in the same font as text. All major

words of the caption should be capitalized. A caption should not be wider than the width

of the table or figure it represents. It can be typed in multiple lines, if necessary. See

Figure A12 for an example.

Caption of figure should be placed below the figure. The caption should start

with the word Figure , a single space, followed by the figure number (e.g. 4.6), a

space and the title of the figure (bold). There should be a double spacing

between a figure and its caption.

Caption of table should be placed above the table itself. The caption should start

with the word Table, a single space, followed by the table number (e.g. 1.2), a

space and the title of the table (bold).

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Captions as they appear with the tables and figures must be the same as their

listing in the List of Tables or List of Figures.

Placement

All figures and tables must be placed within the text body as near (before or after) as

possible to the location they are first referred to. They should be centre-aligned. Figures

or tables (together with captions) should be offset double spacing from the text body

above and below. See Figure A12 for example of a figure in portrait orientation.

Tables and figures may be landscape orientation. In such case, they should be

placed on a separate page of their own, with no main text running above or below

them. The captions and legends for rotated tables and figures must have the same

orientation as the table and figure. Thus for landscape figure (or table), the top of the

figure should be nearest to the binding edge. Remember that any text or legend should

be readable either from front or right hand side only.

Numbering

Figures should be numbered consecutively in the order in which reference is made to

them in the text and according to chapters and appendices, restarting a separate series

for each chapter or appendix. For example Figure 1.2 refers to the 2nd figure in chapter

1 while Figure 2.2 refers to the 2nd figure in chapter 2 while Figure A.2 refers to the 2nd

figure in Appendix A.

Citation of Tables and Figures in Text

Figures or tables should be referred to in text as Figure 1.2 (first letter capitalized and

not preceded by „the‟), Figures 6.2-6.5, Table 3.2, Tables 3.2-4.1, etc. For figures used

in parentheses the abbreviation should be (see Fig. 4.5), (Figs. 3.1-3.5), etc.

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Formats and Quality of Tables and Figures

All tables and figures, including the caption, must meet the same margin requirements

as the text.

Tables and figures should preferably be in electronic format and must be of

professional quality.

If photographs are used, they must be of high resolution. Both color and

greyscale images may be used. Low resolution highly compressed images taken

from the Web or taken by low resolution cameras are not acceptable.

Any diagrams or plots in the thesis should be prepared electronically. Hand-

drawn diagrams are not acceptable.

Diagrams, drawings, figures, etc. must be sufficiently clear, sharp and large to be

easily readable. Images output by engineering analysis and design software

should be carefully checked whether they meet this requirement.

Text in graphs, diagrams, figures, etc. should not be smaller than 8-point or

larger than 12-point size.

Graphs should not use any colour or shaded background. Only major gridlines

can be used when they are necessary. Graphs should not have any border,

except uniform chart area border.

Make tables only as wide as they need to be. A table in portrait orientation does

not always have to cover the full width of the page.

Small photographs on photographic paper, if used, should be mounted with glue

stick (e.g. UHU, Scotch brand). Do not use any gummed or cellophane tapes or

rubber cement for mounting, since these materials deteriorate rapidly.

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UNITS, NUMBERS AND SYMBOLS

Units of Measurement

The use of System International (SI) units, approved by the International General

Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM), is mandatory1 as primary units of

measure. Other units may be given in parentheses after the SI unit, if the original

measure is in different system units. An exception is when English units are used as

identifiers in trade, such as “3½ in disk drive”.

SI units are constructed from seven base units for independent physical

quantities (A, cd, K, kg, m, mol, and s), and two supplementary units for plane angle

(rad) and solid angle (sr), as shown in Table 4.1. Other common derived units, approved

by CGPM, are given in Table 4.2. Degree () can still be used for angles.

In engineering applications there is preference for use of prefixes representing

only the ternary powers of 10 (103, 106, 109, etc). For example, statements of pressure,

stress, and elastic modulus are preferably given in kPa, MPa, and GPa. The prefixes

hector, deka, deci, and centi should be avoided except in the special case of the

hectare, ha (the more common alternative symbol for hm2), which is used in expressing

large land areas, and the liter, L (the more common symbol for dm3, cubic decimeter),

which is used in expressing fluid or particulate volumes. Prefixes are applied directly to

unit symbols (e.g. millimeter, mm; megawatt, MW; kilonewton, kN; gigapascal, GPa)

except in the case of the kilogram, for which all prefixes are applied directly to the

gram; thus, for example, Mg (megagram) is 103 kg.

