UNDERGRADUATE

THESIS FORMATTING
GUIDE

Edition 2006

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI TENAGA NASIONAL
 PREFACE

Need for a comprehensive thesis formatting guide to help students prepare their
undergraduate final year project thesis has been felt for sometime. To address this
need, the current Final Year Project (FYP) Committee of College of Engineering, in
August 2005 contemplated the complete revamp of the existing guidelines.
Eventually, a sub-committee, headed by Dr. Abdul Monayem Akhand, was entrusted
with the task. The sub-committee was responsible for preparation of this guide.

This guide has been prepared following styling conventions used by various
internationally reputed professional organisations including IEEE, ASME and ASCE
in their publications, so that our engineering graduates can be familiar with the major
elements of styling in their disciplines. However, unlike many conventional guides,
the provisions of this guide are formulated on the presumption that students will use
any word processor program, not a type writer or professional software, in preparing
the thesis. Therefore, we hope that students should be able to implement the
provisions with relative ease.

The guide has been made as comprehensive as possible keeping in mind the
need of the young undergraduates who have little or no exposure to formal and
professional writing styles. Therefore, as much guidance and explanations as possible
have been provided, and logical reasoning behind those provisions have been given
where viewed necessary. A large number of examples in the form of exact replicas
have been added to demonstrate the results of the application of various provisions of
this guide. The contents of this guide have also been formatted, where possible,
exactly following the style prescribed under this guide in order to provide additional
guidance. With these efforts, we hope that this guide will be able to meet the
requirements of the young learners effectively.

The FYP Committee would like to thank everybody who contributed to

preparation of this guide. All efforts have been made to make this guide free from
errors – at least major errors. Any suggestion, however, for improvement will be
cordially welcomed, and will be seriously considered in future revision of the guide.

Faris Tarlochan
11 January 2006 Chairman
Final Year Project Committee
College of Engineering
 iii

CONTENTS

Page
PREFACE ii
CONTENTS iii
LIST OF TABLES vi
LIST OF FIGURES vii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Overview 1

CHAPTER II APPEARANCE OF THE THESIS 3

2.1 General 3
2.2 Length 3
2.3 Paper 3
2.4 Printing 3
2.5 Binding 4
2.6 Margins 4
2.7 Font and Spacing 5
2.8 Page Numbers 6
2.9 Paragraphs 6
2.10 Footnotes 7
2.11 Thesis Cover 8
2.11.1 Front Cover 8
2.11.2 Spine 8
2.11.3 Other Covers 8
2.11.4 Colour of Thesis Covers 8
2.12 Language 9

CHAPTER III ARRANGEMENT OF CONTENTS 10

3.1 Introduction 10
3.2 Title Page 11
3.3 Letter of Approval 11
3.4 Declaration 11
3.5 Dedication (optional) 12
3.6 Acknowledgements (optional) 12
 iv

3.7 Abstract 12
3.8 Table of Contents 13
3.9 List of Tables 14
3.10 List of Figures 14
3.11 List of Symbols or Abbreviations 15
3.12 Text – Technical Contents of the Thesis 15
3.12.1 Chapters 16
3.12.2 Headings and Sub-headings 16
3.12.3 Quotations 17
3.12.4 Equations 18
3.12.5 Lists and Bullets 19
3.13 End Pages 19
3.13.1 References 19
3.13.2 Appendix or Appendices (Optional) 20

CHAPTER IV FIGURES AND TABLES 22

4.1 General 22
4.2 Captions of Figures and Tables 22
4.3 Placement 23
4.4 Numbering 23
4.5 Citation of Tables and Figures in Text 24
4.6 Formats and Quality of Tables and Figures 24

CHAPTER V UNITS, NUMBERS AND SYMBOLS 26

5.1 Units of Measurement 26
5.2 Use of Numbers 28
5.3 Use of Dates 30
5.4 Hyphen, Dashes and Ellipsis 30
5.5 Notations, Symbols and Abbreviations 31
5.5.1 Commonly Used Abbreviations 31
5.5.2 Common Acronyms 32

CHAPTER VI REFERENCE STYLES 33

6.1 Introduction 33
6.2 Category of Sources and Reference Styles 33
6.2.1 Books 33
6.2.2 Encyclopedia and Dictionaries 34
 v

6.2.3 Academic Papers in Journals 35

6.2.4 Academic Papers in Proceedings 35
6.2.5 Thesis and Dissertation 35
6.2.6 Reports 35
6.2.7 Standards and Codes of Practice 36
6.2.8 Electronic and Internet Sources 36
6.2.9 Articles in Magazines 37
6.2.10 News or Features in Newspapers 37
6.2.11 Film or Video Recording 37
6.2.12 Maps 37
6.2.13 Personal Communications 38
6.3 Citing References in Text 38

APPENDICES 40
A Sample Pages 41
B Roman Numerals 57
C Greek Alphabets 58
D List of Standard Abbreviations 59
 vi

LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Page

2.1 Text margins from the edges of untrimmed paper 4
5.1 Base and supplementary units in SI system 26
5.2 Derived SI units approved by the International General
Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) 27
5.3 SI prefixes applicable to engineering 28
 vii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Page

A.1 Example of page margins 41
A.2 Example of chapter heading 42
A.3 Example of contents of front cover 43
A.4 Example of spine of thesis 44
A.5 Example of title page 45
A.6 Example of Letter of Approval 46
A.7 Example of Declaration page 47
A.8 Example of Abstract page 48
A.9 Example of table of Contents 49
A.10 Example of List of Tables 50
A.11 Example of List of Figures 51
A.12 Example of List of Symbols 52
A.13 Example of placement of equations 53
A.14 Example of list of References 54
A.15 Example of figure in portrait orientation 55
A.16 Example of a figure in landscape orientation 56
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview

A thesis1 is defined as a dissertation (i.e. a discourse) based on original research,

presented as a work toward an academic degree2. A thesis is a proposition, an
assertion supported by arguments, rather than just a mere collection of data. This
means that when you have finished your research, you should systematically arrange
your material to inform the reader of your purpose and direction.

