INSTRUCTIONS FOR WRITING A THESIS

Simon Seminar

Masters thesis in major subject

Autumn 2006
Department of Biology of Physical Activity
University of Jyvskyl
Supervisors: P.R. Offessor and D.O.Cent

ABSTRACT

Seminar, Simon 2007. Instructions for writing a thesis. Department of Biology of Physical
Activity, University of Jyvskyl. Masters Thesis in Writing. 50 pp.

A masters thesis includes bibliographic data in the beginning of the abstract. The
bibliographic data consists of the authors name, year of publication, the title of the thesis,
department, university, major subject of the thesis and number of pages. The abstract is
followed by 1 to 7 most relevant keywords that describe the topic.

The purpose of this guide is to aid in writing thesis (for example, a masters thesis) at the
Department of Biology of Physical Activity. Although the guide mainly concerns with
unifying the layout of the thesis, it also addresses some other important topics, such as
citing references. The guidelines presented here are based mainly on the book of Hirsjrvi et
al. (2000).

A good abstract attracts readers attention to the work. The best way to get ones message
through is to present it in a clear, simple and fluent fashion. The maximum length for an
abstract is usually 250 words. If paragraphs seem necessary in a long abstract, introduction,
methods, results and discussion can each form a separate paragraph. However, in order to
avoid fragmentation, it is usually best to limit the abstract to two or three paragraphs.
Keywords:

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT
CONTENTS
1 LAYOUT ........................................................................................................................ 4
1.1 Typeface and margins ............................................................................................. 4
1.2 Headings and paragraphs ........................................................................................ 4
1.3 Ordering and numbering pages ............................................................................... 5
1.4 Title page................................................................................................................. 5
1.5 Table of contents and bibliography......................................................................... 6
1.6 Tables and figures ................................................................................................... 6
2 CITING A REFERENCE ............................................................................................... 7
2.1 Citations .................................................................................................................. 7
2.2 Bibliography............................................................................................................ 8
3 THESES .......................................................................................................................... 8
3.1 Masters thesis......................................................................................................... 8
3.2 Requirements for high level thesis.......................................................................... 9
4 REFERENCES.............................................................................................................. 11
5 APPENDIX 1. THESIS EVALUATION FORM ......................................................... 12

1 LAYOUT

1.1 Typeface and margins

Choose the uncomplicated Times New Roman in point size 12 as the base font. Use 1.5-line
line spacing in the entire thesis, including table of contents and bibliography. Left margin is
defined as 4 cm and right margin as 2 cm, which gives us a paragraph width of 15 cm. Top
and bottom margins are 2.5 cm each, which allows 3234 lines of text on a page. Write full
pages down to the bottom margin whenever possible (no orphan lines).

1.2 Headings and paragraphs

Headings and subheadings are written starting from the left margin. Headings and
subheadings use a hierarchical numbering scheme. Headings are written in all capitals, bold
text in point size 15, and they usually start a new page. First-level subheadings are written in
normal sentence case using bold text in point size 14. Second-level subheadings use point
size 13. Leave a triple space (two empty lines) in base point size 12 before and after
headings and double space (one empty line) after all subheadings. Use double space (one
empty line) between left-justified paragraphs. If full-justified text is used, hyphenation must
be enabled.

Text must be organised in such a way that three levels of headings is enough. According to
the current standard, the dot is omitted after the last or only digit (for example: 1, 1.1, 1.2.1).
Each level of headings or subheadings used must include at least two items.

Paragraph heading. Paragraph headings are written in italics and end in a full stop. Text
continues from the same line. Paragraph headings are not included in the table of contents.
Italics can be used for emphasis in other parts of the text as well, but avoid its overuse.

1.3 Ordering and numbering pages

Thesis conform to the following order of text runs:
1.

Title page

2.

Abstract

3.

Table of contents (titled Contents)

4.

Text pages

5.

Bibliography (titled References)

6.

Appendices.

Pages are numbered using Arabic numbers. In the thesis the numbering starts from the title
page which has number 1. However, the first visible page number does not come until the
second page of the actual text. In word processors this is best achieved by dividing the
document into two sections (after Contents -page ->Insert->Break->Section break type>Next page). Then, go to the header of the section where you want to insert the page
numbers. Click on a button (same

as previous) to uncouple the sections and after

that insert page numbers, starting from an appropriate number (4 in this document). Now,
you should have visible numbers beginning from the actual text page. To summarize,
abstract and table of contents are included in the numbering, but the page numbers are not
shown on the pages. Bibliography and appendices continue the same numbering.