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Table 4.1 Base and Supplementary Units in SI System

Unit type Quantity Unit name Unit symbol

Base units

Amount of substance

mole mol

Electric current Ampere A

Length Metre m

Luminous intensity Candela cd

Mass Kilogram kg

Thermodynamic temperature

Kelvin K

Time Second s

Supplementary units Plane angle Radian rad

Solid angle Steradian sr

Table 4.2 SI Prefixes Applicable to Engineering

Factor Prefix symbola

109 Giga G

106 Mega M

103 Kilo k

102 Hector h

101 Deka da

10-1 Deci d

10-2 Centi c

10-3 Milli m

10-6 Micro

10-9 Nano n aUnit symbol to be used only when preceded by a numeral

Precise use of uppercase and lowercase letters is essential. There should be a

space between numerals and SI units (e.g. 201 Nm, 79 MW instead of 206m, 79MW).

However, use 2016‟32” instead of 20 16‟ 32” (no spaces between units and direction).

Do not use bold face or italicize or use period after SI units (e.g. 302 mm/ 200J instead

pf 302 mm./ 302 mm/ 302 mm/ 79 J./ 79 J etc.

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Use of Numbers

The general rule of thumb for number is to use words to express numbers less than 10

and figures to express numbers 10 and above (e.g. three cables, not 3 cables; and 25

samples, not twenty five samples). However, use figures for percentages, scores, dates,

ages, and numbers before a unit of measurement (e.g. 5 mm, not five mm). Use words

for number that begins a sentence, title or heading (when possible, re-word to avoid

beginning with a number) and common fractions (e.g. two-thirds).

Use a, one, two, 10, several, etc. million (or billion) without a final „s‟ on „million‟.

Millions (of …) can be used if there is no number or quantity before it. Always use plural

verb with million or millions, except when an amount of money is mentioned. Example:

Two million people were affected … but two million dollars was spent …

Use consistent numbers of formats. A series of related numbers should all be

presented with the same number of decimal places. Number of decimal places used

should be consistent with the actual accuracy of measurement of the quantity.

Use 0.50 (decimal point) instead of 0,50 (comma, used in French text); 9000

instead of 9,000 but if more than 10,000: 10,000 instead of 10000.

Use x 20 (multiplication symbol, with space after and before required) instead of

x20 (space missing)/ X20 (letter X, space missing)/ x 20 (letter x). use 4 + 5 > 7

(spaces between operators and numbers or variables are required) instead of 4+5>7

(spaces missing) but -8 / +8 (when used as separate instance, no space required)

instead of – 8 / + 8 (unnecessary spaces). Use “-“ (minus sign, available as symbol)

instead of “-“ (minus-hypen sign available on leyboard)

Numeral “0” (zero) is not interchangeable with the alphabet “O” and numeral “1”

(one) is not interchangeable with small letter “l” (el) or letter “I”. be sure to use letters

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in roman numerals where intended: Part I, Part II instead of Part 1, Part 2, Part 11, etc.

also use World War II instead of World War 2; „Henry VIII instead of „Henry 8‟, following

conventional practice.

When use the word “number” to describe quantity of thing, system, people, etc.,

use the appropriate singular or plural form of verbs. Examples: A large number of

machines have used this system. The number of people using PDA has increased

dramatically.

Use of Dates

Dates can be written in either of the following alternative styles:

20 May 2005 May 20, 2005

The 20th May 2005 2005, May the 20th (archaic style)

2005-05-20 (ISO system, preferred for computer usage)

The twentieth of April 2005 (only when it is necessary to write in words)

However, a single style should be followed throughout the entire thesis. Writing

dates entirely figures such as 17/5/93 (day/month/year, UK style) or 5/17/93

(month/day/year, US style) can create confusion and therefore, should be avoided.

Notations, Symbols and Abbreviations

Use the standard and universal notations. All Roman letters or English text representing

variables must always be italicized following scholarly convention. Notations for

matrices, tensors, and vectors should be typed in boldface. Greek letters should not be

italicized or bold.

Acronyms and abbreviations should be defined the first time they are used in

text. However, abbreviations and acronyms which are universally used in particular

discipline and which will not create any ambiguity need not to be defined.

