mandatory guidelines to composition writing for …mandatory guidelines to composition writing for...

$: Mandatory guidelines to composition writing for …Mandatory guidelines to composition writing for students at IFM Code: W235-13a Seite: 3 / 19 Datum: 23.04.12 S:\pools\n\N-qm_prozesse_lsfm\PROZESS2\W$
Mandatory guidelines to composition

writing for students at IFM

Code: W235-13a

Sei te : 1 / 19

Datum: 23.04.12

Aktual is ier t : a rne/mcsy Geprüf t : pedi 26.04.12 Fre igegeben: band 26.04.12

Content

1 Formatting .................................................................................................................................... 3

1.1 Presentation and layout ................................................................................................................. 3

1.2 Font, font size and spacing ........................................................................................................... 3

1.3 Figures, illustrations....................................................................................................................... 3

2 Structure of thesis/written work section breakdown............................................................... 4

3 Preliminaries ................................................................................................................................ 5

3.1 Title page ....................................................................................................................................... 5

3.2 Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... 5

3.3 Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................................... 5

3.4 Table of contents ........................................................................................................................... 5 3.4.1 Classification markers ................................................................................................................... 5 3.4.2 Heading ......................................................................................................................................... 6

3.5 Figures and tables ......................................................................................................................... 6

3.6 List of abbreviations....................................................................................................................... 7

4 Writing the paper ......................................................................................................................... 8

4.1 Student work in the Bachelor degree program and in post graduate and/or continuing education8 4.1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 8 4.1.2 Main section .................................................................................................................................. 8 4.1.3 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 8

4.2 Master’s Thesis in the Master of Science programme .................................................................. 8

4.3 Bibliography/References ............................................................................................................... 9 4.3.1 Fundamentals ................................................................................................................................ 9 4.3.2 Citing of sources in a continuous text............................................................................................ 9 4.3.3 Analogous quotations .................................................................................................................. 10 4.3.4 Quotations ................................................................................................................................... 10 4.3.5 Secondary sources ...................................................................................................................... 12 4.3.6 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 12

4.4 Comments/Annotations as footnotes .......................................................................................... 12

5 Appendices ................................................................................................................................ 13

5.1 Declaration of independent work ................................................................................................. 13

5.2 Supporting material ..................................................................................................................... 14

5.3 Illustrated summary ..................................................................................................................... 14

6 The language of a scientific paper .......................................................................................... 15

6.1 General ........................................................................................................................................ 15

6.2 Readability ................................................................................................................................... 15 6.2.1 'I'-form and 'We'-form ................................................................................................................... 16



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S : \ p o o l s \ n \ N - q m _ p r o z e s s e _ l s f m \ P R O Z E S S 2 \ W 2 3 5 - 1 3 a . d o c

6.2.2 Uniformity of style ........................................................................................................................ 16 6.2.3 Bullet points ................................................................................................................................. 17

6.3 Title .............................................................................................................................................. 17 6.3.1 Structuring of content .................................................................................................................. 17 6.3.2 Formal structuring........................................................................................................................ 17

6.4 Gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory writing style ................................................................ 17

Appendix 1: Model title page .............................................................................................................. 19

Scope: These instructions are compulsory for the formal presentation of all written student works in the con-

text of the Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or a course of continuing education at the levels MAS (Master of Advanced

Studies), DAS (Diploma of Advanced Studies) or CAS (Certificate of Advanced Studies) at the Institute for Facility

Management at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

Caption:

Example



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1 Formatt ing

1.1 Presentat ion and layout

- Ti t le page wi th c lear p last ic cover ing page

- Spi ra l b ind ing o r o ther b i nd ing

- Top marg in to text 3 cm

- Lef t marg in 3 cm

- Right marg in 3 cm

- Bot tom margin 2 cm

- The header conta ins the number and t i t le o f the respect ive chapter ( le f t ) as wel l as the

page number ( r ight ) .

- The footer shows the fo l lowing on the le f t : © year ZHAW , In st i tu t für FM and on the

r ight , the t i t le o f the paper (abbreviated t i t le permiss ib le) .

1.2 Font, font size and spacing

- Standard font , 11 poin ts

- No font changes, i .e . cons is tent font throughout

- Fu l l jus t i f icat ion ( f lush le f t and r ight )

- L ine spac ing in text : 1 .5

- For legends and foo tnotes: font s ize 8 po ints and s ing le l ine spac ing, no paragraphs

and b lank l ines in the foo tnotes

- Between the text proper and footnote(s) : double spaced, then footnote separator , 1 /3

page width)

- When us ing Excel spreadsheets and gra phics, the readabi l i ty o f the text must corr e-

spond to the s ize of the normal font in W ord.

