Approval Sheet
Title Page
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations
List of Tables
List of Figures
List of Plates
Abstract/Abstrak
Main Body of the Text (including a guide to the use of grammatical tenses)
References or Literature Cited
Appendices
Required Forms
Biodata

Submission of Thesis
Typing Procedures
Typewritten Copies
Paper
Binding

Urban Forestry Resources

        These guidelines are to help the final year students at the Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia in the preparation of their theses.

        The guidelines are in two parts. The first part, Format of Thesis, is intended to help the student prepare the drafts of the thesis. It indicates what to include in each section and how each section is to be written. The second part, Physical Requirements, specifies how the manuscript is to be typed/printed and bound.

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        A thesis consists of many parts arranged in certain order. A recommended order is given below, although not every thesis will include all the items listed:
 

Blank sheet
Approval sheet
Title page
Dedication (optional)
Acknowledgements
Table of contents
List of tables
List of figures
List of plates (if any)
List of abbreviations (optional)
Abstract
Abstrak
Main body of text
References or literature cited
Appendices (if any)
Publication of the project undertaking
Kebenaran membuat salinanfoto laporan projek
Biodata
Blank sheet

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        This page bears the name of candidate and title of the thesis, together with the signature of the supervisor(s).examiner(s) and the appropriate authorities certifying approval of the thesis, and the date of approval (Appendix A).

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        This page contains the title of the thesis, the candidate's name, a statement regarding the qualification for which the thesis is submitted, and the institution to which the thesis is submitted, and the month and year of submission (Appendix B).

        The title should contain the fewest possible words that adequately describe the content of the paper. Avoid unnecessary words such as "study of", "investigation on", "survey of" and "observation of".

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        This section recognizes persons (including institutions) to whom the candidate is intended for guidance and assistance during the research and writing. Acknowledgements should be expressed simply and tactfully.

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        The table of contents lists in sequence, with the corresponding beginning page numbers, the titles of all relevant parts of the thesis. These include the titles of chapters, sections and subsections as appropriate, references or literature cited and appendices, together with the titles of the preliminary pages and the required forms.

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        Abbreviations used in the thesis are listed for easy reference by the reader.

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        This list consists of the exact titles or captions of all tables in the text and the beginning page for each. The tables should be numbered in sequence, using Arabic numerals.

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        This section includes items like charts, graphs, maps and other illustrations. If there are more than 12 of any kind, for example graphs, then list them separately from the rest. List the exact title or caption of each figure and its corresponding page. The figures should also be numbered in sequence.

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        The abstract is a brief explanation of the whole thesis. It should consist of a statement of the problem and objective of the study, methodology, major findings and their significance, and conclusions. Include sufficient details to convince the reader that your findings are interesting and your thesis worth reading.

        The abstract should be less than 300 words, and typed single-spaced. It should not normally include any reference to the literature, but if such references are necessary, they should be footnoted.

        Both the English and Bahasa Malaysia versions of the abstract are required.

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        The main text of the thesis normally includes the following chapters/sections:
 

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Review of Literature
Chapter 3: Method (Materials and Methods)
Chapter 4: Results and Discussion
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations (if any)

        Each section is describe below:

        Introduction. The Introduction supplies sufficient background information to allow the reader to understand and evaluate the results of the present study without needing to refer to previous publications on the topic. It should contain the nature and scope of the problem investigated and the objective(s) and justification of the study. The Introduction is the proper place to define any specialized terms and concepts used in the thesis.

        Review of Literature. The chapter on Literature Review serves to tie together two things: what others have done and what you plan to do. The review is supposed to lead somewhere, namely to your own proposed research project and its justification. The review should be organized by subjects, and the organization depends on the field and the nature and quantity of literature available. Refer to several past theses to help you develop a writing style that provides some diversity. Avoid repetitive sentences such as "According to Ahmad (1956)...", "According to Busu (1962)..." or "Hall (1981) found that...", Newton (1929) found that...", "Adam (1906) found that...", etc.

