FORMAT AND SPECIFICATIONS

A. Basic Essentials
Paper: Use 20- or 24-pound paper, high brightness (80+)
Page template and margins: Top: 1 inch; Right: 1 inch; Left: 1 ½ inches (book-bound edge); Bottom: 1 inch
Font size and type: 12-pt. font (Times Roman or Courier)
Line spacing: Double-space throughout the paper, including the title page, abstract, body of the document, appendices, tables,
and figure captions. Single space will be used for: block quotations, multi-lined titles, subheadings, bibliographic entries (but double-
spaced between entries).
Pagination: Every page of the manuscript must be numbered, except the Title page, Signature page, Approval page, and the
Appendix cover page. However, the Appendix cover page in the Table of Contents must display the appropriate sequential number.
All pages preceding the first page of Chapter One must be numbered using lower case Roman numerals (e.g. I, ii,
iii, iv). And it should be located at the bottom of the page, centered. All other numbered pages, including pages contained in the
Appendix, are to have the page numbered located at the top right corner.
Tense: The background of the study and theoretical framework for both thesis proposal and thesis proper are written in the
present tense. Research Methodology observes future tense in the thesis proposal; past tense in thesis proper. Results and
discussion are normally in the present tense.
Active voice. As a general rule, use the active voice rather than the passive voice. For example, use “Results show that …..” rather
than “It was shown by results that…”
Sentences:
1. Use short sentences; this should include the problems. Do not include unnecessary words.
2. Avoid beginning with the words “There is” and “There are”. It is better to start a sentence with a noun.
3. Use the simplest words that express ideas most accurately.
4. Colloquial and childish words should be avoided.
Capitalization: Capitalize only the words that need to be capitalized.
Numbers: Numbers under 10 are written out; numerals are used if the number is above 10. This general rule applies to cardinal
numbers (whole counting numbers) and their ordinal counterparts (first through ninth).
Exceptions: if used in a series;
when used as page numbers and dates;
when used in comparison with two-digit numerals in the same sentence;
when used before a unit of measure
when an exact number of more than one digit is used (eg. 5.30, 17.25)
The following all conform to APA practice: row one of three rows, row 2 of 5 rows, fourth edition, 5th percentile,
chapter 6, Table 6, page 7, Figure 7, eighth grade, Grade 8, ninth trial, Trial 9 (APA, 2001).
Numbers at the start of a sentence are always spelled out.
Put a zero before decimal fractions less than one. Write 0.82 not .82, unless the number can never be greater than one,
such as a probability or correlation, p < .05.
Presenting statistics: Place statistics in italics using symbols specified in the APA Manual (or standard symbols if there is no APA
preference). Place descriptive statistics in parentheses; inferential statistics are followed by degrees of freedom (or other meaningful
characteristics) in parentheses. Put a space before and after variables and operators.
e.g. Differences among the test groups were highly significant (p < .05, two-tailed test)………
Analysis of data show that there is significant difference {x 2 (2, N = 110) = 11.21, p = .05} between…….
Subjects of the study cited teacher factor ( M = 75.8, SD =2.05) as cause of ……
Abbreviations and acronyms: Avoid abbreviation except when necessary. Acronyms should also be spelled out the first time
they are used and if they are included in the problems.
Headings and Subheadings: Heading in all chapters must be formatted identically, from the first level heading to the
succeeding level.
If your document has only
1 (level of) heading, use Level 1
2 (levels of) headings, use Level 1 and Level 3
3 headings, use Level 1, Level 3, and Level 4
4 headings, use Level 1 – 4 in the order.
5 headings, use Level 5, and then Level 1 – 4.

Level 5: CENTERED UPPERCASE HEADING

Level 1: Centered Upper- and Lowercase Heading

 Level 2: Centered, Italicized, Upper and Lowercase Heading

Level 3: Flush Left, Italicized, Upper and Lowercase Side Heading

Level 4: Indented, italicized, Lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

To illustrate:
CHAPTER 1 Level 5

INTRODUCTION

Theoretical Framework Level 1

Plant chemistry Level 3

Alkaloids. Level 4

Tannins.

Antibacterial Property

Against gram-negative bacteria.

Against gram-positive bacteria.

Major Headings should begin on a new page. These include: Introduction, Chapter (Number and Title), Appendix (Number and Title).
Major headings are Level 5 Headings.
- Center-typed two inches from the top of the page
- Double spaced if more than four inches long, inverted pyramid format

B. Citations
Format for in-text and bibliographic citations follow APA format, 5th edition. Below are sample in-text and reference
citations.

Text Citations: APA references follow the author-date style or system for reference citations in-text.

Book/article, one author:

e.g. (Proulx, 2003) or Proulx (2003) mentions that …..

Multi-authored book or articles:

Text citations list the last names of up to five authors in the first citation to a reference which is multi-authored; the lead
author followed by et al. in the succeeding citation.
e.g. 1st citation: (Padilla, Cruz, Sison, Miles, & Juan, 2010); 2nd and succeeding citation ( Padilla et al., 2010); if cited
in the same paragraph, (Padilla et al.).

