Please see below for resources for writing and perfecting your paper.
The following templates and guides will assist you in organizing and formatting your manuscript according to Graduate School requirements. Work with your advisor and your department to determine what headings and organization best serve the purpose of your paper. The guides will indicate which sections must match the templates and you only need to give pertinent information in the relevant section(s).
Thesis Template & Thesis Formatting Guide
Dissertation Template & Dissertation Formating Guide
LaTex (template for scientific studies)
For questions or concerns regarding formatting, please contact Thesis and Dissertation Services in the Graduate School, (903)886-5968 or TDS@tamuc.edu
The Graduate School reviews proposals and final papers to ensure they adhere to the Graduate School's formatting requirements as set out in the templates available and in the Thesis Formatting Guide and the Dissertation Formatting Guide. By using the Student's Formatting Checklist (link below), you will be more likely to submit a proposal or final paper that is free from formatting mistakes.
Student's Formatting Checklist
The following checklists are offered as a resource for you to review and edit your own paper. The responsibility for making the document comply with your style's guidelines and formatting lies with you, the student.
PLEASE NOTE: This is not a complete list of potential style guides. You are more than welcome to use a different style manual with the approval of your advisor.
Gee Library provides helpful links and information on their web page. Below are some links to areas that are especially helpful when working on your thesis or dissertation.
Scribendi.com is a website providing proofreading and editing services. The Graduate School does not recommend the editing services Scribendi provides; we do not have any experience with this company in that regard. However, the site provides many wonderful articles and podcasts on writing, including articles and podcasts specifically for ESL students. Below are some of the articles and podcasts related to academic writing, which includes writing a thesis or dissertation.
How Academic Writing Differs from Other Forms of Writing
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/academic_writing.en.html
Technical Writing: What Is It?
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/technical_writing.en.html
How to Paraphrase: Dos, Don’ts, and Strategies for Success
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/how_to_paraphrase.en.html
What is a Thesis?
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/how_to_write_a_doctoral_dissertation_thesis_part_one.en.html
How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/how_to_write_a_doctoral_dissertation_thesis_part_two.en.html
Thesis Editing
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/how_to_write_a_doctoral_dissertation_thesis_part_three.en.html
How to Write a Literature Review
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/how_to_write_a_literature_review.en.html
Punctuation Marks
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/punctuation_marks.en.html
How to Use Apostrophes Correctly
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/using_apostrophes.en.html
Hyphenation: Are You Confused?
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/hyphenation.en.html
The Semicolon and Colon
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/semi_colon_and_colon.en.html
Capitalization
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/capitalization.en.html
The Wandering Only
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/the_wandering_only.en.html
The Proper Use of Quotation Marks
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/how_to_format_quotation_marks.en.html
How to Use Quotation Marks
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/use_of_quotation_marks.en.html
Quotation Marks: When to Use Double or Single Quotation Marks
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/use_of_quotation_marks.en.html
How to Use Those Brackets (Parentheses!) Properly
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_brackets.en.html
When to Use Italics
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/italicize_me.en.html
Common ESL Errors to Avoid in Your College Essays
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/commoneslerrors.en.html
ESL Writing Tips
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/esl_writing_tips.en.html
Thesis/Dissertation Writing Series: Selecting a Thesis Committee
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_thesis_committee.en.html
Thesis/Dissertation Writing: What is a Thesis?
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_what_is_a_thesis.en.html
Thesis/Dissertation Writing Series: How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_write_a_thesis.en.html
Thesis/Dissertation Writing Series: How to Write a Literature Review
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_literature_review.en.html
Five Habits to Avoid in Academic Writing
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_five_habits_to_avoid_in_academic_writing.en.html
Thesis/Dissertation Writing Series: Thesis Editing
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_thesis_editing.en.html
Improve Your Writing Skills: Great Writing is in the Details
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_improve_your_writing.en.html
Editing versus Proofreading
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_editing_versus_proofreading.en.html
Technical Writing
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_technical_writing.en.html
The Correct Use of Acronyms
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_acronyms.en.html
Understanding Punctuation
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_punctuation.en.html
Capitalization
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_capitalization.en.html
Editing tips—The Wandering Only
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/capitalization.en.html
Which versus That
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_which_versus_that.en.html
How to Use Quotation Marks
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_use_of_quotation_marks.en.html
The Preposition Proposition
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_prepositions.en.html
The Comma—Part One: What is a Comma?
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_comma_rules.en.html
The Comma—Part Two: Using Commas
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_using_commas.en.html
Technical Writing
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_technical_writing.en.html
Quotation Marks: When to Use Double or Single Quotation Marks
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_double_and_single_quotation_marks.en.html
Everything You Need to Know about Italics
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_italicize_me.en.html
ESL Writing Tips
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_esl_writing.en.html
Learn About Adjectives
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_adjectives.en.html
Adjectives and Adverbs
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/podcasts_adjectives_and_adverbs.en.html
Homophones: Do You Mean There, Their, or They’re?