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4.4.1 Commonly Used Abbreviations

i.e. (id est) means “that is”; introduces an explanation. Use no comma after second the period.

e.g. (exempli gratia) means “for example”; introduces example(s). Use no comma after the second period.

viz. (videlicet) means “namely”; introduces a list.

et al. (et alia) means “and others”; replaces a list of names of persons. Note no period after “et”.

etc. (et cetera) means “and so forth”; ends a list. Not preceded by “and” and always preceded by a comma. Example: grease, wax, tar, etc. instead of grease, wax, and tar, etc./ grease, wax, tar, and etc. do not use with a list of people.

vs. (versus) means against

ed./eds edition(s) or editor(s)

fig./figs. figure(s)

eq./eqs. equation(s)

Do not italicize the above terms. Never use short forms like “don‟t”, “it‟s”,

“there‟s”, etc.

Common Acronyms

Use UK, USA, UNHCR instead ofU.K., U.S.A., U.N.H.C.R.

Use M.Sc., Ph.D. for degrees instead of MSc or PhD.

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REFERENCE STYLE

Introduction

When you quote or paraphrase or summarize information, or use an idea or method

from a source, you need to give them credit with a citation or in-text reference of the

source. An in-text reference briefly identifies source of your information and allow

readers to locate the full reference from the list of References. Enough information

should be included, so that if someone interested, can precisely retrieve the source

materials. References cited in text must appear in the list of References (with exception

of personal communication, well-known encyclopedia, dictionary, etc.); conversely, each

entry in the list of References must be cited in text. Arrange entries in the list in

alphabetical order.

Reference and citation styles vary considerably with the type of the source.

Various categories of references and their styles are listed with examples in the

following sections. Note carefully every space, punctuation, period, capitalism,

italicization and abbreviation used with them. Note that entries in the list of Reference

are single spaced, left-indented by 12. mm except the first line.

5.2 Category of Sources and References Styles

Books

Generally:

Author, A.A., B.B. & Author, C.C. Year. Title of Work. City [or the first of the cities]: Publisher. Example: Magurran, A.E. 1988. Ecological diversity and its measurement. London: Croom Helm.

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Anders, G.J. 2005. Rating of Electric Power Cables in Unfavourable Thermal Environment. New York: Wiley-IEEE.

Ahmad, Z., Yusoff, M.Z. Aziz, K.A. 2003. Engineering Graphics with AutoCAD

2002. Petaling Jaya: Prentice Hall.

New edition and reprint:

Gilchrist, J.D. 1989. Extractive Metallurgy. 3rd Ed. Oxford: Pergamon Press. Brandlein, J., Eschmann, P., Hasbargen, L. &Weigand, K. 1999. Ball and Roller

Bearings: Theory, Design and Application. 3rd Ed. New York: Wiley.

Publication identified by title:

Akta. 2001. AktaPerancangan Bandar danDesa 1976 (Akta 171). Kuala Lumpur:

International Law Book Service. Hand Book of Cocoa, Coconut and Tea Statistics 1993: 14. Department of

Statistics, Malaysia. Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering. c. 1985-1989. 2nd Ed. New

York: Wiley.

Book with editor(s):

Donggara, J., Madsen, K. &Wasniewski, J. (eds.) 1995. Applied Parallel

Computing. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. HamzahHamdani (ed.). 1980. EseiSasteraDalamPengajaran,

PenyelidikandanPentadbiranUniversiti. Kumpulan KertasKerja 2. Bangi: UniversitiKebangsaanMalaysia.

Chapter in a book:

Used when a book has separate author(s) for each chapter and editor(s). Author, A.A. Author, B.B. Year. Title of chapter. In A. Editor & B. Editor (eds.),

Title of Book, Nth Ed., xxx-xxx. City: Publisher. Example:

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Mustafa, S. &Ridzwan, A.R. 1998. Nuclei acid profiles in mackerel, RastrelligerKanagurta, From west coast of Sabah. In Mohamed, M., Bernard, H. (eds.). Tropical Ecosystem Research in Sabah, pp. 56-52. KotaKinabalu:ums.

Multiple volumes:

Ensiklopedia Pembangunan Sabah. 1981. Jld 6. KotaKinabalu: Usaha Baru. Crisfield, M.A. 199. Non-linear Finite Element Analysis of Solids and Structures.

Vol. 1. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Monograph:

Zainah Ahmad. 2003. PolitikSabahSebelumPenjajahanJepun. Monograf 3.