Thesis presentation has two aspects. Firstly, it is inherently formal, for good
reasons of maintaining scientific and academic standards, ensuring clarity, consistency
and uniformity. Secondly, a thesis should be unambiguous and precise in meaning,
and accurate in information, and easy to comprehend. A good set of prescriptive rules
can be very effective in achieving the elements of the first aspect. However, it is
difficult to explore all elements of the second aspect, which comprises issues of
effective writing, writing style, information design, and skills that extend well beyond
any set of prescriptive rules.

Style or format refers to the overall layout of a thesis. Style not only makes a
thesis easier to read but also visually engaging. For lucidity and consistency, it is
important to strictly adhere to a consistent set of style rules or formatting conventions
commonly followed in published professional works within a field. It is very
important to be accurate in following style rules in all aspects – from the organization
of the contents and use of references to spacing, punctuation and capitalisation. Your
thesis may be your first encounter with such prescriptive rules. Therefore, preparation

1
The word thesis means an unproven statement or opinion which serves as a premise in an argument,
and which is discussed in a logical way and presented with evidence in order to prove that it is true.
2
More commonly an M.Sc. or a Ph.D. degree. Undergraduate research work may also be termed as term
paper, project paper, etc.
 2

of your thesis following a set of guidelines can be an important learning experience to

prepare yourself for participation in professional activities to fuller extent.

A good work can sometimes be almost destroyed by an inadequate attention to

its presentation, such as poor style, grammar or by wrong spelling. In this regard, you
should strive for both accuracy and consistency. A carelessly prepared thesis may very
well negatively influence the reader’s perception about the quality of the total work.

This guide sets forth the specifications as to the style and formatting of
undergraduate thesis to be submitted to the College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga
Nasional. However, for guidance on the elements of good writing students have to
depend on knowledge gained from the relevant specialised courses offered at Uniten
or elsewhere. They are also advised to attend seminars and read books on the subject
(key words: presentation skills, technical writing, effective writing, public speaking).

For style issues not addressed specifically in this guide, the comprehensive
references that can be consulted are: The Chicago Manual of Style (published by the
University of Chicago, USA), and the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (APA Manual), in that order.
 CHAPTER II

APPEARANCE OF THE THESIS

2.1 General

Thesis must be prepared using computer. Any word processor program, such as
Microsoft Word can generally be sufficient. However, thesis with complex equations
can be prepared using any scientific typesetting package such as LATEX and TEX

available free on the Web.

2.2 Length

Thesis should be normally between 80 and 120 pages long, exclusive of front matter
and appendices.

2.3 Paper

All copies of the thesis to be submitted must be printed on ISO A4 size (210 × 297
mm) 80-gm plain paper, or bond paper. Text must be printed on one side of the paper
only.

2.4 Printing

A laser quality printer should be used in producing the final copy. Dot matrix
printouts are not acceptable. 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.
 4

2.5 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.

2.6 Margins

Set margins according to the distances specified in Table 2.1. These margins are
necessary to allow for binding and trimming.

TABLE 2.1 Text margins from the edges of untrimmed paper

Page orientation
Margins
Portrait Landscape
Top margin 30 mm 38 mm
Bottom margin 25 mm 25 mm
Left margin 38 mm 25 mm
Right margin 25 mm 25 mm

Chapter titles should be typed 50 mm (= 30 mm common margin plus 56.7

points1) from the top edge of the paper. Other titles, except in cover and title page,
should be typed 30 mm from the top edge.

Header (here, for page numbers) should be set 12.7 mm from the top margin
for pages in portrait and 25 mm for pages in landscape, aligning right margin. Footer
(for footnotes) should be set at 12.7 mm from bottom margin for both the portrait and
landscape pages.

See Figure A.1 for a sample page margin setup.

See Figure A.2 for a sample chapter heading.

1
1 point = 1/72 inch = 0.352778 mm, in the US system.
 5

2.7 Font and Spacing

Use only the Times New Roman font for the entire thesis. Except for the cover and
spine, use only the black colour font.

• All materials (except the cover, footnotes, endnotes and long offset quotations)
must be typed using 12-point font size. Footnotes, endnotes, and long offset
quotations should be typed in 10-point font size. Contents of a table may
optionally be typed in 10-point font size to accommodate large contents. Fonts
used in illustrations and drawings should not be smaller than 8 points. Use
consistent fonts on all your figures. See respective sections for more details.

• The use of excessive italic or bold font for the purpose of emphasis within the
text is discouraged.

• Underlining of text, titles or headings should be avoided. On a typewriter,

underlining was the only way to emphasise words. It should rarely be used in a
word processed document; bold type is much more effective.

• Main body of the text must be typed using one and a half (1.5) lines or 21-
point (preferable1) space. Text of the title page, Declaration, Dedication,
Acknowledgment, Abstract, Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures,
Footnotes, chapter title, table and figure captions, legends, headings and sub-
headings, long quotations and list of References should use single (or
preferably, 14-point) space. However, there should be 6-point additional space
between entries in all the lists and References.

• There should be 6-point space between the items in a bulleted or numbered list
and also between the top of the list and the preceding text.

• Leave at least 24-point blank spaces before and after tables and figures except
at the very top or bottom of pages.