During his time as the Director of the Office of Thesis & Dissertation Services, Dr. Paul Zelhart created what he called the "Baker's Dozen" of things students should consider at various points in the thesis or dissertation process. His Baker's Dozen is provided below.
1. Doable projects do not spring from a student’s personal experience or imagination. Thesis and dissertation topics must be based in and developed from the research literature. However, experience determines personal preferences that often direct the search for interesting topics in the research literature.
2. Students should not choose a topic of marginal interest. A topic must be interesting to sustain the student through the rigors of a thesis or dissertation.
3. Too often students’ literature reviews are not exhaustive. Follow the trail to the beginning; your study may have already been done.
4. Frequently the literature review is made up of conclusions of the authors of cited studies rather than a critical analysis of the complete documents. An annotated bibliography is not a literature review.
5. The literature review should be a balanced presentation of the current state of the literature on and controversies about the phenomenon of interest.
6. The experimental designs and analytic methods of all cited studies should be carefully and critically reviewed. Students should understand that the introduction to a research paper is the author’s interpretation of the cited literature, and the discussions and conclusions are the author’s interpretations of his/her findings. Only the research design and methods sections of research papers are relatively objective in their presentation.
7. Students should understand the history of development and assumptions of the methods they use. They should be experts on the methods used in their thesis or dissertation.
8. Students should understand that every theory and method has a range of application and within that range they may be most appropriately applied to a narrower range of phenomena. Intelligence tests were designed to predict future learning based upon prior learning. For example, the Wechsler might be a good predictor for middle class persons from the USA, but it would not be as useful in predicting future learning for persons from cultures on which it has not been normed. There is much discussion on cultural bias and standardized testing.
9. The methods used in a research project should be justified as the most appropriate approach to answer the question(s) under examination and should be informed by the designs and methods used in prior research on the subject of interest.
10. Research design and statistical tests are different aspects of a research project. Proper design permits valid interpretation. Statistical analysis provides a way to make decisions about effects.
11. The words “proof” or “prove” are not part of the research vocabulary. Research questions are studied, examined or explored. Hypotheses are supported, accepted, or rejected. Statistical results are significant or not. There is neither the logic nor sufficient evidence to declare a hypothesis proved or a research question answered.
12. Overstating an effect is an ethical violation. Interpretation of results should be conservative.
13. Good science is self-correcting and knowledge is cumulative. The processes of research are such that no matter how able the researcher, in the long run he or she will be shown to be wrong.
Paul Zelhart, PhD 9/16/15
Other resources, forms, and information are available throughout the website. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our office at TDS@tamuc.edu or by phone 903-886-5968, or you can stop by BA 142!
Additional guidance is provided by University Rules and Procedures 11.04.99.R0.23 (doctoral) and 11.99.99.R0.06 (master).
The following books have been recommended by the faculty of the Department of Literature and Languages as appropriate for their doctoral students:
Frequently cited in dissertations in education is the research methods text by Creswell:
To be reviewed by appropriate departments:
The classic nonparametric statistics text:
Currently used statistics text books:
For a comparison of EdD to PhD programs, the University of Vermont offers a comprehensive table comparing the two.
During the 2016-2017 Academic Year, faculty members from various departments participated in a committee to provide students with rubrics to guide the development of the dissertation proposal. While the rubrics are not used in any official capacity, students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the resource to ensure the dissertation is as strong as possible. Though the rubrics were developed with dissertation students in mind, thesis students are more than welcome to use the rubrics as well.
Quantitative Dissertation Proposal Rubric
Qualitative Dissertation Proposal Rubric
August 26, 2019 - First class day
October 25, 2019 - Last Date to hold final defense of thesis or dissertation for Fall graduates
November 1, 2019 - Last day to submit a final thesis or dissertation and related documents
November 8, 2019 - Last day to submit master's/specialist comprehensive examination reports for Fall 2019
November 22, 2019 - Last day to submit a thesis or dissertation proposal and related documents for Fall 2019 approval
December 13, 2019 - Fall 2019 Graduate commencement
**There are two start dates for Spring 2020 graduate classes: January 13, 2020 and January 30, 2020. Please check the Schedule of Classes to verify graduate course start dates.
March 27, 2020 - Last date to hold final defense of thesis or dissertation for Spring graduates
April 3, 2020 - Last day to submit a final thesis or dissertation and related documents
April 3, 2020 - Last day to submit master's/specialist comprehensive examination reports for Spring 2020
April 24, 2020 - Last day to submit a thesis or dissertation proposal and related documents for Spring 2020 approval
May 8, 2020 - Spring 2020 Graduate commencement