RC/B/2

FORMAT REQUIREMENTS FOR MBA THESIS/PROJECT

A typical thesis/project is made up of three major parts: 1. Preliminary pages 2. Text pages 3. Supplementary pages Each part is organized as shown below:

Preliminary Pages:
Following pages are termed as preliminary pages: Flyleaf (for hardbound only) Title page Approval sheet (for hardbound only) Abstract Acknowledgements (optional) Dedication (optional) Table of contents List of tables (optional) List of figures (optional) List of symbols (optional) All the above mentioned pages must be numbered with lower case Roman numerals at the bottom.

Flyleaf: Each thesis/project should have a flyleaf (a blank sheet with no page number assigned)
at the beginning and at the end of the thesis. (For hardbound only)

Title Page
Title page should include the following: Title: It summarizes the main idea of the paper. It should be a concise statement of the main topic and should identify the actual variables. A title should be fully explanatory when standing alone. Its principal function is to inform readers about the study.

RC/B/2 Authors name (byline): the preferred form of an authors name is the first name, middle initial and last name. This form reduces the likelihood of mistaken identity. Institutional affiliation: the affiliation identifies the location where the author or authors conducted the investigation, which is usually an institution. In this case the name and logo of Bahria University should come at the center of the page. Date and year: The date shown must be the term and year of graduation in which the student is officially graduating. Note: The above mentioned format is applicable only for spiral bound submissions. Formats for the front cover and title page for hardbound submissions is given in Appendix A of this booklet.

Abstract: An abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the thesis/project. It

allows readers to get a quick glance at the topic of the research and to get an idea of what the research is about. Abstracts are not more than one page.

Text Pages
Text pages would include the main body of the thesis/project. Headings included would vary depending upon the type of the research that is both for qualitative and quantitative research.

Supplementary Pages
Supplementary pages include: References of Bibliography Appendices (optional)

General Format Requirements

Typeface: 12-pt Times New Roman Line Spacing: 1.5. Single spacing is recommended for bibliography or list of reference entries, table and figure captions, and data within the tables. Lengthy descriptions in the appendix may also be single spaced. Quoted material of more than three typewritten lines is indented and single spaced. Quoted material which is three lines or fewer may be single spaced for emphasis. The text pages, from beginning to end, are numbered with Arabic numerals. Margins: Top-1; bottom-1; left-1.5; right-1. Leave 1 inch margin on top, bottom and right sides whereas 1.5 inch margin on left side of every page to allow for binding. 1.5 inch margin rule applies only to hard bounds.

RC/B/2

Page Numbering: Each page of the thesis must be assigned a number. Preliminary pages are numbered at the bottom with lower case Roman numerals. Preliminary page number i.e. I is assigned to, but not printed on the title page. The main text, typically starting with Chapter I, is numbered with Arabic numerals. Begin each chapter on a new page. Text should never fall outside the margins as specified in this manual. Page numbers may be inside or outside the top or bottom margins, but never less than inch from the edge of the page. If inside the margin, the number should not be more than one line below the top margin or above the bottom margin. Page numbers are assigned either in the middle or at the right side of the document.

Headings and Subheadings Heading Level 1 Centered, uppercase, bold, 18pt Times New Roman Heading Level 2 Left aligned, Lowercase, bold, 16pt Times New Roman Heading Level 3 Left aligned, bold, Italicized, Lowercase, 14pt Times New Roman Heading level 4 Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading

Text Alignment: Justified

Endnotes: If end notes are used, they may be placed in the supplementary at the end of the thesis/project. Write the endnotes under the heading of endnotes.

Tables and Figures: Tables and figures should follow immediately after the first mention in the text or on the next page. If they are placed on the first, continue the text to the bottom of preceding page. Do not leave a space (gap) on the page where the table or figure was first mentioned. Numbering of tables and figures should be consecutive throughout the entire thesis/project or within each chapter, including those in the appendix. If the tables and figures are to be numbered consecutively within each chapter, the chapter number should appear along with

RC/B/2 the table or figure number e.g. 1.1, 1.2(for chapter 1); 2.1, 2.2(for chapter 2). The number and title of a table should be placed above the table. Tables and figures are numbered separately.

Word Limit: Thesis must not exceed from 15,000 to 20,000 words with upper and lower limit of 10%.