1.4 Title page

The title page should include the title of the thesis, authors name, course name,
presentation date, department, supervisor(s) and the name of the university (see the title
page). Write the title in all capitals (bold, 15 pt) 11 cm from the top of the paper. Left
margin is the same as in the rest of the text. Authors name (given name first) comes 2 cm
below the title (triple space / two empty lines) in font size 14.

1.5 Table of contents and bibliography

The line spacing and margins in the table of contents are the same as in the rest of the thesis.
Headings start from the left margin, subheadings from the first letter of the heading or
subheading one level above them. In addition to the actual headings, the table of contents
includes also the bibliography and the appendices listed with their titles (for example,
Appendix 1. Title). If there are many appendices, they can be included in the table of
contents as a single entry Appendices.

1.6 Tables and figures

The text must include a reference to all the included tables and figures (for example,
figure 1, table 1). Place the figures and tables so that they can be easily found based on the
reference in text. They need to be either on the same page with the reference or as soon as
possible in the text following the reference. When placing figures and tables, make sure that
the pages are written full. Pages with an empty space at the bottom create an illusion of a
finished chapter.

FIGURE 1. Captions for figures and tables use font size 11 pt with line spacing 1.5 and all capitals
in the label as presented here. Table captions come above the table (Model 2003).

TABLE 1. Tables are best laid out as simple as possible. The model presented below is adequate
for most purposes.

K 35 m

K 65 m

K 90 m

K 116 m

16.8

21.1

23.3

25.3

R (m)

41

68

89

95.6

T (m)

4.0

5.6

6.0

6.4

D (m)

35

57

72

99

V0 (ms-1)

2 CITING A REFERENCE

2.1 Citations
Citations consist of the authors last name, publication year and, in the case of book relevant
page numbers (Model 2001a; Model 2001b, 67). If there are two authors, both authors are
always mentioned. If the names are in the text, they are linked with the conjunction and,
but inside parentheses & sign is used (Model & Model 2001). If there are more than two
authors, abbreviation et al. is appended to the first one (Model et al. 2001).

There are two principles in marking citations. If the reference relates to a single sentence,
the citation is included in parentheses before the full stop (Model 2001). Citing references is
handled in more detail in the book of Hirsjrvi et al. (2000). If you are following an article
format in your thesis (see 3.1), you should follow the specific guidelines of the journal in
marking the citations.

Page numbers are not included in the citation in the case of research articles or when it is
not possible, for example when citing entire researches instead of some particular page
range. The basic rule still is that the bibliography enables the reader to easily locate the
pages the information comes from.

Only the works that the author has cited in the thesis are included in the bibliography.
Publications the author has not personally seen and read are not included in the
bibliography (make clear difference between primary and secondary sources).

2.2 Bibliography
Bibliography includes the works cited in the thesis in alphabetical order. The cites and
references must match. The general structure of a reference consists of four parts: who (the
author), when (year), what (title), where (media and publisher). A sample bibliography is
included in the end of this guide. It includes only some of the most popular source types.
More detailed instructions on referencing different types of source material can be found in
the book of Hirsjrvi et al. (2000).

3 THESES

3.1 Masters thesis

A masters thesis can be published in two different formats: 1) a monograph format
(typical thesis) or 2) an article format (a manuscript including at least 20-page
introduction). The article format is used when the material in the thesis is sufficient for
scientific publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Similarly to the monograph, the article
format must contain at least 20 pages long literature review. The literature review serves as
a long introduction, which must be modified to a shorter form prior to submission. Also the

research problems and possible hypotheses must be stated in the literature review.
Typically, the research problem and hypotheses are written in a chapter of their own.

The Methods, Results, Discussion and Bibliography are written in the journal style using
proper academic writing conventions.

Masters theses are evaluated on a seven-point scale. The grades from lowest to highest are
approbatur, lubenter approbatur, non sine laude approbatur, cum laude approbatur, magna
cum laude approbatur, eximia cum laude approbatur and laudatur. Appendix 1 shows the
evaluation form used by the examiners. The evaluation criteria should give you some idea
of what makes a good thesis.

