Every thesis accepted for an advanced degree is a mature piece of original research. Just as the research should be precise and complete to meet departmental standards, the presentation of that research should be equally precise and complete to meet the Graduate School standards.

Each manuscript must meet library and archival standards of permanence. Hence it is essential to use paper of the prescribed quality and to follow directions for the preparation of illustrative materials exactly.

The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that every thesis that will carry the name of the Middle East Technical University meets the same high standards of presentation. These standards are Graduate School standards and are applied consistently to all departments and programs.

Preparing a thesis with a word processor offers many advantages. However, the limitations of your software or hardware, or your limited knowledge of their capabilities, do not release you from the responsibility of meeting the guidelines. Therefore, it is important that you read and understand the guidelines before preparation of your manuscript. Manuscripts which do not follow these guidelines will not be accepted by the Graduate School.

Do not use previously approved theses as a guide to preparation of your manuscript. The current guidelines will be enforced. It is the responsibility of each student to meet current guidelines exactly.

For all cases not covered by the instructions given in this manual, please obtain the written approval of the Graduate School before presenting the thesis.

To insure durability, permanency, and opacity, all copies must be on good quality white bond paper, of at least 75 g, measuring 21 by 29.7 cm (A4). Only single-sided copies will be accepted.

Submission of the original copy is not required.

Photocopies must be made from the original, and all pages must have high contrast with consistently dark print throughout the thesis.

The print must be permanent; it must not smudge.

All pages must be copied onto acceptable paper, as described above. Inferior copies and copies not made on approved paper will not be accepted. It is recommended that you work with a reputable copying firm or bindery when having your thesis reproduced.

The type size should be 10-point or larger. Any standard font (e.g., elite, pica, executive, helvetica, Times, Roman, Palatino) is acceptable. Do not use script, or ornamental fonts. The typeface and size must be consistent throughout the thesis. Bold face letters and symbols, and italics may be used for special emphasis and foreign words.

In the body of the thesis, different typefaces and sizes may be used to set chapter titles, section headings, footnotes, endnotes, examples, quotations, tables, and charts from the rest of the text, as long as they are easily readable.

Laser and ink-jet prints are preferred. Dot matrix print is allowed for a thesis, with qualifications. It must be near-letter quality and exhibit the following characteristics: no visible space between the dots of individual characters, smooth and well-defined character shapes, and uniformly dark images. Using the double-strike option on dot matrix printers without near-letter-quality capability is not an acceptable alternative.

No ink corrections, strikeovers, correction fluid or tape, paste-ups, insertions between lines, and letraset are permitted on the final bound copies. If you must make corrections, do them on the original manuscript before it is copied (but not by ink corrections and strikeovers which are never allowed).

The left margin (binding side) must be at least 4 cm wide to allow for binding; the other three margins must be at least 2.5 cm wide. However, in preliminary pages, the first pages of chapters of the text and the first pages of references and appendices pages, the top margin must be at least 5 cm. The margins are depicted in the following figure.

Figure 1. Margins

Narrower margins are not acceptable. Slightly larger margins are advisable, to allow for error during reproduction.

Absolutely nothing should appear in the margins. This means that all headings, page numbers, text, tables, illustrations, etc., must be contained completely within the area bounded by the margins.

If right justification is used without hyphenation, right-justified text containing long technical and scientific words may result in unsightly white spaces between words which are not acceptable.

In paragraphs, two types of formatting can be used. If spacing between paragraphs is used, then there is no need for indentation. If indentation is used, then no spacing must be used between paragraphs

All page numbers of the thesis or dissertation must appear in the same location on the page. You have three choices for this location: the upper right-hand corner, top center, or bottom center of the page. In any case, page numbers must be at least two single spaces above or below the nearest line of text, but within the margin boundaries as stated above. All page numbers must be in the same font and size.

The following pagination plan should be used:
a) For the preliminary pages, use small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.). The Title page, the Approval page and the Certification page do not have numbers but count as pages i and ii, respectively. Actual page numbering begins with iv on the Abstract page.

b) Use Arabic numerals beginning with "1" on the first page of the text and continue throughout the rest of the thesis, including bibliography, appendices, and vita. All pages must be numbered consecutively, including pages containing chapter pages, illustrations, such as tables, figures, plates, and photographs.

If your finished manuscript exceeds 5 cm in thickness it must be bound in two or more volumes. Volumes are numbered consecutively, using capital Roman numerals. Each additional volume must contain a title page. Title pages are identical except for the notation Volume I, Volume II, etc., just below the title to differentiate the volumes.

