DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY

LA UNION

FORMAT for UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

and
GRADUATE THESIS andDISSERTATION

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 FORMAT FOR UNDERGRADUATE THESIS AND
GRADUATE THESIS ANDDISSERTATION

Preliminaries

1. Cover Page
2. TITLE PAGE
3. APPROVAL SHEET
4. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
5. DEDICATION (optional)
6. TABLE OF CONTENTS
7. LIST OF TABLES
8. LIST OF FIGURES
9. LIST OF PLATES
10. ABSTRACT
COVER PAGE AND TITLE PAGE

Title – All capital letters, centered, inverted pyramid and not to exceed three (3) lines; to follow
proper division of phrases
Author(s) – for group research, the name of the lead researcher will appear first then the names
of the other members will follow to be arranged alphabetically (maximum of five students in a
group)
All capital letters, centered
First Name, Middle Initial, Family Name
Name of the University, Campus, College, Address (All in capital letters, centered)
Degree All capital letters
Major/Specialization – Only the first letter of the words are capitalized
Date of completion - Month and Year (March 2013 or May 2013 or October 2013)
Group/Team research is not allowed in the Graduate level
Font size: 12 Font Style: Times New Roman (for both cover/title page)

Line Spacing: single spaced; parts evenly spaced

Spine: Author(s) - For group research: Lead Author, et al.

Title
Year
Color: Baccalaureate: Maroon
Master’s : Green
Doctorate : Black

APPROVAL SHEET
“Chair” shall be used referring to the Chairperson of the Oral Examination Committee (graduate
level) / Thesis Committee (undergraduate level).
“Department Chair” shall be used referring to the Program Chair or Chairperson of the Program.

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Thesis Committee Membership: maximum of 10 memberships

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This shall be presented in a formal language, narrative format, third person, with no pictures or
graphics

Initials of author(s) with no punctuation mark shall be placed at the end.

No limit as to the number of pages; no boldface fonts in the body

DEDICATION
This must be brief, centered on one page with no heading.

This is an optional part of the Preliminary

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preliminaries and Chapter Title shall be CAPITALIZED.

Items in every chapter shall be in Title Case.
Chapter Title shall be numbered using the Hindu-Arabic Numeral.
List of Tables, List of Figures, and List of Plates shall only reflect those that appear in the text.
(Screen Prints shall be included in the List of Plates)
Paging for the preliminaries shall use the Roman Numeral small case. Flush right for the page
numbers.
Paging for the main parts shall use the Hindu-Arabic Numerals. Flush right for the page
numbers.
Dots shall be used as leaders. ( no space between dots ……….)
The item “Table of Contents” shall not be included in the Table of Contents.

LIST OF TABLES

1. Only the tables that appear in the text shall be included in the list.
2. Numbering (in Hindu-Arabic form) of tables in the text shall be continuous.

LIST OF FIGURES

1. Only the figures (graphs, charts, other illustrative materials) that appear in the text shall be
included.
2. Numbering (in Hindu-Arabic form) of figures in the text shall be continuous.

LIST OF PLATES

1. Only the plates(pictures) that appear in the text shall be included.

2. Numbering (in Hindu-Arabic form) of plates in the text shall be continuous.

Tables, Figures, Plates which are in support to basic/primary data in the text shall be placed in
the appendices
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 ABSTRACT
1. The Abstract is an abridged version of the most important results of the study.
2. It is a one-page part of the preliminary with a maximum of 150 words which includes one
sentence of the situation/background of the study, the objectives/problems of the study, the
methodology, and the salient findings.
3. Conclusions and recommendations shall not be included in the abstract.
4. The Abstract shall be presented in the format (note the parts in bold face):
NAME. (Year). Title. Degree (fully spelled out). School, College, Address.
5. The name of the Adviser shall be in bold Title Case.
6. Listing of alphabetically arranged key words shall be placed below the abstract.
7. Abstract shall be in italics, single spaced.

