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Essay Instructions: GENERAL MECHANICS
1. Length of Thesis ??" Your thesis must be a minimum of 6,000 words in length,
with no limitation, allowing for as complete a presentation as is necessary to
best communicate the theme of your thesis.
Generally speaking, a 6,000 word work will average approximately 28
pages, using a standard 12-point font; Times New Roman is recommended.
Your thesis must be typed and double-spaced.
2. Quality of Paper ??" Use a good quality paper. Do not use any type of thin or
fancy paper.
3. Keep a Copy ??" If you wrote your thesis using a computer, be sure to keep the
original file stored somewhere on your hard drive where it will not be deleted
by mistake. That being said, computers DO crash, so be sure your thesis file is
among your important personal documents that are backed up whenever you
are finished for the day.
If you are sending your thesis through the postal mail, make a physical
copy of the entire document before mailing it to the University. This
precaution will prevent you from having to rewrite it, should it be lost.
To email your thesis and your Master’s exams, go to the Student Center
for the proper procedure.
4. Margins ??" The margins should be set up as follows:
Top and bottom of page: 1” to 1 ¼”
Left margin: 1 ¼” to 1 ½ “
Right margin: approximately 1
Spelling and Grammar ??" It is expected that grammar, spelling and
punctuation will be correct. If you are in doubt, consult books or the Internet
on spelling, word usage, etc. Upon completion of your thesis, if you are still in
doubt, have someone proofread it.
Computer Spell Check: Most computers have a feature under the
“Tools” menu called “Spelling and Grammar,” or “Spell Check.” It is
recommended that you try to work with this feature.
Proofreader vs. Editor: If grammar, sentence structure, spelling and
punctuation are not easy for you, you might find someone to proofread
your paper before you submit it to the University.
A PROOFREADER - Will examine your paper for grammar, sentence
structure, spelling and punctuation. Your ideas and research will be left
intact.
AN EDITOR - Will offer you suggestions on how to change your ideas and
possibly your research, while not paying much, if any, attention to grammar,
sentence structure, spelling and punctuation.
NOTE: If you are going to hire someone to help you, please make sure the
person is a proofreader and not an editor. There is no need for you to
defend or argue with an editor about the ideas or research that you include
in your paper. This is your work.
The Thesis/Dissertation Committee is aware that the University has many
students whose first language is not English. Allowances are made for
spelling, grammar, sentence structure, etc., for these students.
6. Numbering of Pages
You must number all your pages, beginning with Chapter 1, Page 1.
Page numbers should be placed in the upper right-hand corner of each
page. Use Arabic numerals ??" i.e., 1, 2, 3, etc.
Pages that come before Page 1 of your thesis, i.e., Acknowledgements,
Table of Contents, lists of tables or figures, should be numbered in
lowercase Roman numerals ??" i, ii, iii, etc. However, do not number your
Title Page or your Certificate of Approval Page.
The first page to be numbered is the Acknowledgements Page (i).
The Table of Contents comes next (ii).
After the Table of Contents is the list of any tables or figures you may
have (iii).
Lowercase Roman numerals are placed in the middle of and at the
bottom of each preliminary page.
If you do not have an Acknowledgements Page, then page 1 of your
Table of Contents is to be numbered “ii.”
Page-Numbering Feature: On older versions of Word, you may not be
able to use the Microsoft page-numbering feature because it will number
the Title Page, Certificate of Approval Page, and Table of Contents Page,
starting the text of your paper at page 3 or 4.
Please Note: On newer versions of Word, it is possible to divide the
document into Sections, and start the page numbering with page 1 at the
beginning of the new Section. Search your Menu options to see where
this may appear on your computer program. You may therefore be able to
apply the automatic page-numbering feature. If you do not have this
feature, or you find it cumbersome to apply, you may use the manualnumbering
method, or else note the following alternative.
Page-Numbering Alternative: You may choose to take the Title Page,
Certificate of Approval Page, and Table of Contents Page and put them
into a separate Word document. This would allow you to utilize the
automatic page-numbering feature. You would then be sending two
documents with your Thesis or Dissertation:
The first Word doc would include the Title Page, Certificate of
Approval Page, and Table of Contents Page.
The second Word doc would include the body of the paper,
with all six chapters.
If putting your paper into PDF format is easier for you, please do that;
however, go over the final document once more. Sometimes the contents
can shift when the pdf is created, so be sure to do a final review.
7. Chapter Titles
You must title each chapter as it appears in your Table of Contents.
Use the format presented on pages 8 through 15 under “Thesis
Construction.”
Most important -- what is contained in each chapter must be reflective of
the chapter title.
8. Table of Contents
The Table of Contents must contain the following:
All of your chapter titles
Your bibliography
Appendices (if any)
Acknowledgements (should you wish to include an
Acknowledgements Page) and any tables you may have.
