Dissertation Formatting and Template: Some Guidelines

Every dissertation submitted to the department of English Language and Literature is

expected to meet the guidelines proposed by the training team and used in APA and MLA
systems. Dissertations, which are formatted improperly, will be returned to the student for
revision.

To prepare your dissertation, we suggest the use of the following template which can be
used to eliminate some common errors in dissertation formatting.

1/ Paper Size

It should be A 4-size paper for the whole text of the dissertation. The text should also
appear on one side of the paper.

2/ Margin Issues

All the margins of your dissertation should be 1 inch (2.5cm) except for the left side which
should be 3 cm for printing issues as figure1 shows:

2.5cm

3 2.5
cm cm

2.5cm

Figure.1. Margin issues (Adopted from Hamzaoui & Negadi, 2013, p. 9)

1
3/ Spacing & Indentation Issues

 All the text should be double-spaced including the abstract, the dedication, the
acknowledgements, the table of contents, the lists of tables, figures, abbreviations and
acronyms, references and appendices. For block quotes, please check the APA and
MLA guidelines for more information.
 Paragraphs should be indented 0.5 inches.
 All the text should be justified. (See the template)

4/ Page Number

The first part of the dissertation should be numbered using Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv,
etc.) including the declaration of originality, the dedication, the acknowledgements, the
abstract, the table of contents, the list of tables, the list of figures, the list of abbreviations, the
list of acronyms and the list of appendices. The general introduction, the chapters, the general
conclusion and the appendices should be numbered using Arabic numerals. (See the template)

5/ Font and Character Size

It is preferable to employ Times New Roman for all the text.

 All the text should be written in size 12.

 Headings and sub-headings are also written in size 12 (bold).
 Block quotes are also written in size 12.

6/ Structuring Tables and Figures

For tables and figures, the headings should be written in size 12. The placement of the
heading depends on the style adopted for dissertation writing. (See how to structure tables and
figures according to APA and MLA guidelines)

7/ Footnotes & Endnotes

 In MLA style, the footnotes are put at the bottom of the page separated from the text
with a line of 5 cm long.
 In APA style, the footnotes are avoided and replaced with endnotes by the end of the
dissertation.
 Numbering both footnotes and endnotes should be in Arabic numerals.

2
8/ Chapters and Sections

o Chapters should be accompanied by a number either in Arabic or Roman numerals:

e.g.: Chapter One, or Chapter 1 or Chapter I

Chapter I: Review of the Related Literature

Chapter One: Review of the Related Literature

Chapter 1: Review of the Related Literature

o Headings should be numbered according to their chapters

e.g.:

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Literature and Society

o Sub-headings should be indented in comparison to headings

e.g.:

1.2 Literature and Society

1.2.1 Literature

9/ Page Headers

The general introduction, the chapters and the general conclusion should contain a page
header. For chapters, the header chapter should be put in the left side while the second part of
the header is put on the right side. (See the template)

e.g.:

Figure 2. The header for chapter one (Taken from a student’s dissertation)

10/Structuring the Different Parts of the Dissertation

A dissertation should contain three different parts:

3
 - The opening
- The body
- The end

a/ The Opening:

It contains

- Frontpage
- Declaration of Originality
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Abstract (with keywords in APA style)
- Table of Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Abbreviations
- List of Acronyms
- List of Appendices
- General Introduction

Nb: In case the student does not use a list of tables and figures, he/she can put the list of
abbreviations after the table of contents. (See the template)

b/ The Body:

It contains a number of chapters which comply with the field being investigated. As an
example in didactics, the following structure could be adopted:

- First Chapter: A Literature Review

- Second Chapter: Research Methodology and Design (research tools)
- Third Chapter: Results (analysis, interpretation, recommendations and implications).

c/The End:

It contains

- The general Conclusion

- Works cited in MLA guidelines and References in APA style
4
 - Appendices
- A cover page containing a summary in three languages (Arabic, French & English)
with their keywords.

10.1/ The Opening

 Frontpage

It contains the page header, the dissertation title, the student’s name, the supervisor, the
board of examiners and the academic year. (See the sample in the template)

 Declaration of Originality

It is also called the statement of approval in which the student should declare that the work
is his own and contains no plagiarism. By the end, the student should write his name, provide
the date and sign. (See the sample in the template)

 Dedication

It is optional (for family and relatives). It should appear in a separate page and should not
include the student’s name since s/he is conducting an academic research work. It should be
double-spaced and no bold format should be used except for the heading. (See the sample in
the template)

 Acknowledgements

It is also optional. It is a dedication for an academic purpose. The members to be

acknowledged occur in the following order:

o Supervisor
o Members of the committee
o Your teachers
o Librarians
o Colleagues
o Parents (if they help you from an academic purpose)
o Friends (if they help you from an academic purpose)

Nb: For more information, see the sample of the acknowledgement in the template.