8. Placed before Chapter 1.

Chapter 1 (Hindu-Arabic)

INTRODUCTION (Center heading)

TECHNICAL RESEARCH SOCIAL RESEARCH

 Situation Analysis (Side Heading)  Situation Analysis (Side Heading)

(Discussion on the what and why and Discussion on the what’s and why’s of
significance/importance of the study.) the study. Embedded in the discussion is the
significance/importance of the research that
justifies the study

 Framework of the Study (with Paradigm)

Presentation of major theories/concepts
from which the study is anchored

Introduce the theories/concepts in

diagram form showing their interrelationship
and their relation to the current study

The discussion of theories/concepts

should lead to the paradigm of the study
which must comprehensively explain the
relationship of the variables and the
direction of the study

 Statement of Objectives (both general and  Statement of the Problem

specific shall be stated in declarative
sentence) General/main problem shall be in
declarative form and the specific problems
shall be in interrogative form.
 Time and Place of the study
 Definition of Terms (Operational
definition)
 Definition of Terms (operational

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 definition)  Symbols and Notations ( for pure math
research)
Note: The Review of Literature will no longer be a part of the Thesis or Dissertation. Literature
shall be incorporated in the Situation Analysis, Framework of the Study, Methodology, and in the
Discussion of Results.

Set-off quotations shall not use quotation marks; single spaced; with 5 space margin from the
left margin and 5 space margin from the right margin

Chapter 2

METHODOLOGY

TECHNICAL RESEARCH SOCIAL RESEARCH

 Research Design  Research Design

 Materials and Procedure Specify general and specific design used

and justification for the choice in relation to
 the data to be gathered
This includes the sources of data and
instrumentation  Sources of Data (include scope and content)

 Data Gathered Identify population and sampling,

sampling procedures and data, and
 Data Analysis justification for the choice of sampling
method

Locale and time coverage

 Instrumentation and Data Collection

Present the instruments to be used, the

parts, and the validation procedures
conducted

Show in diagram form the steps

undertaken in collecting the data and
explained afterwards

 Analysis of Data
Specify tool to gather specific data
Create guides for the categorization and
interpretation of data, including levels of
significance/correlation and softwares used

Note: In Case of Qualitative Research,

Statistical Tool and Categorization of Data
are deleted as parts

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 Chapter 3

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The discussion of results shall be guided by the statement of problems or objectives.

Presentation of tables/figures/plates shall follow a short introduction about the table/figure/plate.

As much as possible, tables/figures/plates shall not be placed in between paragraphs.

In case of long tables and there is a need to cut the table, the first part should always be longer
than the second part.

If the remaining part of a cut table consists of 2-3 lines only, the font size may be reduced (up to
font 10) so that the table will be accommodated in just one page

Table Presentation

Table 1. (2 spaces) Title Case ( In case of a two-liner title, the first

letter in the second line should be aligned to the first
letter in the first line)

The table shall be drawn from margin to margin.

Double line on top (same line weight; 1 ½ )
Double line at the bottom (same line weight; 1 ½ )
*Single line to separate the grand mean
*Use single space if there are more than 10 entries in table.
*Use double space if there are less than 10 entries in a table.
MEAN shall be entered up to two decimal places only.
Font size may be reduced up to font size 10 (Times New Roman)
Single space separates the Table Title and table
Double space separates the Table Header and the first entry line
Use the symbol M to refer to Mean and WM to refer to Weighted Mean
Use the symbol (%) in the table and when enclosed in parentheses; in words in the
discussion part (percent)
(2 single spaces)
Table 1. Continuous coding using the Hindu-Arabic number

1 1/2

Legend:

(2 single spaces)

Figure Format
Figures shall be enclosed, drawn from margin to margin.
Needed data such as percentages/frequencies shall be evident.
The Notation Fig.1. Title (Title of the figure) shall be placed below the figure.

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Format of Plates

The size of the plate is preferably half page of the paper.

The plate shall be drawn from margin to margin.
Two (2) plates in one page may be allowed.
Number and title shall be placed below the enclosed plate.
How to Present, Analyze, and Interpret Data

For every problem statement

a. Prefatory Information.

Make a one paragraph introduction of the problem

b. Introduce table/figure/chart

c. Display the table/figure/chart. If it cannot be displayed in the same page, display

it on the immediate page following the presentation

d. Present only the critical data/results. DO NOT STATE WHAT IS OBVIOUSLY

IN THE TABLE. If data are numerous and repetitive, reading becomes boring,
hence, only highlights or important parts of the data are textually presented.

i. Use logical form of presentation

1. General observation (e.g. general mean) followed by specific
observations (weighted means by cluster) or vice versa
ii. Extract the significant findings (e.g. top three and last three and the
average)
e.
Descriptive equivalents/interpretation should be “artistically embedded in the
discussion and not presented as it appears in the table.
i. Wrong: The table shows that Indicator 1 which states “The leader is
democratic….” has an average weighted mean of 4.50 which means “very
much evident ” as rated by the respondents.
ii. Correct: The table shows that democratic process is very much evident
in the institution based on the computed average weighted mean of 4.50.
iii. Correct: It is evident in the table that democratic processes are very much
evident (AWM=4.50) as perceived by the three groups of respondents.

f. Textual presentation must be followed by interpretation, inference or

implication
i. Statement of Results.