• Space once:

- Between words

1
Unless specified explicitly, general purpose word processor programs, e.g. MS Word, use variable
spaces between lines as a visual aid. E.g. for single line spacing, actual line spacing varies between 1.1
and 1.2 times the font size, depending on the font type and the tallest letter appearing on a line.
 6

- 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: Use (John & Curie 2001) instead of ( John & Curie
2001 ).

2.8 Page Numbers

Page numbers should be in 12-point Times New Roman font placed at the top right
corner of the page. Page numbers should be placed 12.7 mm and 25 mm from the top
margin for pages in portrait and landscape respectively, aligning right margin.

• All pages of the thesis (including blank pages, if any) should be accounted for.

• Front matter (all the pages before Chapter I) pages are numbered consecutively
using small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, …). Although the title page and
approval page count as pages i and ii, respectively, numbers should not appear
on these pages.

• Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, …) begin with the first page of Chapter I. The
numbering begins here at 1 and continues to the end of the thesis, including
Appendices and References. Page number should not appear on the opening
pages of chapter, References and Appendices, but these pages should be
counted.

2.9 Paragraphs

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

• First paragraph is not indented. First line of the second and subsequent
paragraphs are indented by 12.7 mm1.

1
The purpose is to visually emphasise the change of paragraph, by making the first line appear different.
In typewriter, this was done by leaving only one or two blank lines, but no indent.
 7

• There should be 12-point space between a paragraph heading and the

following first paragraph, and also between paragraphs. There should be a 24-
point space between a last paragraph and the following heading.

• A paragraph spanning between two pages should leave at least two lines of
text on both the 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.

See Figures A.1–A.2 for examples.

2.10 Footnotes

Textual notes that provide supplementary information such as explanations, opinions,

definition or suggestions on the item of the text, but that are not part of the text,
should appear at the bottom of the page as a footnote. Footnotes are numbered
consecutively for each page separately. The line separator between the text and the
footnote must not be less than 40 mm. If there are many pages containing footnotes
total length of which is more than half a page, they may be gathered together at the
end of the chapter as endnotes. Endnotes are marked consecutively for each chapter
separately.

All footnotes and endnotes should be single-spaced, typed in 10-point font and
justified between margins. There should be 3-point space between entries. Footnotes
and endnotes are not indented.

References are sometimes listed as footnotes or endnotes. However, such

practice is uncommon in engineering disciplines and is not recommended.

1
A widow is the last line of a paragraph printed by itself at the top of a page. An orphan is the first line
of a paragraph printed by itself at the bottom of a page.
 8

Example 1
Footnote(s):

“… The cloud chamber experiment laid down the foundation for understanding the
phenomenon of supersaturation 1 where it was found that condensation was delayed if
air saturated with water vapour …”

The footnote 1 will appear at the bottom of the respective page as:
1
Many believe that the phenomenon was first observed by T.R. Wilson in 1897, long before it was
formally published by Westergrad (1905).

2.11 Thesis Cover

2.11.1 Front Cover

The cover page must contain the thesis title, student name, the phrases “College of
Engineering” and “Universiti Tenaga Nasional” and the year submitted.

Title should be typed forming a reverse pyramid paragraph. All contents on

cover page should be in 16-point, single spacing, all caps, bold and in golden colour
typeface.

See Figure A.3 for example of arrangement of text on front cover.

2.11.2 Spine

Spine should contain the student name, name of the degree and the year submitted,
typed in 16-point, single spacing, all caps, bold and in golden colour typeface.

See Figure A.4 for example of arrangement of text on spine.

2.11.3 Other Covers

Other cover pages (inside front cover and back covers) should not contain any
information or advertisement, and should be left completely blank.

2.11.4 Colour of Thesis Covers

The colour of thesis covers for all academic departments of College of Engineering
should be Dark Brown. Cover colour should be strictly adhered to. In order to avoid
 9

any variation in shades of colour, students are advised to consult the respective
departments for sample cover.

2.12 Language

The thesis should be written in English. Spelling convention should generally follow
the British Commonwealth practice.

Text should be written in third person and in 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.
 CHAPTER III

ARRANGEMENT OF CONTENTS

3.1 Introduction

Every thesis is composed of three physical content divisions:

• Front matter or preliminary pages

• Text pages

• References and Appendices (if any).

Each content division has several sections, which should be arranged in the
following sequence:

Front Matter
Title Page
Letter of Approval
Declaration
Dedication (Optional)
Acknowledgment (Optional)
Abstract
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
Symbols and/or Abbreviations

Main Body of the Work – Text

Chapters (Introduction, sections and sub-sections and a concluding
section).

References

Appendix or Appendices (Optional)

 11

3.2 Title Page

This page should contain thesis title, student’s name, supervisor’s name, the intended
degree, name of the college and the University, and the year of submission – in exact
wording and styles as shown in the example.

• 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, “Gamma Ferric Oxide Dispersion …” instead of “γ Fe2O3 Dispersion
…”; “… Alpha- and Beta-Globulin …” instead of “… α- & β-Globulin …”,
“The Neodymium-Barium-Copper Oxide System …” instead of “Nd-Ba-Cu2O
System …”.

• Title should be typed forming a reverse pyramid paragraph.

See Figure A.5 for example.

3.3 Letter of Approval

The letter of approval should conform to the prescribed style and contents shown in
the example. All copies of the thesis should bear original signatures.

See Figure A.6 for example.

3.4 Declaration

This page should contain the signed declaration from the student on the authenticity of
the thesis. The title DECLARATION in all caps, bold, centre-aligned should be
typed 30 mm from top edge, followed by 36-point space below before the text. The
exact wording and format of the declaration should be that shown in the example.

See Figure A.7 for example.