For names of group authors (e.g. associations, corporations) indicate full names of group authors (no abbreviations) in the
first citation.
e.g. (World Health Organization, 2016); next, (WHO, 2016)

Use and in the text for two or more authors, but the ampersand in parentheses.
e.g. Pouch and Hill (2012) found out that…..; A previous study (Pouch & Hill, 2012) showed that ……

Personal Communications
e.g. Protocol has been modified as suggested by the researcher’s consultant, (M. Wedin, personal communication, August
22, 2005).

Newspapers, edited books, magazines

Add the abbreviation “pp.” before the page numbers in newspapers and edited books, but not magazines. This abbreviation
is also used in all text citations when page numbers are cited (as when citing a direct quote).
Newspaper: (Manila Bulletin, 2014, p.2)
Edited book: (Wedin, 2001, pp. 1-13)
Magazine: (Vogue, 2015, 32-38)
On-line sources
To cite a Web document, use the author-date format. If no author iis identified, use the first few words of the title in place
of the author. If no date is provided, use “n.d” in place of the date. Consider the following examples:
Close Range Brokeback Mountain (Proulx, 2005)……….
New Pharmaceutical products have been introduced (Biotechnology and Healthcare, n.d.) …….

Citing a source not actually read

When it is necessary to cite a source that you have read, use the following format for the text citation and list only the
source you have read in the References list.
…….. a Prussian expendition under the command of Captain W. Wendt, started the study of Philippines lichens
(Merill, 1926, as cited in Gruezo, 1979).

C. References or Literature citations

There are four basic elements found: author, date, title, and publication information (publisher). Additional information is
added on as needed. For example, the retrieval statement for online sources; where a document might be found; or when it was
originally published (World Health Organization, Reference Elements).

e.g. World Health Organization. Diabetes mellitus. Retrieved January 22, 2017, from
http://www.who.org.ph?ama?pub/category/2398.html

Book, One author:

Rich, B.A. (2000). An Ethical Analysis of the Barriers to Effective Pain Management. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Book, two or more authors:

Judd,W., Campbell,C.S., Kellogg, E.A., & Stevens, P.F. (2000). Plant systematics, a phylogenetic approach. Sunderland, Mass.: Sinauer
Associates, Inc.

Journal Articles

Ferrell, ., Levy,M.H., & Paice,J. (2008). Managing Pain from Advance Cancer in the Palliative Care Setting. Clinical Journal of Oncology
Nursing, 575 – 581.

Article or chapter in an edited book

Wedin, M. (2001). Spaherophoraceae. In P.M. McCarthy (ed.) Flora of Australia, Lichens 3 (Vol. 58A, pp. 1-13). Melbourne, Australia:
ABRS/CSIRO.

Journal Article, On-line Publication,

Greeff,AP (2000). Characteristics of Families That Function Well. Sage Journals: Journal of Family Isssue. Retrieved March 17, 2018
from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/019251300021008001

Stand-alone Web document (no date)

American Medical Association. Human Genome. Retrieved December 3, 2007, from

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/print/2398.html

Stand-alone Web document (no author, no date)

Monoclonal antibodies (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2007, from:

http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/M/Monoclonals.html

Magazine

Elegant, S. (2005, December). Living on a fault line. Time, 166, 32-38.

Newspapers

Adraneda, K. (2007, December 17). DENR chief in Bali: RP taking steps vs. global warming. The Philippine Star, p. 2
PARAPHRASING REFERENCE MATERIALS

Paraphrasing - presenting in a new form of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else.
- one legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) or borrowing ideas.
- a more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea.

Remember! You need to make sure that your paraphrase conveys the same idea of the source material, but with different language.
If too much of the original language is still present in your paraphrase, then you are in danger of plagiarizing.

Importance of Paraphrasing:
1. It is better than quoting information from an undistinguished passage.
2. It helps you control the temptation to quote too much.
3. The mental process required for successful paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original.

You quote in research papers to:

 Show that an authority supports your point
 Present a position or argument to critique or comment on
 Include especially moving or historically significant language
 Present a particularly well-stated passage whose meaning would be lost or changed if paraphrased or summarized

Summarize or Paraphrase when:

 What you want from the source is the idea expressed, and not the specific language used to express it.
 You can express in fewer words what the key point of a source is.

Difficulties in paraphrasing
 There are only a limited number of ways that one can express the same thought.
 The original text is comprised of highly technical language

Steps to Effective Paraphrasing:

1. Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
 Understand it as a whole
 Be selective of what are useful to you
2. Write your paraphrase on a note card.
 Look away from the source
 Change the structure
 Use synonyms
3. At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.
4. Read your paraphrase to check if it conveys the same idea and contains essential information as the original passage.
5. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.
6. Jot down notes where and how you can incorporate the paraphrase in your research paper.
7. Record the source (including the page) on your note card for documentation purposes.

Sample paraphrase:
1. Source material: “According to case studies by psychotherapists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes (1978) at Georgia State
University, numerous bright female clients denied that they were intelligent despite significant successes and measurable
accomplishments” (Kerr 137)

Acceptable paraphrase: Research by Clance and Imes (1978) has shown that successful, intelligent women tend to downplay their
mental abilities (Kerr 137).

2. Original passage
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final (research)
paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to
limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed
(1976): 46-47

Legitimate paraphrase:
In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the
problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).

Acceptable Summary:
Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a
research paper (Lester 46-47).

A plagiarized version:
Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final research
paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the
amount of source material copied while taking notes.