Project Plan and Proposal Development

FORMAT GUIDELINES FOR MSIS PAPERS AND FINAL PROJECT

General Guidelines

All papers written for any MSIS course will follow these guidelines (see the Specific

Formatting Features section for more detail).

• double spaced

• no paragraph or page border

• no extra space before or after each line or between paragraphs, extra space can be left

before or after a table/figure/chart (see paragraph menu for options, by default MS Word

adds extra space after a paragraph, ensure you set that to 0 before and 0 after)

• all text should be in black, no special colors

• headers/footers maybe used in course papers except for the final paper in BIT 595

• Times New Roman or Arial are acceptable fonts and 12pt

• tables/charts/graphs should be single spaced and can be presented landscape and in

smaller point size

• all tables/charts/graphs must have a caption, placed after the discussion, and listed in the

appropriate List of Figures, Tables, or Charts.

o use the caption feature

o change the color of the font to black and the size to the same in the document

• use hard return (ctrl enter) to create a page break, do not use several returns to move text

to new page

• Table of Contents/List of Figure/List of Charts should be in the same font and size as the

rest of the document, no color, no italics, with numbers right aligned (create a right dot

leader tab at the right margin)

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The components of the final project/thesis includes:

• Title page

• Copyright page (or blank page)

• Signature page

• Executive Summary or Abstract

• Acknowledgments (optional)

• Table of Contents

• List of Tables

• List of Figures

• Introduction

• Project Detail (this will vary depending on the type of project completed)

• Results/Discussion

• References Cited

• Appendices (optional)

Each of these components is discussed in full detail in the Thesis and Major Paper Guide

provided on the Graduate school website,. It is highly suggested that you download and print a

copy.

These guidelines will apply to all papers written in each of the classes as well as the final

capstone project. There may be some sections not included for specific class assignments. Be

sure to check with the course professor on what must be included.

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SPECIFIC FORMATTING FEATURES

Preliminary Material

The formats used for preliminary material (Title Page through List of Figures, or List of

Plates) are illustrated in the example pages provided in Appendix A of the Thesis and Major

Paper Guide. Students should follow these examples carefully in preparing these preliminary

pages.

Margins

The margins on all four sides of every page must be a minimum of 1 inch. Only page

numbers (placed upper right in a header) are placed outside of the margins. The required margins

apply to tables and figures as well as the text, and they apply to all pages, including preliminary

material and appendices.

Page Numbers

All pages of the thesis are counted with the exception of the blank or copyright page that

follows the Title Page. All preliminary pages (all pages prior to the Introduction) should be

numbered with lower case Roman numerals (ii). The only exception is the Title Page, which is

assigned a page number (i.e., counted as page i), but it is not paginated (no page number is

shown). Beginning with Introduction, and continuing through the References and any

appendices, all pages are counted and paginated (with some exceptions) with Arabic numerals

(2, 3). The only page that is not paginated is the page (if present) labeled “Appendices” or

“Appendix”.

Page numbers, whether Roman or Arabic numerals, are placed at the upper-right corner

of the page. They should be located inside the right-hand margin. To set the page number in

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Microsoft Word, use Insert/Page Number/Top of Page--Plain Number 3. The page number can

then be formatted as needed (to be either lowercase Roman numerals or Arabic numerals).

Changing the type of page number (Roman numerals to Arabic numerals) or omitting the

page number from a page requires use of a section break within word processing programs. The

places that require a section break are before (transitioning to) the first page of each chapter and

before the page (if included) labeled “Appendices” or “Appendix.” The section break should be

inserted after typing on the preceding page is completed. In Microsoft Word, select… Page

Layout/ Break /Section break – next page. The cursor will move to the top of the next page, and

the section number increases by one. The section break allows the pages of different sections,

including headers and footers, to be formatted differently.

To set the type of page number to be used: Double-click in the header area, to activate the

headers and footers. In the Header and Footer section of the Formatting Palette, select… Format

Page number. In the window that appears, you can choose the format of the page numbers.

Within the preliminary materials section, select the i, ii, iii… format. In the Headings the APA

Manual defines five possible levels of headings. However, in most reports or projects, all five

levels will not be needed. Headings help readers navigate the report or project; but using too

many levels can be more intrusive than helpful. The five levels of headings set forth in the APA

Manual are formatted as follows:

Level 1 centered, boldface, uppercase and lowercase (capitalized) heading.

Level 2 flush left, boldface, uppercase and lowercase (capitalized) heading.

Level 3 indented, boldface, lowercase (only first word capitalized) paragraph heading,

ends with a period.

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Level 4 indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase (only first word capitalized) paragraph

heading, ends with a period.

Level 5 indented, italicized, lowercase (only first word capitalized) paragraph heading,

ends with a period.

These heading formats outlined in the APA Manual 6th edition differ from those outlined

in the 5th edition. In a report or project, the highest level heading is used to title the chapter. Both

the chapter number (e.g., Chapter 1) and the title of the chapter (e.g., Introduction) are

considered to be part of the same heading, even though they are typed on separate lines, double-

spaced.

Typeface and Spacing

The MSIS Faculty prefers Times New Roman or Arial. Acceptable font sizes are 10 pt

and 12 pt. For Times New Roman and Arial, 12 pt text works best; 10-pt text is rather small, and

more difficult to read. The same typeface must be used throughout the report or project, with the

exceptions of lettering that is part of the body of a figure and material in appendices, for which a

different typeface may be used. One additional exception to the font size requirement relates to

table notes, which may be a smaller font (e.g., 10-pt Times New Roman).

Text should be written using left justification (i.e., text aligned with left margin, except

when indented). Full justification, which spreads the text to align with both the left and right

margins, should not be used.

The MSIS Faculty prefers double spacing throughout the document. However,

appropriate use of larger line spacing (triple or quadruple) in some places can improve the

readability of the reports or projects. Triple line spacing (two blank lines) is required above

and/or below tables that appear on a page with normal text, to more clearly offset them from the

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text. Larger line spacing (triple spacing should suffice) may also precede headings, particularly

higher-level headings. Consistency in spacing is the key.

In Text Citation and Reference Page

The MSIS Faculty has agreed on a modified APA format. Each reference should be listed in

alphabetical order, according to proper APA format, on the reference page and numbered. The

carry over line will be indented such that it aligns with the first line. Examples follow:

1. Baker, E. J. (2011). Household preparedness for the Aftermath of Hurricanes in

Florida, Applied Geography, 31, 46-52.

2. Carleton, R. N., Collimore, K. C., & Asmundson, J. G. J. (2010). It’s not just the

judgements—It’s that I don’t know: Intolerance of uncertainty as a predictor of social

anxiety, Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24, 189–195.

The number will be used as the in text citation and the number enclosed in brackets [1]. The

numbers will not be in numerical order in your document, rather will refer to the listing on the

reference page. For example:

Baker [1] found that preparedness was strongly related to factors like income level, home

ownership, race, age, and type of housing.