 12

3.5 Dedication (optional)

The dedication should honour those who inspired or encouraged the work of the
thesis. Names of persons whom the author hopes to inspire through his/her writing
may also be mentioned. The title DEDICATION in all caps, bold, centre-aligned
should be typed 30 mm from the top edge, followed by 36-point space below before
the text. Dedication text must be in single space, with 12-point space between
paragraphs; may be in any number of paragraphs but should not exceed one page.

3.6 Acknowledgements (optional)

Any form of substantial professional assistance or financial support extended or

granted by an individual or organization that was critical for the project or in the
preparation of the thesis are recorded on this page. Typically, your acknowledgments
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 to those made to your supervisor which have helped
you in your 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 30 mm from the top edge, followed by 36-point space below before the text.
Acknowledgement text must be in single space, 12-point space between paragraphs;
may be in any number of paragraphs but should not exceed one page.

3.7 Abstract

This page contains the synopsis of the thesis. Abstract should be between 150 and 250
words long. It must contain the following information:
 13

• The objectives and scope of the research project.

• Methodology such as methods, process, techniques and their application

details.

• New findings or results such as improved solutions, invention, new theory,

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

An abstract should not contain technical jargon and 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
30 mm from the top edge followed by 36-point space below before the text.

Abstract text should be typed in a single paragraph, on single line spacing.

See Figure A.8 for example.

3.8 Table of Contents

Table of contents is used to locate the contents of the thesis. Every chapter and main
titles, and all numbered headings and sub-headings within the text, along with the
page on which they appear, should be listed verbatim in the table of contents.

The title CONTENTS in all caps, bold, centre-aligned format should be typed
30 mm from the top edge, followed by 36-point space below before any text.

• For entries follow the following indentation pattern:

4.1 First Level
First Level Text, Indented 12.7 mm (Half Inch)
4.1.1 Second Level
Second Level Text, Indented 25.4 mm (One Inch)
4.1.1.1 Third level
Third level text, indented 38 mm
(one and a half inches)
 14

• Headings and sub-headings appearing as entries in the Table of Contents do

not have to have the same formatting in which they appear in text.

• Use 6-point additional space between entries. Any wrap-around text in entries
should be in single space.

• Entries should be left-aligned. Page numbers should line up flush right. For
example, the “2” in page number “92” should line up with the “7” in page
number “117”. Page numbers should not be in italic or bold.

See Figure A.9 for example.

3.9 List of Tables

List all the tables in text and appendices along with the page number on which they
appear.

The title LIST OF TABLES in all caps, bold, centre-aligned format should be
typed 30 mm from the top edge, followed by 36-point space below before any text.

Entries should be left-aligned. Page numbers should line up flush right. There
should be 6-point additional space between entries.

See Figure A.10 for example.

3.10 List of Figures

This list should include all diagrams, graphs, maps, photographs, and all other
illustrations.

The title LIST OF FIGURES in all caps, bold, centre-aligned format should
be typed 30 mm from the top edge, followed by 36-point space below before any text.

Entries should be left-aligned. Page numbers should line up flush right. Use 6-
point additional space between entries.

See Figure A.11 for example.

 15

3.11 List of Symbols or Abbreviations

List all symbols (except units), major abbreviations or terminology (as the case may
be) in an alphabetical order. In determining alphabetical order, the Roman letters
(capital letter first) should be listed first, followed by Greek letters or symbols.

The title LIST OF SYMBOLS, LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, or

NOMENCLATURE in all caps, bold, centre-aligned format should be typed 30 mm
from the top edge, followed by 36-point space below before any text.

Use 6-point additional space between entries.

See Figure A.12 for example.

3.12 Text – Technical Contents of the Thesis

The main technical contents start after the front matter or preliminary pages described
above. The main technical contents should be between 80 and 120 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
point fits into the development of the work. A carefully organised outline can make
writing of a thesis much easier.

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

the type of the project carried out such as research, development, design, review or
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. Brief description of the
general organisation of the presentation of the thesis may also be included.

(ii) Literature Survey

This part contains the summary of the literature survey and state-of-the-art on
the topic. It discusses all the theoretical and logical bases, based on which
subsequent work will be done and decisions are to be made.
 16

(iii) Methodology
This part contains the details 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 behavior or characteristics of a design.

(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 theoretical expectation
and results of other researchers. This part may also contain the discussion on
characteristics or behavior 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 summarised 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.

3.12.1 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 36-point space between chapter number and title and starting text.

3.12.2 Headings and Sub-headings

Chapters are customarily divided into sections and sub-sections with headings that
have slightly differing font styles and are designated first-, second-, and third-level.
The first-level title should have greater attention value than the lower levels.
 17

Capitalisation, bold- or italic-face types have more attention value than plain text.
Attention value is also enhanced by blank spaces above and below.

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 the major words capitalised, and
aligned left. Example, correct heading style: “The Algorithm of the Ant Colony
System-Based Constrained Load Flow” (non-major words or articles not
capitalised); incorrect style: “The Algorithm Of The Ant Colony System-Based
Constrained Load Flow” (all words capitalised).

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

the primary headings. Secondary headings should be typed bold, italicised with the
first letters of all major words capitalised, 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 capitalised, and aligned left.

Quaternary section headings are rarely necessary but can be used, if necessary.
They should be formatted same as the tertiary headings but italicised and not
numbered, and placed at the beginning of a paragraph (see an example in Section 4.3).

3.12.3 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 (e.g. the passage loses
something when paraphrased or summed up in your words). Page numbers should be
cited for direct quotes.

A quotation which is not more than 40 words long should be inserted as part of
a sentence and must always be written within quotation marks. However, use smart
quotes, “…” or ‘…’ instead of straight quotes, "…" or '…'.
 18

Quotations, which are more than 40 words long, must be typed as a separate
block of text (a separate paragraph), left indented by 12.7 mm, typed in 10-point font,
single-spaced, and with 6-point space from the text above and between quoted
paragraphs. Note that no quotation marks are required. Include the page number in
parentheses after the last period.

