TERM PAPER

FORMAT

You should have a title page with the topic of your term paper, your name, roll no. and your
guide’s name. The format for the same will be sent from the PGP office.

This will be followed by a page showing the contents of your term paper (please see page 4 of
this doc). The next page will be a brief abstract of your term paper (please see page 5 of this
doc).

As mentioned in the general guidelines, the paper should be of at least 50 pages (A4 size, one
side text) in length (please see General Instructions on page 3 for more details).

The Abstract and Reference alone will be on new pages. Section 1 (Introduction) to Section 4
(Conclusions) must be written continuously.

Below is a guide to the format of your term paper. Your paper should follow the outline
presented here. In case you deviate from it substantially, you should have a good justification for
the same.

Abstract

The abstract summarizes the major aspects of your study.

1. Introduction

1.1. Topic

This subsection states your topic, or describes your narrowed subject area.

1.2. Rationale/Background of Study

Please explain why you wanted to do this research in this subsection.

1.3. Specific Purpose of the Paper/Statement of Purpose

Here, you should explain clearly what the focus of your paper is and what questions your paper
will answer.

1.4. Organization of the Paper

Please give an overview of how your paper has been organized in this subsection.

2. Description of the Topic (You may give an appropriate title for this section and
subsection based on your topic)
This section may have a number of subsections.

Describe your topic in some detail. Your report in this section should include references to
facts/information you have uncovered during your research on the topic. Organize your points in
clear, distinct sections. You must also address the most important research questions in this
section.

You are advised to divide this section into subsections corresponding to logical categories, each
subsection addressing a different aspect of the topic or each subsection addressing a small part of
the business problem or topic.

It is important to ensure that this section as a whole be logically organized and is easy to follow,
with smooth and logical transitions from one subsection to the other.

Remember that you must cite a source for every major fact or statement or assertion that you
make in this section. This section should not contain your personal opinions/evaluations about
these facts/statements/assertions; those will come later in the paper.

3. Discussion

In this section, apply the insights you have gained from your research on the topic/information
you have collected on the topic. Critically analyze the information. Give your opinions based on
your analysis/evaluation, and remember to support them with facts. This means that you must be
able to justify your opinions/assessment in this section. Remember, your opinion may not be
"right" or "wrong", but it certainly will be "justified" or "unjustified"!

Please use your best judgement about what to include and what to avoid. You may have the
following subsections if you wish:

3.1. Factual review

This section should add your opinions about the facts/information provided in section 3.

3.2. Personal Assessment

In this section, use the points mentioned in section 3.1 to suggest what you think can be done for
the problem/directions to be followed Some questions that might help you do this are:

4. Conclusions

This section should summarize the arguments of your paper, the significance of your study and
any related area that may need further research.

References
This section begins on a new page and contains all your references: journal articles, books,
reports, magazines, internet resources, videos, and so forth. Please format your references and in
text citations using APA 6 format. You may refer the link below for citations and references and
follow the format:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/ge
neral_format.html

Software such as Mendeley, Endnote, (or ‘References’ in MSWord) etc. can be used for
referencing. They are user friendly and also have “How to use” videos in YouTube.
Eg: For Mendeley:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv6_HuCYExM

General Instructions
 Use Times New Roman font, align: justified, 1.5 line spacing, font size: 12 for normal
running text, for heading of sections: 14 (bold, centralized), subheadings (subsections):
13 (bold, left aligned). Insert space before and after titles.
 Tables, diagrams and graphs (if any) should have titles. Report ‘Source’ if it is adapted
from any other source. This means that every table, diagram, graph should have the
following below it ‘Source: Created by the researcher’ if created by you or ‘Source:
Adapted from (name the source here)’ when taken/copied from an information source.
 Be aware of the plagiarism policy of the institution (it is the responsibility of student).
 External VIVA VOCE: Date will be announced later
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1
1.2

2. DESCRIPTION OF TOPIC (Your heading here followed by your subheadings)

2.1
2.2

3. DISCUSSION
3.1
3.2

4. CONCLUSION

REFERENCES
 YOUR TOPIC HERE

Abstract

Write an abstract here of 300 words summarizing the major aspects of your term paper that
includes the purpose of your study, your investigation of the topic, and your assessments and
conclusions of the problem/topic.
Remember although this is the first section of your paper, the Abstract, by definition, must be
written last since it will summarize the paper.