9. Title Page and Certificate of Approval Page
Your thesis must include the following two pages:
Title Page
Certificate of Approval Page.
The format you are to use for these two pages is illustrated
on pages 5 and 6 of this manual.
1. INTRODUCTION (STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM)
In this first chapter, you should explain why you are writing about the
subject you have chosen.
Discuss why you feel your thesis needs to be written in terms of the
professional practice of Metaphysics.
Write an Outline
Often the Introduction is much too long, but occasionally it is not long
enough. To assist you in preparing an Introduction of an appropriate
length, it is recommended that an Outline be written first.
Most commonly, the Introduction contains material that would more
appropriately be included in the Findings or the Discussion. The Outline
will assist you in placing the content where it belongs.
Use the Outline as the basis of the Introduction, as well as the basic plan
for the thesis.
Use the Outline to guide the construction of a concise description that
will paint a picture of what will be found as the reader continues moving
through your paper.
When written skillfully, your reader will be prepared for each section as
it unfolds.
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The second chapter is a very important part of the thesis, and should be
entitled “Review of Literature.”
The purpose of this chapter is to cross-reference the main themes in
your thesis with what you have read, providing supporting data for
your own ideas.
Most commonly, the Review is much too long (rambles on), but
occasionally it is far too short (not enough depth). It should contain the
main sources needed to justify the major findings.
When a Review section is too long, it is usually possible to cover the
important points more appropriately in the Findings and/or
Conclusions chapters.
You must provide a minimum of three quotes from five to six different
major sources, along with those that form the foundation for the key
works researched for your thesis.
If you choose to quote a partial sentence or paragraph from a research
source, use the following procedure in the text of your paper:
If the sentence/paragraph you are choosing as a quote begins after
the sentence/paragraph in the research source, start your quote in
this way “…words from the quote” (author, page number).
If you choose to leave some of the words out of the middle of the
sentence/paragraph, your quote will look like this: “Words of the
quote … rest of the quote.” (author, page number).
If you choose to end the quote before the research source ends the
sentence/paragraph, your work will look like this: “Words of the
quote …”. (author, page number).
If you are using words/sentences/paragraphs taken word-for-word from a
research source, that is a quote, and needs to be in quotation marks: “ “. If
you are using a quote, the page number and research source for that quote
need to follow the quote.
Here is an example:
In his book, The End of Your World, Adyashanti wrote, “There are
some common traps that come with awakening ??" certain cul-desacs
or eddies or points of fixation in which we can become
caught.” (81)
OR “There are some common traps that come with awakening ??"
certain cul-de-sacs or eddies or points of fixation in which we can
become caught.” (Adyashanti, 81)
o The specific information for the book by Adyashanti will be listed in
your Bibliography. You are adding the page number so that anyone
reading your paper and wishing to learn more / delve more deeply
into the information hinted at by your specific quote can easily find
it. If you are taking sentences word-for-word from a book, they
need to be in quotation marks: “ “ ??" with a page number.
You will have numerous other sources that belong in the Bibliography.
If including Kindle book sources, use the following format:
Author, copyright date, chapter number, chapter title, count the
number of paragraphs to the paragraph you are using, and list that
paragraph number.
Example:
Michael Jones, 2007, Chapter 5, The End of it All, Paragraph 9
You do not need to add Amazon Kindle Edition to the above
example. With this much detail in a quote, it will be obvious that
you are using the Kindle Edition.
Use of e-book sources not found on amazon.com or with a publishing
company:
For a reference in the body of the paper, use the following format:
Author, Year of Publication, (if you have that information), Title, e-book.
You may also use references with which you do not agree. Discuss
them and explain why you disagree. This is not essential, but can
make for lively reading.
Specific examples of MLA formatting follow:
In-Text Citations (quotes): Author-Page Style. In-Text Citations (quotes)
For Print Sources with Known Author
For Print Sources such as Books; Magazine, Scholarly Journal Articles and
Newspapers
MLA Format ??" Follows the author-page method of in-text citation
(quotes).
This means that the author’s last name and the page number(s) from
which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text.
A complete reference should appear in your Bibliography.
The author’s name may appear in either the sentence itself, or in
parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase.
The page number should always appear in the parentheses, not in the
text of your sentence.
Here is an example:
In his book, The End of Your World, Adyashanti wrote, “There are some
common traps that come with awakening ??" certain cul-de-sacs or eddies or
points of fixation in which we can become caught.” (81)
OR “There are some common traps that come with awakening ??" certain culde-
sacs or eddies or points of fixation in which we can become caught.”