        Method. This section explains how the study was conducted. For materials used, include the exact technical specifications, quantities and source. Experimental animals, plants, and microorganisms should be identified accurately, usually by genus, species, and strain. The methods employed should be described in chronological order, although related methods should be described together. Methods include those for the collection of data, laboratory and/or field experiments, and subsequent analysis of the data.

        Results and Discussion. This section presents the data gathered and the information obtained from them. Begin your results section with a general statement that means something to the reader. Then, as necessary, support this statement with appropriate figures. The narrative portion of the section should stand on its own tables, charts and other illustrations should only verify or elaborate points made in the text. Tell the results in words, augmented with as few numbers as possible, and refer the interested reader to the more detailed presentation in the tables and charts. If you choose to present your results by writing "the results are summarized in Table 1", you should guide your reader through the table. Highlight the trend, range of values and other interesting aspects. Do not leave the reader to sort out the figures and decide what they mean.

        The discussion part should present the principles, relationship and generalization shown by the results. The results need to be compared and interpreted with those in previously published works. The implications of your results as well as possible practical applications must be discussed.

        Some authors separate the Results and Discussion in two different sections. The same guidelines apply.

        Conclusion. This section states the deduction from the findings. It presents the significance of the study, and tells how the situation described in the beginning of the thesis has changed because of your research.

        A simple guide is that to use the present tense when referring to previously published work and the past tense when referring to your present results. In the thesis, you will normally go back and forth between the present and past tenses. Most of the Abstract should be in the past tense because you described what you did and what you found. On the other hand, most of the Introduction, Discussion, and Conclusion should be in the present tense because these sections usually refer to previously published works.

Web manager's note:
The following four reliable web sites contain detail information on English grammar and writing:

• Common Errors in English by Professor Paul Brians
• Guide to Grammar and Writing
• On-line English Grammar by Anthony Hughes
• The King's English

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        All references cited in the preceding sections of the thesis have to be listed in this section. There are several methods of citing references, but any style you choose should be complete, accurate and consistent so that any reader could easily locate the materials cited.

        Specific guidelines for literature citation are given in Appendix C.

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        Appendices could include original data, lengthy quotations or description, and other relevant information that are not readily available to the reader (for examples, questionnaires, computer printouts, forms and documents). They are types single-spaced. Each appendix should be identified using an alphabet or upper case Roman numerals.

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        The formats of the two required forms regarding the publication and photocopying of the thesis are shown in Appendices D and E.

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        This section gives the biographical information of the candidate. It may include the following information:
 

Name
Date and Place of Birth
Marital Status
Educational Background
Professional and Work Experience
Publications

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        The candidate is required to submit four (4) copies of the final draft to the Faculty within a specific dateline given by the Office of the Deputy Dean (Research & Business). These copies are for the Major Supervisor, UPM Serdang Campus Library, Examiner/Minor Supervisor and the Faculty Resource Centre.

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        Typing should be neat, clear and uniform.
 

(a) Type specification
1. use elite type or equivalent (twelve pitch).
2. use black typewriter/printer ribbon so that uniform shade of type will be obtained.

(b) Margins
For the first page of any new chapter or main section, the left, top and bottom margins should be at least 40 mm wide. For the rest in the pages, the left-hand margin should be at least 40 mm wide and the width of the top and bottom margin is at least 25 mm.

(c) Spacing
The thesis should be typed double-spaced. The following, however, should be single spaced:

Abstract

Footnotes

Quotations longer than three lines

References/Literature Cited

Tables

Appendices, such as questionnaires, letters, etc.

Major sections should begin on a new page on the fifth double space from the top of the page. For paragraph indentation, use five spaces from the left margin.