- Emphasis in the text : Bo ld

- Paragraphs:

o Paragraphs to be separa ted by a b lank l ine

o No indentat ion a the beg inning of a paragraph

o The gap a t the end o f the chapter is grea ter than the spac ing between par a-

graphs.

I t is par t o f the learn ing process that a l l s tudents are capable of c reat ing the i r own computer -

based template for the wr i t ten report wi th i ts own , c lear ly readable layou t . Th is capabi l i t y is to

re f lec t what has been learned as a s tudent .

1.3 Figures, i l lustra t ions

Figures ( images) and tab les are inser ted where they support the text . I f they are only suppor t -

ing documentat ion , they are added to the appendix. Al l f igures and i l lus t ra t ions are labeled

wi th a t i t le and have a corre la t ion (a re fe rence) in the text (see sect ion 3 .5) .The readabi l i t y o f

the f igures and i l lus t ra t ions should be war ranted even when p r in ted in b lack and whi te .



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2 Structure of thesis/wri t ten work section breakdown

A complete paper, espec ia l ly a te rm paper, pro ject report and Bachelor ’ s as wel l as Master 's

Thes is of the Master o f Sc ience and the Maste r o f Advanced s tud ies co ns is ts o f three par ts

(see Figure 1) . The pages in brackets are opt ional . For smal ler ass ig nments dur ing the course

(e.g. in te rnship repor t ) , cer ta in ind iv idual components may be omi t ted or shor tened.

Par t I : Pre l iminar ies

Do not inc lude

in tab le o f con -

tents

Do not inc lude

in tab le o f con -

tents , PA, BA

and MT MAS in

German and in

Eng l ish ; MT

MSc on l y in

Eng l ish

Do not inc lude

in tab le o f

contents

Part I I : Topic and b ib l iography

Part I I I : Appendices

Number ing

throughout and

page number ing

For p ro jec t work

and both Bach e-

l o r ’ s and Mas te r ’s

Thes is MSc/MAS

Figure 1 Schematic out l ine of the three parts of a scienti f ic paper

Logo ZHAW

Ti t le page

I I

Abs t rac t

( I I I )

(Acknow-

ledgement )

IV

Tab le o f

contents

(V)

(L is t o f

f igures /

tab les )

(V I )

(L is t o f

abb rev ia -

t ions )

1

1 In t roduc-

t ion

2

2 Main par t

E tc .

3

Etc .

4 Conc lu -

s ion

E tc .

5 B ib l io -

graphy

E tc .

7 Appendi x

Appendi x 1

E tc .

Appendi x 2

E tc .

E tc .

Appendi x 3 :

CD-Rom,

Abs t rac t or

Pos ter

E tc .

Dec la ra t ion

o f inde-

pendent

work



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3 Prel iminaries

3.1 Ti t le page

Design in accordance wi th Example in Appendix 1. An i l lus t ra t ion is not mandatory . The logo

of the ZHAW must be present on the f ront page in the appropr ia te p lace ; however there is no

logo on the fo l lowing pages.

3.2 Abstract

The abstract is a summary (excerpt ) o f one’s own work being presented . The a im of the

abstract is to provide in format ion in shor t form about the quest ion(s) be ing cons idered, the

methods, the main resul ts and t he f ind ings. I t l i s ts a l l resu l ts and f ind ings that are presented

in the thes is . The abstract inc ludes a l l the chapters of the work and answers the quest ions,

why was what examined, how, and wi th what resul t?

For the pro ject repor t , Bachelor ’s and Master ' s Thes is MAS, the abstract is to be wr i t ten in

English and German ; i n the Master 's Thes is MSc in English . The length is to be no more

than hal f a page per language (1 pr in ted page in to ta l ) .

3.3 Acknowledgement

An acknowledgement is opt ional . I t inc ludes a l i s t ing of ind iv iduals and ins t i tu t ions that have

g iven ass is tance when c reat ing the work. I t conta ins no remarks that be long in the main text .

- No s ignature

- Page number I I I , maximum length 1 page

- for pro ject work , Bachelor ’ s Thesis and Master ’ s Thesis MSc/MAS: a German and/or

Engl ish Vers ion

3.4 Table of contents

The tab le of contents is the great reading aid to understanding a paper. I t re f lec ts the co n-

ceptual f low of the whole work. Therefore , i t should be visual l y wel l -cons tructed.