(Adyashanti, 81)
The specific information for the book by Adyashanti will be listed in
your Bibliography. You are adding the page number so that anyone
reading your paper and wishing to learn more/delve more deeply
into the information hinted at by your specific quote can easily find it.
Adyashanti. The End of Your World: Uncensored Straight Talk on the
Nature of Enlightenment. Boulder, CO., Sounds True Inc., 2008. Print
In-Text Citations (quotes) For Print Sources with No Known Author
When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work
instead of an author name.
Place the title in quotation marks, whether it is a short work such as an
article, or a longer work such as a play, book, television show, or an entire
website. Remember to provide a page number, if there is one. If there is
no page number, remember to include this abbreviation: n.p.
Here is an example:
With funds raised from the 1st Annual American Dream Run in October and
the Charity Latin Dance Competition in December, NAHREP-AZ was able to
raise $4,000 for the school in addition to purchasing 30 brand new running
shoes for the track team and seed for the athletic fields. (“Heal & Recover
Starts w comm. Serv”, n.p.)
In the above example, since the reader does not know the author of
the article, an abbreviated title of the article appears in parentheses,
which corresponds to the full name of the article entry in the
Bibliography. Thus, the writer includes the title in quotation marks
in order to lead the reader directly to the source in the
Bibliography.
The Bibliography entry appears as follows:
“Healing and Recovery Starts with Community Service”: NAHREP-AZ Helps
School Hit Hard by the Foreclosure Crisis. NAHREP-AZ web. 2011. 20 Dec.
2011.
When creating in-text citations (quotes) for electronic, film, or Internet
sources, remember that your citation (quote) must reference the source
in your Bibliography.
Parenthetical Citations (Parentheses) for Electronic Sources
Some writers are confused about how to correctly enter these sources
because of the absence of page numbers. Often these entries do not
require any sort of parenthetical citation (parentheses) at all.
Adhere to the Following Guidelines:
In the text, include the first item that appears in the Bibliography
entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g., author name, article
name, website name, or film name).
You do not need to give paragraph numbers or page numbers based
on your Web browser’s “print preview” function.
Unless you must list the website name in order to get the reader to
the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in-text. Only provide
partial URLs, such as when the name of the site includes a domain
name, like http://www.fox.com.
When a Citation (quote) is Not Needed
Common sense and ethics should determine the need for documenting
sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known
quotations or common knowledge. This is a choice, based on your
audience. What is common knowledge to the counseling world may not be
common knowledge to the general public.
3. METHODS ??" The third chapter is optional, and should be entitled “Methods.”
When to Include a Methods Section
This section is appropriate if your study requires something beyond the
literature, such as:
A review of a project completed as a counselor through actual work
experiences
The use of a questionnaire requiring a statistical analysis
Specific methods used in the technique about which you are writing.
The format utilized will simply be the function of the methodology used.
Only a small portion of students utilize this section.
Information presented in this chapter should substantiate ideas you are
presenting in your thesis.
Your Table of Contents and the body of the paper must contain this chapter
(whether you are using it or not).
If you are not using this chapter, your Table of Contents will read:
Chapter 3 Methods N/A (Not Applicable) page number
In the body of the paper, there will be a blank page that will be titled:
Chapter 3 Methods N/A page number
4. FINDINGS or RESULTS
The fourth part of your thesis, Chapter IV, is to be entitled “Findings”.
This should be the second largest chapter of your thesis.
Here the author explains what was found in the literature and methodology,
and uses it to argue the question(s) or statement expressed in the title.
In this section, the author becomes the teacher, the minister, the
practitioner, the counselor, and clearly, the student of Metaphysics.
Here is where you provide your own unique contribution to the already
existing field of knowledge on the subject which you have chosen for your
thesis.
5. DISCUSSION
The fifth chapter of your thesis should be entitled “Discussion.”
To write the discussion properly and effectively, it is helpful for you, the
author, to take yourself outside of the work. Sit down with an imaginary,
metaphysical other, and discuss what you have just proclaimed in the
Findings.
In a campus setting, you would be cloistered with a panel of your
professors, who would be peppering you with questions prompted by your
work.
Your written discussion must be the best enactment of such a (singular)
situation that you can report upon and produce.
This section is a significant part of your work.
Too frequently, a student presents this section as secondary. However, a
thesis can be much more meaningful if its purpose is properly understood
and appreciated through enlightened discussion.
This section calls for a discussion of how your findings could affect society as
a whole.
6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Your sixth or final chapter should be entitled “Summary” or “Conclusions.”
this should be a fairly short chapter, presenting a brief review of all that has
been introduced in the previous chapters that enabled you to reach your
conclusions.
Also included should be a few suggestions regarding research on your
chosen subject that you believe remains to be explored by others in the
future.
There are faxes for this order.