KotaKinabalu: UniversitiMalaysiaSabah. Stephanopoulos, G. 1987. Knowledge-Based Systems in Process Engineering: An

Overview. Series of Monographs on AI in Chemical Engineering. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Encyclopedia:

Coolier‟s Encyclopedia. vol. 16. 1985. London: Macmillan Educational Company. Bignell, D.E. &Eggleton, P. 1998. Termites. InCalow, P. (ed.). Encyclopedia of

ecology and environmental management. Blackwell scientific, pp 44-746. Oxford.

Dictionaries:

Abd. NuhdanOemarBakry. 1996. KamusMelayu-Arab-Inggeris. Kuala Lumpur:

VictoriaAgencies.

Academic Papers in Journals:

Author, A.A., Author, B.B., & Author, C.C. Year. Title of Article: Subtitle if there is

one. Title of Journalxx[= volume number in bold](x[= issue number in parenthesis]): xxx-xxx[=range of pages].

Example:

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Mahani Musa. 1999. Malay Secret Societies in Penang: 1830s-1920s. Journal of The Malaysian Branch of The Royal Asiatic Society. 65(2):151-182.

Peng, G. 2005. A practical combined computation method of mean through-flow

for 3D inverse design of hydraulic turbomachinery blades. Journal of Fluids Engineering 127(6): 1183-1190.

Vlachogiannis, J.G., Hatziargyriou, N.D.& Lee, K.Y. 2005. Ant colony system-

based algorithm for constrained load flow problem. IEEE Transaction on Power Systems20(3): 1241-1249.

Academic Papers in Proceedings

Ismail Haji Ibrahim. 2000. SenarioSeniLukisSabah: StaildanTema. Borneo 2000:

Proceedings of the Sixth Biennial Borneo Research Conference. UMS. 55-586.

Judkins, T.N., Narazaki, K., Oleynikov, D. &Stergiou, N. 2005. Electrmyographic

frequency response of robotic laparoscopic training. Proc. IEEE 9th Int. Conf. Rehabilitation Robotics: Frontiers of the Human-Machine Interface (ICORR 2005), Chicago, 28 June-1 July, 418-421.

Thesis and Dissertation

Yap Beng Liang. 1977. Orang Bajau Pulau Omadal, Sabah: Satu Kajian Tentang

Sistem Budaya. Kuala Lumpur: Universiti Malaya. Jin, H. 2005. Scalable sensor localization algorithms for wireless sensor networks.

Ph.D. dissertation. University of Toronto. Zamri, M.Y. 1997. An improved treatment of two-dimensional two-phase flows of

steam by a Runge-Kutta method. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.

Reports

PERANGKAAN PERDAGANGAN LUAR SABAH. 1986. Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia. 3-21.

Rosenberry, R. (ed.) 2002. World shrimp forming 2002. Annual Report Number

15. San Diego, USA: Shrimp News International. World Health Report 1998. World Health Organization (WHO). 1998.

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Standards and Codes of Practice

ASTM A210. 1998. Standard specification for seamless medium-carbon steel

boiler and superheater tubes. Annual Book of ASTM Standards 1998, 01.01: 102-105. Pennsylvania: American Society for Testing and Materials.

BS EN 60885 Part 2. 2003. Electrical test methods for electric cables: Partial

discharge tests. London: British Standards Institution.

Electronic and Internet Sources

Website (or part of a website):

University of Georgia. Points of Pride. University of Georgia. Retrieved 10 April

2005, from http://www.uga.edu/profile/pride.html Selected ancyclopaedias and major reference works in polymer science and

technology at StanfordUniversity. 2005. Retrieved 12 December 2005, from http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/swain/polymer/encyc.html

Note: Do not leave a hyperlink underlined in blue.

Web page with private organization as author:

Midwest League. 2003. Green Steel. Retrieved 1 October 2003, from

http://www.midwestleague.com/indicpitching.html

Web page, government author:

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. 2001. Glacial habitat restoration

areas. Retrieved 18 September 2001, from http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/hunt/hra.htm

A journal article from a subscription data base:

Teel, A.R., Zaccarian, L. &Marcinkowski, J.J. 2006. An anti-windup strategy for

active vibration isolation system. Control Engineering Practice 14(1): 1-98. ScienceDirect. Retrieved 9 January 2006, from http://www.sciencedirect.com

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Article in a journal published only online:

Gupta, M. & Gupta, L.M. 2004. Evaluation of stress distribution in bolted steel

angles under tension. Electronic Journal of Structural Engineering, 4: 17-27. Retrieved 16 August 2005, from http://www.ejse.org

Newspaper article from Internet:

Kornblum, J. 2005. It‟s online, but is it true? USA Today, 6 December, final

edition, http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2005-12-06-wikipedia-truth_x.htm

E-book:

Bloom, H. 1996. Mark Twain‟s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Bloom‟s Notes.

