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Formatting

Thesis Formatting Guideline


Before you submit your Master’s thesis, your thesis must follow Zhejiang University’s required format. The formatting guideline is as follows:
Required and Optional Sections
Title Page--required
The title page should be a single separate page. All the contents on this page (except for the first two lines) should be centered horizontally. 
On the title page, please put the year and the month (usually June) in which you complete all the requirements needed for the awarding of your master’s degree. This is not necessarily the month in which you submit your final thesis draft.

Acceptance Pages (Chinese and English) --required
Acceptance pages confirm the committee’s approval and acceptance of your master’s thesis. Students should separate the Chinese and English acceptance pages. 
If you are submitting an electronic copy, the acceptance page should not include any signatures (leave the names blank). Signatures are only present on the paper copy submitted to the Master of China Studies Office.

Copyright Page (in Chinese) --optional
The copyright page should be a single separate page in Chinese..

Table of Contents Page(s)–required
Please include a table of contents to guide the readers through your thesis. Label “Contents” at the top of the first page. Leave two blank lines between the title and the first item listed. The table of contents does not list pages that precede it, or the table of contents itself, but should begin with the title of the page that follow it. Give page numbers only for the first page of each section (i.e. not the full span of each section’s length), and use lowercase Roman or Arabic numerals as on the page themselves. Dot leaders or dotted lines between the elements and the page numbers are optional. 

Acknowledgements—optional
Depending on your personal inclination, you might wish to include a set of acknowledgments to recognize people or agencies to whom you feel grateful towards for any academic, technical, financial or personal assistance during your thesis writing process. The acknowledgments page preferably consists of just one page. Put “Acknowledgments” as the title at the top of that page. Leave two blank lines between the title and the text.

Illustrations, Tables. and/or Figures—required
Please list all the illustrations, tables and figures used in the thesis. If your thesis includes only figures, put “Figures” as the title at the top of the page; if it includes only tables, label it “Tables” instead. If your thesis includes both figures and tables, you may provide a separate list for each, or combine them into a single list titled “Illustrations”.
As you put “Illustrations”, “Tables”, and/or “Figures” at the top of their respective pages, leave two blank lines between the title and the first line of text. Write down the number of each figure or table in Arabic numerals. You must vertically align the list based on the order of appearance of each table and figure in your thesis. Figure captions and table titles should match the wording and capitalization of those written in the main body of the thesis. List the page numbers aligned on the right. Dot leaders or dotted lines to connect the captions and titles to page numbers is optional. 

Abbreviations—optional
You may use abbreviations for names, titles, and other terms frequently used in your paper. Give the full form when you first refer the names/titles/other terms in your thesis, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. For subsequent references, use the abbreviation consistently. If you use a lot of abbreviations, you might add a list of abbreviations to the front matter of your thesis.
Label “Abbreviations” at the top of the page. Leave two blank lines between the title and the first item. Note that the items are arranged alphabetically according to the abbreviation, not by the spelled-out term. The abbreviations themselves are vertically aligned in the left; spell out terms (including runovers) are set on a consistent indent that allows about a half inches of space between the longest abbreviation in the first column and the first word in the second column. 

Chinese and English Abstracts Pages—required
The Chinese and English abstracts should be separated into two pages, with no more than one page per abstract. In the Chinese abstract, “摘要” should be centered at the top of the page. “Abstract” should be centered at the top of the English version.
As many people will learn about your work through your title and abstract through Zhejiang University’s library database, you should spend a good bit of effort in composing both your title and abstract. Try to convey the main ideas of your work rather than just the framework of your findings. You should also work to phrase your title to make it truly describes the contents and ensure it to be easily found in the index of the university’s library database.

Text
  •  Introduction

  •  Parts/Chapters 

  •  Conclusion


Appendixes--optional
If your thesis includes essential supporting materials that cannot be easily worked into the body of your paper, put the materials in one or more appendixes at the end of the entire thesis. Label the first-page “Appendixes” at the top of the page. If you have more than one type of appendix material, please provide each appendix with a number or letter and a descriptive title. You may give the numbers in either Arabic numerals, fully written out, or single letters of the alphabet in sequential order.

Bibliography—required
Label the first page of the section with “Bibliography” at the top of the page. The MCS office adopts the Chicago Style 16th edition of referencing.
Fonts
Choose a single, easily readable, and widely available font (also called typeface) such as Times New Roman, Courier, or Helvetica. Less common fonts may distract the readers and make your work to look less serious. In general, use at least 10-point and preferably 12-point type for the body of the text. Footnotes, headings, and other elements should use the same font type although they might require different font sizes.
Spacing
Use double-spacing for all text in your thesis, except the following items, which should be single-spaced:
  •  Block quotations (more than 3 lines.)

  •  Table titles and figure captions

  •  Lists in appendixes

Margins
Leave a margin of at 25.4mm on the top, bottom, and the right side. Leave 38.1mm on the left side.
Page Numbers
  • All pages should be numbered clearly, consecutively, and printed on every page, including the front and back matters.

  • Use lowercase Roman number (e.g. i, ii, iii) for the front matter.

  • Use Arabic numerals (e.g. 1,2,3) for the main body of your thesis, the bibliography, and the appendixes.

  • The title page counts as page i, but does not bear a number.

  • Page number should be centered at the bottom of the page.

Language
Your thesis should be written in English, except for the aforementioned page of Chinese abstract.
Thesis Length
Your thesis should include 12,000 English words at the very minimum.
Footnotes and Bibliography
Please consult the Chicago Manuals (16th edition) for the complete explanation on footnotes and bibliography.