Example 1
Short quotation embedded as part of a sentence:

… These nightmares and revelations marked, in the words of mathematicians Davis

and Hersh (1986), the beginning of “the modern world, our world of triumphant
rationality” (p. 25). …

Example 2
Long quotation (more than 40 words):

… The overall situation in developing countries has, possibly, been best described by
Coutts (1992), an authority in this field. He writes:

The tendency in developing countries was to neglect the research of natural fibres for use in
composites, that is until the ‘explosion’ of interest, as evidenced by the scientific and patent
literature, which occurred in the mid 1980s and is expanding to the present time.
Having stated the above I now hope to convince you of the great potential of natural plant
fibres as a source of reinforcement for fibre cement products. (pp. 93-941)

Despite the said “explosion” of interest, there is still …

3.12.4 Equations

Simple equations can be typed within the line of text, e.g. “… From the above we note
that sin θ = (x + y) z, and …”. However, relatively complex ones 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 the end of the line, aligning right margin and with no leader.

Within body of text, always refer to equations as Eq. 4.1, Eqs. 4.7–4.9, etc.

1
Singular, p. (page) and plural, pp. (pages).
 19

See Figure A.13 for example.

3.12.5 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 or may not be capitalised, 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 6.3
mm and text or paragraph by 12.7 mm from left margin. There should be 6-point
additional space between the items in a bulleted or numbered list within a paragraph
and also between the top of the list and the preceding text.

See lists and bulleted items in this guide for example.

3.13 End Pages

3.13.1 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 36-point space before the first entry.

• Each entry should be typed single-spaced, with 6-point additional space

between individual entries. Use 12.7 mm left indent for the second and
subsequent lines of individual entry.
 20

• List only the sources, which have been cited in the text1.

• Number all pages consecutively continuing from preceding chapters.

See Figure A.14 for example.

3.13.2 Appendix or Appendices (Optional)

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 typical excerpts
from references, long tables and huge raw data, computer print-outs, listing of
computer codes, plans, maps, detailed sample calculations, detailed work programme,
etc. The materials on one issue or topic should be grouped together and put in separate
appendices. 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, centre-aligned, in 12-point
bold font. 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., centre-aligned at the top of the

page.

- Leave 12-point space and type the title of the material in all caps and bold
font. Allow 24-point space below the title.

• Number all pages consecutively continuing from preceding chapters and

References.

• Each appendix and its title should be listed separately in the Table of Contents.

1
A list which contains items not necessarily directly quoted in the text but consulted or relevant is
called bibliography.
 21

• Tables and figures in the appendices must be numbered consecutively

following the appendix number; captioned and listed in the List of Tables and
List of Figures. The figures or tables in the appendices will be numbered A.1,
C.1, B.5, etc.

• All materials used in the appendices must be distinct, legible, and of

professional quality.

• Contents should strictly conform to margin requirements.

 CHAPTER IV

FIGURES AND TABLES

4.1 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 be either 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.

4.2 Captions of Figures and Tables

Every table and figure must bear a caption. Captions of figures and tables should be
typed on single spacing, centre-aligned and in the same font as text (12-point Times
New Roman). Only first letter of the captions of figures and tables should be
capitalised. A caption should not be wider than the width of the table or figure it
represents, and type in multiple lines, if necessary (see Table 5.3).

• Caption of a figure should be placed below the figure. The caption should start
with the word FIGURE (in all caps, no bold), a single space, followed by the
figure number (e.g. 4.6), a space and the title of the figure. There should be a
12-point space between a figure and its caption.

• Caption of a table should be placed above the table itself. The caption should
start with the word TABLE (in all caps, no bold), a single space, followed by
the table number (e.g. 6.7), a space and the title of the table. There should be a
6-point space between the caption and the table.
 23

• 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. Long captions may be
abbreviated in the list if the identification is not impaired.

• For long tables broken between pages, the phrase “Cont’d …” should be
placed on the right side, just below the first part. The full caption should be
repeated for the second part appended with the word (Cont’d.) including the
parentheses.

4.3 Placement

All figures (i.e. diagrams, graphs, maps, photographs, and all other illustrations) and
tables must be placed within the text body as near (before or after) as possible to the
location they are first referred. They should be centre-aligned.

Figures or tables (together with captions) should be offset 24-point from the
text body above and below (if any).

See Figure A.15 for example of a figure in portrait orientation.

Landscape tables and figures. Tables and figures may be in 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 or figure. Thus for a 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.

See Figure A.16 for example of a figure in landscape orientation.

4.4 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 (e.g. Figure 1.2, Figure 2.2, Figure A.2, etc.). Tables
should also be numbered in the same fashion but in separate series of their own.
 24

4.5 Citation of Tables and Figures in Text

Figures or tables should be referred in text as Figure 4.5 (first letter capitalised and not
preceded by ‘the’), Figures 6.2–6.5, Table 3.2, Tables 1.3–1.5, etc. For figures, when
used in parentheses the abbreviation should be used, e.g. (see Fig. 4.5), (Figs. 6.2–
6.5), etc.

4.6 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 high resolution. Both color (minimum
400 dpi, 8 bit per pixel, uncompressed) and grayscale images (minimum 220
dpi, 8 bit per pixel) may be used. Low resolution highly compressed images
used in Web or taken by certain mobile phones are not acceptable.

• Any diagrams or plots in the thesis should be prepared electronically, with

programs such as MS Office Drawing Tools, AutoCAD, Adobe Illustrator,
xfig, xmgr, Grace, Maple, Matlab or Mathematica. 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 softwares
should be carefully checked whether they meet this requirement.