Broomall, Pennsylvania: Chelsea. NetLibrary. Uniten Lib., Malaysia1. Retrieved 23 May 2003, from http://www.netlibrary.com

CD ROM:

Genetic Engineering. 1994. Compton‟s Interactive Encyclopedia. Version 2.0. CD-

ROM. Compton‟s NewMedia, Inc. ___________________ 1Location from where the site was accessed.

Articles

Appell, G.N. 1972 “Murut Depopulation and The SipitangLunDayeh.” JMBRAS,

45(2). Shiau, S.Y. & Liu, J.S. 1994. Quantifying the vitamin K requirement of juvenile

marine shrimp, Penaeusmonodon, with menadione. Journal of Nutrition 124:227-282.

Idris, M.A. 1999. Virtual classroom: A focus on interactive and collaborative

learning. Berita UNITEN3(4). Nicholson, P. 2005. Hurricane Katrina: Why did the levees fail? ASCE

News25(10): 10-12.

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News or Features in Newspapers

News or peature with name of author provided: Parrish, M. 1992. L.A. firms helps utility with innovative plan. Los Angeles Times,

4 August 1992. 2 pp. Othman, Z. 2005. Scrap metal thieves costing TNB millions. Malay Mail, 18

December 1:1

News or feature with name of author not provided:

BeritaHarian, 1987. KebangkitanMasyarakatMelayu.

Film or Video Recording

FilemCereka. 1972. KabusMalam. Jakarta: PuncakKeris.

Maps

Geological Map of Peninsular Malaysia. 1985. 8th Ed. Two sheets. Scale

1:500,000. Kuala Lumpur. Geological Survey of Malaysia.

Interview

RazakJanau. 4 tahun. Jalan Bukit, Kampung Padas, Papar. Ketua Kampung

Padas. “Sosio-ekonomi Penduduk Tempatan Pada Zaman Penjajah.” 26 September 2003.

Citing References in Text

To refer to an item in the list of References from the next, an author-date style should

be used. Use the surname of the author (without suffixes) and the year of the

publication in the text at appropriate points. Page number(s) should also be cited for

direct quotes and to indicate specific location.

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Single author:

John (1989) proved that … … as was investigated by Bakar (1999) … Many (e.g. Skinner 1990; Zulkipli 2001) suggested that … In the landmark study of the electromagnetic radiation (Chin 1999), it was … In the year 1996, Clifford discovered that … Zaki (1999) stresses the … Zaki justifies the need for … Note: Do not use Mr. John, Ms. Jen, Encik Zaki, Datin Rozita, etc. in any citation.

Joint authors (two persons):

When work has two authors, always cite both names every time the reference occurs. … Jack and Richard (1987) defined entropy as … … the new method proves to be more accurate than the eisting methods (Rembold &

Storr 1998) …

More than two authors:

For works with three or more authors, cite all authors the first time the reference

occurs. In subsequent citations, include only the last name of the first author followed

by et al.

… the model was first proposed by Gupta, Satish, Deva and Joshi (1999) … Gupta et al. (1999) also argued that if …

Name of author not provided:

… (ASTM C192 1992); … (BS 5950: Part 1 2001); …(AISI Specifications 1996); … (Ministry of Finance 1992); … (Committee on the Eradication of Poverty (CEP) 1997); … (CIDB 2005); … (Petronas Towers declared 1996).

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Note: In case the publication can only be identified with a long title, use a few words from the beginning of the title for citation in text.

Authors with the same last name:

Evan, D.J. (1992) and Evans, J.R. (1992) …

Multiple references:

Multiple citations in parentheses are placed alphabetically and are separated by a

semicolon and a space. More than one references by the same author(s) with year are

separated by a comma.

(Bamkole 1987; Curle 1967; Henson 1995, 1996; Reiss 1967) (Rembold et al. 1989a, 1989b, 1993)

Citation of a work that is cited in another reference:

… According to Curtis (1998), the system does not work unless coupled with another DSC device (as cited in Smith & McClelland 2000). Note: The reference Curtis (1998) will not be listed in the list of References. The best thing is to collect the Curtis‟ article.

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