Explain why the results came out as such. If results are unexpected, be
able to provide explanation.

Elements of Interpretation
a. Condition
b. Cause
c. Effect
d. Suggestion

ii. Restatement of Hypothesis* (as needed)

iii. Compare results with previous findings/theories to make generalizations
iv. Draw conclusion/ making a claim
v. Explain the implication of the finding/conclusion to the field of study or to
concerned groups
vi. Recommendations from other researches (as needed)

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 Chapter 4

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary (Side heading)

Introductory statement, problems, methodology, and salient findings (numbered) in
paragraph form.

Conclusions (Side heading)

Introductory statement and conclusions answering the objectives (numbered and in list
form); no numerical/statistical presentations

Recommendations (Side heading)

Introductory statement and recommendations (numbered and in list form)

NOTE: All major parts of the research should appear as side headings (flushed to the left
margin)

LITERATURE CITED
References shall be alphabetically arranged with no categorization (double spaced; hanging
indention).

Electronic sources shall include the date and time of retrieval. Citations/reviews taken from
Wikipedia/Blogs are not acceptable.

Follow APA format (6th edition)

Secondary citation shall be limited to two (2) only.

References shall be 50% published materials and 50% unpublished materials.

Researches as reference shall be within the last five (5) years; no restriction as to the date of
publication of theories/principles/seminal works .

The minimum number of literature to be reviewed and cited shall be 20 for Baccalaureate, 30 for
Master’s and 50 for Doctorate.

APPENDICES

TECHNICAL RESEARCH SOCIAL RESEARCH

A. Tables A. Communication
B. Figures B. Questionnaire/Instrument
C. Plates C. Tables
D. Others D. Figures
E. Plates
F. Others

To be exhibited in continuous sequence following the sequence categories listed above

The alphabet should be used for coding; no use of alphanumeric or decimal coding.

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 CURRICULUM VITAE
The Curriculum Vitae shall reflect a listing of the personal information, educational
background, expertise, training and seminars attended by the researcher and other pertinent
information.
It should follow a single space format for every item and double space format between
items.
A passport size, colored picture with plain background shall be placed at the upper right
hand corner of the page. Researcher must wear blouse/collared shirt
In case of group research, each member of the group shall have a separate curriculum
vitae.

Contents:Name, Address, date of Birth, Civil Status, Parents/Guardians/Spouse with Children,

School Attended, Trainings/Seminars, Designation, Positions held, Awards Received,
Eligibilities/Board Exams Passed, Consultancy and Expert Services, Researches Conducted,
Publications, etc.

OTHERS:

Paper size:8.5” x 11” Color: Doctorate – Black

Margin: left – 1.5” Master’s – Green
top – 1.3” Undergraduate – Maroon
bottom – 1”
right -1”

Spine: Pagination
Author(s) – for group research: Title page; No pagination
lead Author, et al. Preliminaries: bottom, center, (i, ii, iii…)
Title Other pages: Upper right hand (Hindu Arabic)
Year Start of Chapter: included in the pagination
but page number is hidden/omitted

Other Format Instructions:

Set an automatic TAB stop of 0.5” for paragraph indentation.

Set four spaces between Chapter Title and First entry heading

Four spaces between main side headings (Parts of Research)

For multi-level headings follow the presentation below:

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 Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Situation Analysis

Framework of the Study (First Level, boldface, flush left)

Theories and Disciplines Engendering the Genre Theory (Second Level, boldface,
Indented; text follows in the next line)

English for Specific Purposes(Third Level, italics, indented; text follows immediately
after period)

Systemic-Functional Linguistics (Third Level, italics, indented; text follows

immediately after period)

Genre Studies Across Disciplines (Second Level, boldface, indented; text follows in the
next line)

Statement of the Problem (First Level, boldface, flush left)

Definition of Terms

Competence (Indented; italicized; period; definition)

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