• Text in graphs, diagrams, drawings, 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.

• Contents in a row of a table should have equal space (min. 3-point) above and
below. Contents of a table may be typed in 10-point font if required for space
reasons, but different font sizes cannot be mixed together.
 25

• Borders above and below the heading row of a table, and the bottom border
should be 1-point thick. Remaining grid/border should be ½-point thick. Left
and right borders are not used.

Make tables only as wide as they need to be. A table in portrait orientation
does not always have to cover full width of a page (see Table 2.1).

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

white casein (e.g. Elmers brand), glue stick (e.g. UHU, Scotch brand), or dry
mounting tissue. Do not use any gummed or cellophane tapes or rubber cement for
mounting, since these materials deteriorate rapidly.
 CHAPTER V

UNITS, NUMBERS AND SYMBOLS

5.1 Units of Measurement

The use of Systéme 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 of 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 5.1. Other common derived units,
approved by CGPM, are given in Table 5.2. Degree (°) can still be used for angles.

TABLE 5.1 Base and supplementary units in SI system

Unit type Quantity Unit name Unit symbola
Amount of substance mole mol
Electric current Ampere A
Length Metre m
Luminous intensity Candela cd
Base units
Mass Kilogram kg
Thermodynamic
Kelvin K
temperature
Time Second s
Supplementary Plane angle Radian rad
units Solid angle Steradian sr
a
Unit symbol to be used only when preceded by a numeral

1
Malaysia is a signatory to Metre Convention since 2001.
 27

TABLE 5.2 Derived SI units approved by the International General

Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM)
Quantity Unit name Unit symbola Formula
Absorbed dose Gray Gy J/kg
Activity (of a radionuclide) Becquerel Bq 1/s
Celsius temperature Degree Celsius °C K
Dose equivalent Sievert Sv J/kg
Electric capacitance Farad F C/V
Electric conductance Siemens S A/V
Electric resistance Ohm Ω V/A
Electric potential, potential
difference, electromotive Volt V W/A
force
Energy, work, quantity of
Joule J N•m
heat
Force Newton N kg•m/s2
Frequency (of a periodic
Hertz Hz 1/s
phenomenon)
Illuminance Lux lx lm/m2
Inductance Henry H Wb/A
Luminous flux Lumen lm cd•sr
Magnetic flux Weber Wb V•s
Magnetic flux density Tesla T Wb/m2
Power, radiant flux Watt W J/s
Pressure, stress Pascal Pa N/m2
Quantity of electric, electric
Coulomb C A•s
charge
a
Symbol to be used only when preceded by a numeral

Note: Avoid using cm for length and °F (Fahrenheit) for temperature.

A wide range of SI unit sizes is available through the use of prefixes to form
decimal multiples and sub-multiples of units. Prefixes generally applicable to
engineering are listed in Table 5.3.

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 hecto, deka, deci, and centi are avoided except in the special cases of the
 28

hectare, ha (the more common alternative symbol for hm2), which is used in
expressing large land areas, and the litre, L (the more common symbol for dm3, cubic
decimetre), which is used in expressing fluid or particulate volumes.

Prefixes are applied directly to unit symbols (e.g. millimetre, 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.

TABLE 5.3 SI prefixes applicable to

engineering
Factor Prefix Symbola
109 Giga G
106 Mega M
103 Kilo k
102 Hecto h
1
10 Deka da
–1
10 Deci d
–2
10 Centi c
–3
10 Milli m
10–6 Micro µ
10–9 Nano n
a
Unit 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 20°16′32′′SW instead of 20° 16′ 32′′ SW (no spaces between units and
direction). Do not use bold face or italicise or use period after SI units (e.g. 302 mm/
200 J instead of 302 mm./ 302 mm/ 302 mm/ 79 J./ 79 J etc.).

5.2 Use of Numbers

The general rule of thumb for number use 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
 29

25 samples, not twenty five samples, generally). 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 a 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 a 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 number 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 × 20 (multiplication symbol, with space after and before required) instead
of ×20 (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-hyphen sign available on keyboard).

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 in roman numerals where intended: Part I, Part II instead of Part 1, 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 verb. Examples: A large number of
machines have used this system. The number of people using PDA has increased
dramatically. Huge numbers of (= very many) systems have been affected.
 30

5.3 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 in 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.

5.4 Hyphen, Dashes and Ellipsis

Hyphen joins many compound nouns, all compound adjectives, and, when they are
spelled out, the elements of two-digit numbers and fractions. Common dashes include
em dash, en dash, and figure dash.

• Use hyphen-minus (-) on keyboard or a hyphen symbol as hyphen. Examples:

high-pressure boiler, low-voltage line, cement-based binder, two-thirds of the
amount, 24-pin connector, state-of-the-art, etc.

• Use en dash (–), with no spaces before and after, for a compound adjective.
Examples: Bose–Einstein condensate, anti–American sentiment, pre–World
War II system, high-strength–high-ductility metal, etc.

• To indicate a closed range or a connection between two things of almost any

kind – numbers, people, places, etc., – use en dash. Examples: July–August
2004, 4:00–8:00 p.m., for ages 3–5, pp. 38–55, Kuala Lumpur–London flight,
etc.

• Use em dash (—) for an open range. Example: “… (Mahathir Mohamad,

1925—) …”.

• Use en dash (–), with a single space before and after, or an em dash (—) with
no spaces, for a parenthetical statement which indicates a sudden break in
 31

thought. Example: “…Demec gauge – commonly used for measuring small

strains – was found not suitable for …”.

• Use figure dash (in absence, use en dash) to write a number with dash in it.
Example: Phone no. +6–03–89212020.

Ellipsis (…) is used to indicate one or more omitted words. When the omission
occurs at the end of a sentence, the ellipsis appears together with a period.