Ti t le page, abstract , acknowledgement and tab le of contents are not inc luded in the tab le of

contents . Tables and f igures are inc luded, as wel l as a l is t o f abbreviat ions wi thout numbe r -

ing. Al l o ther chapters a re l is ted wi th c lass i f icat ion markers .

3.4.1 Class i f icat ion markers

Decimal c lass i f icat ion a l lows the deepest breakdown. The s t ructu re should be no more than

four d ig i ts deep. I f a fu r ther breakdown fo l lows, (e .g. 1 .2 .1) , a second corresponding point a t

least is requi red (1.2.2) .



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3.4.2 Heading

There are no fu l l s tops a t the end of a heading (ne i ther in the tab le content nor in the text ) .

3.5 Figures and tables

A l is t o f i l lus t ra t ions and/or tab les is to be inc luded when there are many and important i l lu s-

t ra t ions and/or tab les which form a substant ia l par t o f the pa per.

Al l i l lus t ra t ions (photos, graphics, e tc . ) a re to be label led wi th a t i t le be low.

Figure 2 Range of frozen food products purchased by the pr ivate consumer in

2001

Al l tab les wi l l be label led wi th a t i t le above, which shal l be recorded verbat im in the l is t o f

tab les.

Example l is t of i l lustra t ions

Fig. 1 Development of the rate of h igh school graduates in

the FRG (as a percentage of the respect i ve average age)

1955 - 1990 14

F ig. 2 Range of f rozen food p roducts purchased by the pr iva te

consumer in 2001 20

Sortimentsanteile 2001

14%

13%

12%

11% 1%19%

30%GemüseFertiggerichteFleisch, Fisch, Geflügel (roh)KartoffelerzeugnisseBackwarenFischeSonstiges



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1969 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 1998

Monetary expenditure in €2000

Private consumer spending 1978 1872 1997 1883 1932 2079 2196

Staple and luxury food items 536 538 442 432 409 425 360

Food and beverages 504 424 426 385 382 388 344

Tab. 2 Household expendi ture for pr i vate consumpt ion, s tap le and luxury food

i tems, and food and beverages

The contents of the f igures and tab les must in each case be desc r ibed in the text wi th re fe r -

ence to the i l lus t ra t ion in quest ion. (see f igure 2 as an example) .

3.6 List of abbreviat ions

As abbreviat ions make the text more d i f f icu l t to read , as few as poss ib le are to be used . Thei r

usage must be l inguis t ica l ly and grammat ic a l l y correct . Abbreviat ions are added in brackets

fo l lowing the f i rs t t ime the spel led out express ion is in t roduced in the text and in the cont in u-

at ion only the abbrevia t ion wi l l be used.

A l is t o f abbreviat ions is necessary where numerous and less commo n abbrevia t ions are con-

cerned. Only those abbreviat ions that are actual ly used are to be inc luded, and in the exact

form they are used . Commonly used abbrevia t ions are not l is ted.

Example l is t of tables

Tab. 1 Average hourly earnings of cleaning staff in Switzerland from 1990 – 2010 15

Tab. 2 Household expenditure for private consumption, staple and luxury

food items, and food and beverages 21

Instructions for the composition of wri t-

ten work by students at IFM

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4 Writ ing the paper

4.1 Student work in the Bachelor degree program and in post g raduate and/or cont inu-

ing educat ion

4.1.1 In t roduct ion

In the in t roduct ion, important cons idera t ions wi th respect to content and method are set out to

ensure that a l l the cond i t ions for work have been expla ined . This 'overview' fac i l i ta tes co m-

prehens ion of the work when reading. These should be the fo l lowing chapters (may vary a c-

cord ing to the paper concerned):

4.1.2 Main sect ion

Here, a l l s teps of the work are p resented and the resul ts obta ined are descr ibed. The chapter

d iv is ion corresponds to the f low of the subject mat ter or the d ispos i t ion .

4.1.3 Conclus ion

In the conc lus ion, the resul ts are in terpreted, re f lec ted upon and cr i t ica l ly (analyt ica l l y) a s-

sessed. One’s own f ind ings are weighed agains t each other or compared wi th those of o ther

authors . Recommendat ions for fur ther act ion and an out look on areas for fur ther research are

a lso per t inent .

The conc lus ion chapter can be d iv ided in to sub -sect ions.