(d) Pagination
1. Pages should be numbered consecutively throughout the thesis, including pages of figures, tables, and appendices. The pages of the appendices should also be typed accordingly following the above pagination system. Page numbers should appear by themselves and are not to be enclosed in parenthesis, hyphens or other decorative devices.
2. The preliminary pages preceding the introduction may carry numbers in small roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.) type centrally about 25 mm from the bottom. The title page should not be numbered though it is counted as page i.
3. Pagination begins with the first page of the introduction. The numbering of this page is made centrally at the bottom. Other than the first page of a new chapter or other main section, type the page number approximately about 15 mm from the edge of the top right hand corner.
4. Have text or other material on only one side of each sheet.

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        The original typewritten copy of a thesis and good and clean reproductions, including permanent photocopies of the original typewritten version, will be accepted. Carbon copies, however, will not be accepted.

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        The thesis should be typed/printed on 80 g.s.m. white simili paper or paper of equivalent quality. Paper should be of A4 size (210 mm x 297 mm)

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• When the thesis has been completed and the necessary signatures obtained on all copies, the thesis will be bound. All copies should be checked carefully to ensure that all papers are in order and that the thesis is ready for binding.
• The thesis should be bound within boards and should be of a fixed kind in which leaves are permanently secured. The boards should have rigidity to support the weight of the work when standing upon a shelf.
• The following should be lettered in gold from the head to the foot of spine of the thesis:
1. Name of candidate
2. Qualification for which the work is submitted
3. Year of submission
• The following particulars should be provided on the thesis cover:
1. Title of thesis
2. Name of candidate
3. Name of Faculty and University
4. Year of submission
(See Appendix F)

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        In the text citation, if the reference is structurally part of the sentence, it stays outside the parenthesis whereas the year goes inside.

Example:

Abang Naruddin (1981) found that phosphorus was highly deficient at Kemasul and Ulu Sedili plantation areas.

or

Phosphorus was highly deficient at Kemasul and Ulu Sedili plantation areas (Abang Naruddin, 1981).

Note: The comma in the reference may be omitted. Example: (Abang Naruddin 1981)

        In the reference list at the end of the thesis, the following guidelines apply:
 

(a) Each reference must include the following:

For books and single-contribution publications:
1. author(s);
2. date of publication;
3. title of publication;
4. publisher and the city/town where it is or the institution publishing the work and the town/city; and
5. the total number of pages in the publication.

Example:
Leuschner, W. A. 1984. Introduction to Forest Resource Management. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 298p.

For articles in journals:
1. author(s);
2. date of publication;
3. title of article;
4. name of journal; and
5. volume and number of the issue and inclusive page numbers for the article.

Example:
Logan, A. F., V. Valodis, Y. K. Tan and F. H. Phillips. 1984. Kraft pulping properties of individual species from Sarawak forest resources I. Peat Swamp Species. Malaysian Forester 47(1): 3-27

For papers in proceedings of conferences:
1. author(s);
2. date of publication of proceedings;
3. title of paper;
4. inclusive pages of the paper;
5. editor(s) of proceedings;
6. publisher or institution producing the proceedings;
7. city/town of publisher; and
8. total number of pages.

Example:
Srivastava, P. B. L. 1983. Keynote address: Hydrological impacts of forestry practices. Pp. 1-11 in Proceedings of the Regional Workshop on Hydrological Impacts of Forestry Practices and Reafforestation (Kamis Awang, F. S. Lai, S. S. Lee and Abd. Rahman Md. Derus eds.). Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, Serdang. 80p.

(b) The references should be listed in alphabetical order according to the name of the author, or that of the first author if there are several authors.

(c) If there is more than one reference by the same author, list them chronologically.

(d) If one author has more than one reference with the same year, distinguish them by placing the letters a, b, c, d, etc. at the end of the year.

(Note: Make sure the same letters are appended to the years in the text citation)

(e) If the first author has publications on his own and with other workers, list the reference with the first author as the sole author first. The joint-author papers follow in alphabetical order according to the name of the second or subsequent author's name.

(f) Include the initials of all authors, and full name for Malay authors.

(g) Write the year of publication without parenthesis. If the year is not shown on the publication, give estimated year in parenthesis, or write (undated) or (s.d.) for sine datum.

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