5.5 Notations, Symbols and Abbreviations

Use the standard and universal notations. All Roman letters or English text
representing variables must always be italicised following scholarly convention.
Notations for matrices, tensors, and vectors should be typed in boldface. Greek letters
should not be italicised or bold. A list of Greek alphabets, which are commonly used
as mathematical symbols, is given in Appendix B.

Acronyms and abbreviations should be defined the first time they are used in
text. However, abbreviations and acronyms which are universally used in a particular
discipline and which will not create any ambiguity need not be defined.

5.5.1 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 second the 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.
 32

vs. (versus) means against

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

fig./figs. figure(s)

eq./eqs. equation(s)

Do not italicise the above terms.

Never use short forms like “don’t”, “it’s”, “there’s”, etc.

An extended list of other common abbreviations, though many of them are

rarely used in engineering disciplines, is given in Appendix D.

5.5.2 Common Acronyms

• Use UK, USA, UNHCR instead of U.K., U.S.A., U.N.H.C.R. Do not use
periods1.

• Use M.Sc., Ph.D. for degrees instead of MSc or PhD2.

1
As the style chosen here.
2
Sometimes permitted but not in strictly formal writing.
 CHAPTER VI

REFERENCE STYLES

6.1 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 the
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 source.
Various categories of references and their styles are listed with examples in the
following sections. Note carefully every space, punctuation, period, capitalisation,
italicisation and abbreviation used with them.

Note that entries in the list of References are single spaced, left-indented by
12.7 mm except the first line, and there should be 6-point additional space between
entries.

6.2 Category of Sources and Reference Styles

6.2.1 Books

Generally:
Author, A. A., Author, B.B. & Author, C.C. Year. Title of Work. City[or the first of
the cities]: Publisher.
 34

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:

Brändlein, 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:

Hand Book of Cocoa, Coconut and Tea Statistics 1993: 14. Department of Statistics,
Malaysia.

Encyclopaedia of Polymer Science and Engineering. c.1985–1989. 2nd Ed. New York:
Wiley.

Texas Almanac: 2004-2005. 2004. Dallas, Texas: Dallas Morning News.

Book with editor(s):

Dongarra, J., Madsen, K. & Wasniewski, J. (Eds.). 1995. Applied Parallel Computing.
Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

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.

Halin, H.J. & Strebel, R. 1995. Transient response of a two-phase half-wave rectifier.
In W. Gander & J. Hrebicek1 (Eds.), Solving Problems in Scientific Computing Using
Maple and MATLAB, 2nd Ed., 285–297. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

Multiple volumes:
Crisfield, M.A. 1997. Non-linear Finite Element Analysis of Solids and Structures.
Vol. 1. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Monograph:
Stephanopoulos, G. 1987. Knowledge-Based Systems in Process Engineering: An
Overview. Series of Monographs on AI in Chemical Engineering. Cambridge: MIT
Press.

6.2.2 Encyclopaedia and Dictionaries

Well-known general reference books, such as major encyclopedias and dictionaries

are normally cited in text but not shown in the list of References. Example:
1
Unlike author’s names (Last Name, First Name initial), name of editors are not reversed.
 35

… In the fifteenth edition of the New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Guido Gergorietti

notes about ...

6.2.3 Academic Papers in Journals

Author, A. A., Author, B. B. & Author, C. C. Year. Title of article: Subtitle if there is
one. Title of Journal xx[= volume number in bold](x[= issue number in parenthesis]):
xxx–xxx[= range of pages].

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 Transactions on Power Systems
20(3): 1241–1249.

6.2.4 Academic Papers in Proceedings

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

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.

Jappelli, R. & Marconi, N. 1997. Recommendations and prejudices in the realm of

foundation engineering in Italy: A historical review. In C. Viggiani (Ed.),
Geotechnical Engineering for the Preservation of Monuments and Historical Sites,
Proc. Int. Symp., Napoli, 3–4 October 1996. Rotterdam: Balkema.

6.2.5 Thesis and Dissertation1

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.

6.2.6 Reports

Strazdins, P. 1998. Optimal load balancing techniques for block-cyclic

decompositions for matrix factorization. Technical Report TR-CS-98-10, Department
of Computer Science, Australian National University.

Kimberly-Clark. 2002. Annual Report. Dallas: Author.

1
The terms dissertation and thesis are more commonly used for Ph.D. and M.Sc. research work
respectively, or vice versa. Their use varies from country to country and amongst universities.
 36

FAO Production Year Book 1994, vol. 48: 120–121. Rome: Food and Agricultural
Organization of the United Nations.

6.2.7 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.

AISI Specification. 1996. Specification for the design of cold formed steel structural
members. 1996 Ed. Washington: American Iron and Steel Institute.

6.2.8 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 encyclopaedias and major reference works in polymer science and

technology at Stanford University. 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. Do not use period at the end of the
electronic address.

Web page with private organization as author:

Midwest League. 2003. Green Steel. Retrieved 1 October 2003, from
http://www.midwestleague.com/indivpitching.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

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
 37

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.

6.2.9 Articles in Magazines

Idris, M.A. 1999. Virtual classroom: A focus on interactive and collaborative learning.
Berita UNITEN 3(4).

Nicholson, P. 2005. Hurricane Katrina: Why did the levees fail? ASCE News 25(10):
10–12.

6.2.10 News or Features in Newspapers

News or feature with name of author provided:

Othman, Z. 2005. Scrap metal thieves costing TNB millions. Malay Mail, 18
December: 1.

Lipton, E. 2004. Ground zero: Before the fall. New York Times, 27 June.

News or feature with name of author not provided:

Petronas Towers declared the world's tallest. 1996. New Straits Times, 14 April: 1.