5
  Abstract

The abstract is written in one non-indented paragraph (a structured abstract). It should not
exceed 350 words depending on the length of the work (between 150 and 350 words). It
should be justified and written in Times New Roman size 12 and double-spaced. When it
comes to its structure, it should contain the following components:

- Background
- The focus
- Sampling
- Research tools
- Summation of the findings
- Recommended points

For the field of didactics, students are required to write an informative abstract containing
the above features. For the field of literature and civilization, students need to write a
descriptive abstract containing the following points:

- Background (including the focus)

- Methodology
- Findings

Nb: Do not include the research questions, the hypotheses, the outline and the
abbreviations in your abstract.

 Table of Contents

It contains all the headings and sub-headings found in the whole dissertation (i.e., the three
parts of the dissertation). (See the sample in the template)

Nb: The heading ‘table of contents’ should be written in bold and left-justified.

 Lists of Tables and Figures

They should be put in separate pages following the number of their chapters. The headings
should be accompanied by a page number. (See the sample in the template)

 Lists of Abbreviations and Acronyms

- They should be put in separate pages and contain the keywords used in the text.

6
 - Concerning the abbreviated forms, they should be defined in the text.
- When the abbreviation or the acronym is used for the first time in the text, it should be
put between brackets.
 General Introduction
- The general introduction is the roadmap for any research work. (See the
template for more information about its components)

10.2/ The body

 Literature Review

The literature review provides guiding approaches and theories to understand a given
research work and develop another point of departure for more scholarship. In this sense, it
helps the student as follows:

 It summarises previous scholarship on the subject.

 It helps the writer to show the importance of the subject being investigated and
opens the gate for more scholarship.
 It shows the importance of the field of work.

Nb: The use of in-text citation in the review of the literature should comply with the
style being adopted (APA or MLA guidelines).

 Chapters: See the template for more information on how to structure them.

10.3/ The Closing

 General Conclusion: See the template for more information

 The List of References

Listing references is an important part of an academic piece of writing. The student has to
identify all sources found in the text by listing them in the list of references. Listing references
differs from one style to another.

 Format of the List of References

o The heading in APA style is “references” and should be centred and written not in
bold, while it is works cited in MLA.
o The references are organized following the alphabetical order.

7
 o It is also important for the student to leave a space of 0.5 cm in the second line of the
reference, i.e., the hanging indent format (in both styles).

Nb: The student has to read the APA (6 th ed) and MLA (8th ed) guidelines for more
information on how to write the list of references.

 Writing the List of Appendices

It generally contains the questionnaire, the interview and concise additional information on
the subject. They can be divided into sections and each should have a number and a title. They
should be also put in a separate page, organized following chronological order (A, B, C, D or
1, 2, 3, 4). The title of the appendix is listed under the word appendix. To write a well-
structured appendix, the following points should be taken into consideration:

o The appendix should be placed after the references.

o Each appendix should be put in a separate page and at the centre and then
followed by the title.
o Appendices are also numbered after the references.
o The use of one appendix or multiple appendices depends on the length of your
topic and the additional information you want to include.
o It should appear in the table of contents.
o All your appendices should be referred to in the text
o It remains optional, i.e., the student sometimes does not need the appendix
unless his supervisor asks him to include more information on the subject such
as the questionnaire. Hence, it can be taken for the following reasons:
 It avoids too many details to be included in chapters and, therefore interrupting the
analysis.
 They can be added by the end if there is a problem with the length; thus, some
information can be excluded and included in the appendix.
 It shows your understanding of the research problem.
 The appendix is also a good place to put maps and images if you think that they are
helpful. (See the template)

8
11/Style

Students are required to follow one citation style in text citation, acknowledging sources
and listing references. The department proposes the MLA style for the fields of civilization
and literature and the APA guidelines for the didactic stream.

Nb: Students of literature and civilization can use the APA style.

9
 References

American Psychological Association (2010). Publication manual for the American

Psychological Association (6th ed). Washington DC: Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publication Data.
Chieh, T. H. (2009). Final year project report guidelines. Universiti Tunnku Abdul
Rahman.

Hamzaoui, H., & Negadi, M. N. (2013). A university course in techniques for

dissertation writing. Tlemcen University

Malki, A. (2018). The use of ICT to enhance creativity in higher education.

(Unpublished Master Dissertation). Dr. Moulay Tahar University of Saida, Algeria
The Modern Language Association of America (2009). MLA handbook for writers of
research papers (7th ed). Douglas College Library. Available at:
https://library.douglascollege.ca/-/media/777DE0E330304F6594857F8A2D358035.
ashx?la=en&hash=51CBCF8D0DFB27B53146FCAD07E5C89F5F6440A3

10