4.2 Master’s Thesis in the Master of Science programme

The Maste r 's Thes is should be d iv ided in to the fo l lowing chapters :

Theory / Background

Methodology

Resul ts

Discuss ion

Example of int roduction

1 In t roduct ion

1 .1 Background and problem

1.2 Object i ve

1 .3 Methods/Approach

1.3.1 …

1.3.2 …

1 .4 Terms and def in i t ion

1 .5 Scope



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In the theory section , a summary is g iven of the theor ies, models and resul ts o f exis t ing em-

pi r ica l research which are important fo r the subject o f the thes is . The theory sect ion should

conc lude wi th the quest ion the paper seeks to answer . This must der i ve log ica l ly f rom the

theory chapters . The gaps in the research and the fur ther research requ i red is to be shown

here.

The methodology section out l ines how the research quest ion can be explored.

When secondary data is used, the methodology used should be descr ibed . In empir ica l work

us ing pr imary data, the research des ign, i .e . e .g. the form of the p lanned data co l le c t ion, data

analys is , ensur ing compl iance wi th qual i t y c r i ter ia and the sample are pr esented.

In the results section , the resul ts that a re re levant to answer ing the quest ion are presented .

This should be descr ibed in a neutra l and comprehensib le fashion.

In the discussion section , the resul ts are in te rpreted in te rms of the quest ion(s) be i ng eva l -

uated and the scope o f the invest igat ion is ra ised.

4.3 Bibl iography/References

4.3.1 Fundamenta ls

The examinat ion/analys is and the c i t ing of data, in format ion and knowledge f rom d i f fe rent

sources form the bas is o f a l l sc ient i f ic work . In the process, a l l sou rces used and the or ig ins

of a l l c i ta t ions must be dec lared, and one’s own thoughts and ideas c lear l y d i f fe rent ia ted f rom

those of o ther authors . Copyr ights are to be respected. Plag iar ism vio la tes copyr ight (see the

pamphlet for s tudents Avoiding Plagiarism ) .

At the Inst i tu te of Fac i l i t y Management , wi th respect to the crea t ion of the source d i rectory

and c i ta t ion protocols in the text , essent ia l l y the s tandards of the Amer ican Psychologica l

Assoc iat ion (APA) and the German Society for Psychology (DGP) ap ply.

4.3.2 Ci t ing of sources in a cont inuous text

The Amer ican Psycholog ica l Assoc iat ion, (2010, p . 174) summarises the key points as fo l -

lows:

„Refe rences in APA pub l icat ions are c i ted in tex t wi th an author -date c i ta t ion system

and are l is ted a lphabet ica l ly i n the refe rence l is t . Th is s ty le o f c i ta t ion b r ie f ly iden t i f ies

the source for readers and enables them to locate the source of in format ion in the a l -

phabet ica l re ference l is t a t the end o f the a r t ic le . Each refe rence c i ted in text must a p-

pear in the reference l is t , and each entry in the reference l is t must be c i ted in text .

Make cer ta in that each source referenced appears in both p laces and that the text c i t a-

t ion and refe rence l is t ent ry are ident ica l i n spel l ing of author names and year “ (

When c i t ing f rom more than one source, a l l sources are l is ted in the same order as in the re f -

erence l is t and separa ted by semicolons.



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4.3.3 Analogous quotat ions

The most f requent l y used type of c i ta t ion is the analogous representat ion of a text . Known

forms are the paraphras ing of text , the descr ip t ion of the text in your own words ( text length

remains somewhat the same) and the summary, reduc ing the in fo rmat ion to the esse nt ia ls . In

th is context , the meaning of the or ig ina l wi l l no t be d is tor ted or manipula ted. D epending on

the length of the text i t wi l l be wr i t ten in the sub junct ive of ind i rect speech or in the i nd icat i ve

4.3.4 Quotat ions

Pieces of text f rom the work of ano ther author o r f rom one’s own ear l ie r works are to be quo t -

ed verbat im. I f they are short quotat ions, they are to be enc losed in the text in (double) qu o-

ta t ion marks; longer quo tat ions (more than 40 words) are to be presented as separate b locks

of text wi thout enc los ing quotat ion marks (b lock quotat ions) .

Block quotat ions

B lock quotat ions are verbat im quotes of m ore than 40 words; they are presented as a sep a-

rate paragraph wi thout quotat ion marks. A b lock quotat ion a lways s ta r ts on a new l ine and is

fu l ly ( inc lud ing any cont inuat ion l ines) indented . Paragraphs wi th in a b lock qu otat ion should

be indented f rom the marg in of the b lock quotat ion.