3.2 Requirements for high level thesis

Aim, planning and problems of the study. The aims of the thesis are well defined and
feasible. Starting points are well argued, making use of previous research and background
literature. The text focuses on essential points. Research questions and possible hypotheses
are defined appropriately and carefully.

Familiarity with the literature. Relevant background literature is carefully and

systematically analysed. All the points that are essential to the present research are made
clear. The text shows that literature has been critically evaluated while taking the aims and
methods used into consideration.

Research methods. Research methods are chosen on grounds of a comparison of the various
options available. The presentation attests to a knowledge and understanding of related
research literature and other factors involved. The research frame is logical and well
defined. The methods and ways of collecting data used in previous research are taken into
consideration, and their possible advantages and disadvantages are explained. The chosen

10

method is suitable for the research in question. The choice of data is apt. Possible
limitations in the methods are considered (this should be presented in the discussion).

Results of the study. The results are adequate in their scope and reliable in the light of the
research questions posed. They are put forward in a clear, coherent and intelligible way. All
the results presented in tables and figures should not be repeated but the most significant
findings can be stated in the text.

Discussion and conclusion. The main result is typically stated in the beginning of the
discussion followed by comments whether it was expected or not. Then the significance of
the findings is critically evaluated in the light of other research results and literature. The
discussion can include justified recommendations for future studies or practical work in
coaching etc.

Structure and layout. The structure of the text is clear and coherent. The text proceeds
logically and eloquently. Sources as well as references are used adequately and according to
the instructions. Tables and figures are composed carefully. Use of language is good. The
conventions of academic writing are carefully followed. Layout is flawless.

Overview. The thesis as a whole is well reasoned and coherent. The study is innovative and
contains novel aspects. The text is characterised by a critical and logical approach.
Problems, possible hypotheses and conclusions are well grounded. Those questions to
which the research is not able to give an adequate answer are stated clearly. The possibilities
for extending the research are discussed. Academic writing conventions are carefully
observed.

11

4 REFERENCES

Arndt, A., Brggemann, G.-P., Virmavirta, M. & Komi, P. V. 1995. Techniques used by
Olympic ski jumpers in the transition from take-off to early flight. Journal of Applied
Biomechanics 11, 224237.
Auld, D. J. 2004. Properties of atmosphere. Aerospace, Mechanical & Mechatronic Engineering, University of Sydney. http://www.aeromech.usyd.au/aero/. 07.01.2005.
Finni, T. 2001. Muscle mechanics during human movement revealed by in vivo
measurements of tendon force and muscle length. Ph.D. Thesis. University of
Jyvskyl. Studies in Sport, Physical Education and Health 37. ISSN 0356-1070.
Hirsjrvi, S., Remes, P, & Sajavaara, P. 2000. Tutki ja kirjoita. Tammi, Helsinki.
Komi P. V. & Virmavirta M. 2000. Determinants of successful ski jumping performance.
In: Zatziorsky V. (ed.) Biomechanics in sport. Blackwell Science, Cambridge
University Press, 349362.
Luhtanen, P., Kiveks, J., Pulli, M., Ylianttila, K. & Virmavirta, M. 1995. Comparison of
measured and simulated ski jumps -The World Cup competition at Lillehammer 1993.
Vth International symposium on computer simulation in Biomechanics, Jyvskyl,
Abstract book, 3435.
Virmavirta, M. & Komi, P. V. 1993a. Measurement of take-off forces in ski jumping. Part I.
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports 3, 229236.
Virmavirta, M. & Komi, P. V. 1993b. Measurement of take-off forces in ski jumping. Part
II. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports 3, 237243.
Virmavirta, M., Kiveks, J. & Komi, P. V. 1999. Simulated ski jumping take-off in a wind
tunnel. ISB XVIIth Congress, Calgary, Canada. Abstract book, 76.
Virmavirta, M., Kojonkoski, M., Lepist, H. & Puikkonen, J. 1997. Mkihyppy. In: Mero
A., Nummela A. & Keskinen K. (ed.) Nykyaikainen urheiluvalmennus. Mero Oy,
Jyvskyl, 370385.

12

5 APPENDIX 1. THESIS EVALUATION FORM