Letters to the editor:

Harpaz, R. 2006. Scientists and Stardom. Letter to editor. New York Times, 2 January.

6.2.11 Film or Video Recording

Alternative energy. 1998. DVD. Indiana: Grant Wood AEA Mediagraphy.

6.2.12 Maps

Geological Map of Peninsular Malaysia. 1985. 8th Ed. Two sheets. Scale 1: 500,000.
Kuala Lumpur. Geological Survey of Malaysia.

1
Location from where the site was accessed.
 38

Mineral Distribution Map of Peninsular Malaysia. 1988. 8th Ed. Two sheets. 1120
mm × 760 mm. Scale 1 : 500,000. Kuala Lumpur. Geological Survey of Malaysia.

6.2.13 Personal Communications

Personal communications may be things such as email messages, interviews,

speeches, and telephone conversations. Because the information is not retrievable they
should not appear in the list of References. They should be cited in text as shown in
Section 6.3.

See Figure A.14 for an example of list of References.

6.3 Citing References in Text

To refer to an item in the list of References from the text, 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.

Single author:
John (1989) proved that …

… as was investigated by Bakar (1999) …

Many (e.g. Estes & Skinner 1990; Zulkipli 2001) suggested that …

In Chin (1999), the governing equation is …

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 existing methods (Rembold &
Storr 1998) …
 39

For joint authors more than two persons:

For works with three, four, or five 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).

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:

Evans, 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)

Personal communications:
Personal communications such as email messages, interviews, speeches, and
telephone conversations, should be cited as follows:

… J.L. Meyers (personal communication, 18 April 2003) indicated that …

.… In a recent interview (J. Burnitz, personal communication, September 20, 2000) it

was learned that ….

As mentioned earlier, personal communications do not appear in the list of

References.

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 to do is to collect the Curtis’ article.
APPENDICES
 APPENDIX A

SAMPLE PAGES

FIGURE A.1 Example of page margins

(Original text in 12-point font)
 42

FIGURE A.2 Example of chapter heading

(Original text in 12-point font)
 43

FIGURE A.3 Example of contents of front cover

(Original text in 16-point, bold font)
 44

FIGURE A.4 Example of spine of thesis

(Original text in 16-point, bold font)
 45

FIGURE A.5 Example of title page

(Original text in 12-point font)
 46

FIGURE A.6 Example of Letter of Approval

(Original text in 12-point font)
 47

FIGURE A.7 Example of Declaration page

(Original text in 12-point font)
 48

FIGURE A.8 Example of Abstract page

(Original text in 12-point font)
 49

FIGURE A.9 Example of table of Contents

(Original text in 12-point font)
 50

FIGURE A.10 Example of List of Tables

(Original text in 12-point font)
 51

FIGURE A.11 Example of List of Figures

(Original text in 12-point font)
 52

FIGURE A.12 Example of List of Symbols

(Original text in 12-point font)
 53

FIGURE A.13 Example of placement of equations

(Original text in 12-point font)
 54

FIGURE A.14 Example of list of References

(Original text in 12-point font)
 55

FIGURE A.15 Example of figure in portrait orientation

(Original text in 12-point font)
 56

FIGURE A.16 Example of figure in landscape orientation

 APPENDIX B

ROMAN NUMERALS

Corresponding Arabic
Capital letters Small letters
numerals
I i 1
II ii 2
III iii 3
IV iv 4
V v 5
VI vi 6
VII vii 7
VIII viii 8
IX ix 9
X x 10
L – 50
C – 100
D – 500
M – 1000

Examples:
XXXIV 34
DLXXIX 579
MCMXCVIII 1998
 APPENDIX C

GREEK ALPHABETS

Capital letters Small letters Names

A α alpha
Β β beta
Γ γ gamma
∆ δ delta
Ε ε epsilon
Ζ ζ zeta
Η η eta
Θ θ theta
Ι ι iota
Κ κ kappa
Λ λ lambda
Μ µ mu
Ν ν nu
Ξ ξ xi
Ο ο omicron
Π π pi
Ρ ρ rho
Σ σ sigma
Γ τ tau
Υ υ upsilon
Φ φ phi
Χ χ chi
Ψ ψ psi
Ω ω omega
 APPENDIX D

LIST OF STANDARD ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviation Meaning
app. appendix
art./arts. article(s)
b. born
bk./bks. book(s)
c. copyright
ca. (circa): about, approximately
cf. compare
chap./chaps. chapter(s)
col./cols. column(s)
comp./comps. compiler(s);compiled by
dept./depts. department(s)
d. died
div./divs. division(s)
e.g. (exempli gratia): for example
ed./eds. edition(s); editor, edited by
et al. (et alia): and others
et seq. (et sequers): and the following
etc. (et cetera): and so forth
fig./figs. figure(s)
ibid. (ibidem): in the same place
id. (idem): the same
i.e. (id est); that is
infra. below
l.v. (locus variis): various places (of
publication)
ms./mss. manuscript(s)
n/nn footnote(s)
n.d. no date
 60

Abbreviation Meaning
no./nos. number(s)
n.s. new series
o.s. old series
p./pp. page (p.)/pages(pp.)
par./pars. paragraph(s)
passim here and there
pt./pts. part(s)
q.v. (quod vide): which see (refer to)
sc. scene
sec./secs. section(s)
sic. so, thus
supp./supps. supplement(s)
s.l. (sinoloco): place of publication
not mentioned
s.n. (sine nomine): details of
publication not mentioned in the
referred material
s.v. (sub-verbo, sub-voce): under the
word or heading
trans. translator; translated by
v./vv. verse(s)
viz. (videlicet): namely
vol./vols. volume(s)
vs. (versus): against