Both the Roman and the Arabic numbering systems begun in Volume I continue through Volume II. As with the title page of Volume I, that of Volume II is counted among the preliminary pages but does not bear a number. If "iv" is the last Roman numeral used in Volume I, for example, the title page of the second volume will count as page "v" and will be followed by preliminary pages "vi," "vii," etc. Each volume contains the Table of Contents.

All master's theses are to be bound in black cloth. All doctoral theses are to be bound in red cloth.Synthetic, leatherette, or similar cloths are not acceptable. A bound copy of the thesis should measure 21.5 by 28.5 cm.

A list of authorized binderies can be obtained from the Graduate School. It is your responsibility to have the pages of the text in correct order when it is submitted to the bindery.

Two general rules of thumb should govern the presentation of any thesis: keep the format as simple as possible, and be consistent with the format throughout the thesis.

Every thesis has three main parts or divisions: the preliminary pages the text, and the reference matter (See Figure 2). You must follow the order of pages shown in the figure. Required sections are marked with asterisk.

Figure 2. Preliminary Pages

The title must be single-spaced, in all capital letters, and should begin at 5 cm from the top of the page (See Figure 3). The information retrieval systems consulted by many scholars to locate theses and dissertations relating to their own work use the key words in the title. Consequently, the title must not contain chemical or mathematical formulas, symbols, superscripts, subscripts, Greek letters, or other non-standard abbreviations and characters; words must be substituted.

Figure 3. Title Page

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1. chairperson of the jury
2. the second name belongs to supervisor,
3. the third name belongs to co-supervisor if exists
4. the rest is in alphabetical order of last name

Figure 4. Approval Page

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Figure 5. Self Declaration Against Plagiarism Page

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The heading ABSTRACT appears without punctuation, centered between the text margins, 5 cm from the top of the page. The title of the thesis in all capital letters begins centered at least two spaces below the heading. Equal 3 single spaces should be leaved as shown in the Figure 6. If abstract takes more than one page, at least 2,5 cm margin should be leaved for the top margin of the other page.

Maximum five keywords must be written at the end of the abstract.

Figure 6. Abstract Page

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Like the dedication, acknowledgments and preface are optional. They must have headings and should use the same spacing as the text (i.e. 1,5 spacing). The heading ACKNOWLEDGMENTS or PREFACE appears centered between the text margins without punctuation 5 cm from the top of the page; text begins at least three spaces below the heading as can be seen in Figure 7. If ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS takes more than one page, at least 2,5 cm margin should be leaved for the top margin for the other pages.

Figure 7. Acknowledgements Page

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The heading TABLE OF CONTENTS appears without punctuation centered between the text margins 5 cm from the top of the page. The listing of actual contents begins at the left margin at least three spaces below the heading as can be seen in Figure 8. If TABLE OF CONTENTS takes more than one page, at least 2,5 cm margin should be leaved for the top margin for the other pages.

Figure 8. Table of Contents Page

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The heading LIST OF TABLES or LIST OF FIGURES appears centered between the text margins without punctuation 5 cm from the top of the page; the listing begins at the left margin at least three spaces below the heading.

Each entry should have the same number and the same caption or title used in the text, although a long caption may be abbreviated to the extent of using only the first full sentence.

As in the table of contents, each entry must have leader dots, which connect it to its page number.

No reference should be used for the tables of figures in this section.

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Chapters are numbered consecutively in Arabic or Roman numerals and capital letters (CHAPTER 1, CHAPTER 2, etc., or CHAPTER I, CHAPTER II, etc.). In addition to general titles like INTRODUCTION, the chapters need substantially descriptive titles as well.

Only chapters should begin with a new page. Within a chapter, the presentation of subsections must be continuous; partially filled pages of text are acceptable only on non-textual pages, such as those presenting tables and illustrations. Subsection numbering must not go beyond three levels (e.g. 1.2.3 Subsection Title) unless absolutely necessary.

The heading CHAPTER 1 in all capitals is centered between the text margins 5 cm from the top of the page; the title goes two spaces below. The text begins at least three spaces below as can be seen in Figure 9.

Figure 9. Chapter Beginning Page

Table numbers and captions are placed one space above the top line of the illustration; figure numbers and captions are placed one space below the last line or bottom of the illustration.

Illustrations of any kind must be numbered consecutively. This includes appendices, if you have them. You may follow a straight sequence (1, 2, 3, etc.) or preferably use a decimal approach (1.1, 1.2, 1.3,.., A.1, A.2, where the first digit is the chapter or appendix number, and the digit after the decimal point is the illustration number).

Illustrations may run longer than one page. In such cases all subsequent pages of the illustration must include at least the illustration number and the notation that it is continued, e.g., "Table 1 (cont.)" or "Table 1 (continued)."

All headings and captions must be prepared either in the same typeface and point size used for the text, or in the same typeface and point size as every other heading and caption. Choose a point size that can be read easily, especially for tables.

Illustrations of one-half page or less in length may appear on the same page with the text, separated from the text above and below by triple spacing; illustrations longer than one-half page are better placed on a separate sheet.

Illustrations that are too large to be placed sideways between the left- and right-hand margins should be rotated counterclockwise 90 degrees so that the top of the illustration runs parallel to the left-hand margin of the page. The caption or legend for such an illustration must also be rotated. When illustrations are presented in this manner, the usual margin requirements remain in effect, and page numbers should appear in their normal place.

Color may be used in figures and photographs only with prior permission from the Graduate School. Photographic illustrations must be originals or well-done photographic copies of the originals. Standard photocopies of photographs are not acceptable. Wherever required, mounting of illustrations should be done with a technique that ensures durable and good quality result (e.g., dry mounting). With dry mounting, the paper to which photographs are attached will not curl. Other methods, such as library paste, rubber cement, spray mounting, or tape, are not acceptable: such mounting techniques are not permanent, and the adhesives used will eventually destroy both the paper and the photograph. If audio-visual material (e.g., videotape, cassette, etc.) is needed to accompany and supplement the text, it should be adequately described within the continuity of the text. Such material will be submitted only with the Departmental copy.

Stored information in the form of computer discs will be submitted only with the Departmental copy.

Computer print-outs must conform to the margin specifications, must be dark and legible with high black and white contrast, and must be copied on thesis-quality paper.

Authors may treat oversized materials in one of the following three ways:

• Captions may be placed on a separate page, facing the illustration. Consequently, it is the right margin of a facing page, not the left, that must be at least 4 cm for binding purposes. If an oversized illustration is rotated and the caption appears on a facing page, the caption must also be rotated.
• An illustration may be photo-reduced, but its page number and caption must be the same size and typeface as in the rest of the illustrations.
• An illustration may be folded and inserted in either of the following ways:
  • Fold the illustration and insert it in a white or manila envelope no larger than 16.5 by 24 cm, which may be mounted on paper of the proper weight for inclusion in the thesis. Each page enclosed in the envelope must be included in the pagination of the thesis; the page on which the envelope is mounted should have a single page number or inclusive page numbers, as needed,
    or,
  • Fold the illustration and mount it on 21 by 29.7 cm sheet.

Figure 10. Sample Equation in Text

All hand-lettered pages require prior approval of the Graduate School.

Quotations of poetry that are two lines or longer should normally be set off from the text, line for line as in the original and centered between the text margins without quotation marks. Quotations of poetry may be 1,5 or single-spaced, following the original as closely as possible.

Footnoting practices differ widely among publications in the sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences. Candidates should consult with their departments regarding accepted footnoting practice in their individual disciplines.

The most common mode of presentation for both footnotes and endnotes is to single-space within, and double-space between, each listing. If placed at the bottom of each page, footnotes must be separated from the text by a complete horizontal line one space above the first line of the footnote.

A bibliography is a selected list of all books, articles, and other source material related to the thesis research and is always in alphabetical order, with the author's last name first.

References section of the thesis must be prepared with EndNote Web. Through the use of EndNote Web, you can easily collect your references and then manage them through a web access. Please click here to access to detailed information about EndNote Web.

In some disciplines it is customary to list all of the references at the end of the thesis in a section headed "References," "List of References," or "Literature Cited" instead of "Bibliography." One of these headings should be used if the references in the thesis are cited by year, e.g., Smith (1966), or by number, e.g., Smith [3] or [3]. If numbers are used, the listing should be in numerical order, and the author's last name need not be first.

• In certain scientific and engineering disciplines, the references may be given at the end of each chapter instead of at the end of the thesis.
• Do not give the bibliography or references a chapter number, but it must have page numbers written in the same typeface and size used for pagination throughout the thesis.
• The heading BIBLIOGRAPHY or REFERENCES is centered between the text margins without punctuation 5 cm from the top of the page; the list begins four spaces below.
• Each bibliographic entry should be single-spaced with double spacing between entries.
• The candidate's major department should be consulted for a reference style that is appropriate to the discipline and acceptable to the department.