Traxel (1974) g ives the fo l lowing descr ip t ion:

Psychology today regards i tse l f as an empir ica l sc ience. This asses s-

ment is genera l l y va l id to the exten t tha t a l l current schools o f ps y-

chology c la im exper ience as the i r bas is , even i f they as ind iv iduals d i f -

fer in how they co l lec t the data of exper ience and in how they p rocess

i t . (Page 15)

Quotat ion marks

Quotat ions in the text a re enc losed by double quotat ion marks. I f a quoted text is i tse l f

marked by quo tat ion marks, th is is ind icated wi th s ing le quotat ion marks.

One can only agree wi th the s tatement tha t “unfo r tunate ly, the use of the term

‘egocentr ism’ is not c lear” (Ewer t 1983 pg. 117).

Ewert (1983) a lso s tates that “unfo r tunate ly, the use of the term ‘eg ocent r ism’

i s not c lear” (pg. 117) .



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Accuracy

Quotat ions must cor respond exact l y to the word ing , spel l ing, and punctuat ion of the or ig ina l ,

even i f i t is fau l ty. I f such errors in the or ig ina l could lead to misunderstandings , the word s ic

in brackets [s ic ] must be added af ter the p lace where the fau l t occurs . The complete ly verba-

t im cons is tency of the quotat ion wi th the or ig ina l must be checked when creat ing the manu-

scr ip t .

. . . the Komputer [s ic ] is . . .

Changes to the or ig ina l

In pr inc ip le , quotat ions must correspond exact ly to the or ig ina l . Al terat ion s wi thout fur ther

ident i f icat ion are only permiss ib le…

when changing the f i rs t l e t ter o f a quotat ion f rom upper to lower case and vice -versa;

when changing the f ina l punctuat ion mark of the quotat ion, to adapt i t t o the syntax of the

sentence in which i t has been inser ted.

Al l o ther changes made by the author must be ind icated as such:

“Omit t ing mater ia l : use three spaced e l l ips is po ints ( . . . ) wi th in a sen tence to ind icate

that you have omi t ted mater ia l f rom the o r ig ina l source. Use four po ints to ind icate any

omiss ion between two sentences. The f i rs t po in t ind icates the per iod at the end of the f i rs t

sentence quoted, and the three spaced e l l ips is po ints fo l low. Do not use e l l ips is po ints at

the beginning or end of any quotat ion unless, to prevent mis in terpretat ion, you need to

emphasize that the quo tat ion begins or ends in midsentence.” (Amer ican Psychologica l

Assoc iat ion, 2011)

Inser t ions of any k ind which do not o r ig inate f rom the author o f the m ater ia l quoted a re

a lways put in square brackets (e .g. , addi t ions, explanat ions o r c lar i f ic at ions) .

“They [ the exper ts ] have . . . ”

“ I f you want to emphasize a word or words in a quotat ion, i ta l ic i ze the word or words. I m-

mediate ly a f ter the i ta l i c ized words, inser t wi th in brackets the words “emphasis added”

(Amer ican Psychologica l Assoc iat ion, 2011)



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a part icu lar [emphasis added] meaning

4.3.5 Secondary sources

Use secondary sources spar ing ly, for ins tance, when the or ig ina l work i s out o f pr in t , unavai l -

ab le through usual sources or not avai lab le in Engl ish. State the secondary source in the re f -

erence l is t ; in text , name the or ig ina l work and g ive a c i ta t ion fo r the secondary source. For

example, i f A l lpor t ’s work is c i ted in Nicholson and you d id not read Al lpor t ’s work, l is t the

Nicholson reference in the reference l is t . In the text , use the fo l lowing c i ta t ion:

Al lpor t ’s d iary (as c i ted in Nicholson, 2003)

4.3.6 Bib l iography

The b ib l iography at the end of a work conta ins the in format ion necessary for the reader to

ident i fy the sources c i ted in the ar t ic le and to be able to f ind them in l ibrar ies . Every re fer-

ence in the text must be l is ted in the b ib l iography. L ikewise, any work which is l is ted in the

b ib l iography must a lso be referred to in the text .

The b ib l iography a lways begins on a new page, which is marked wi th a page heading and

page number. The page begins in the f i rs t l ine wi th the word b ib l iography, which is not unde r-

l ined.

The f i rs t l ine o f each c i ta t ion begins on the le f t hand margin ; subsequent l ines giving a quota -

t ion are indented .

The works are l i s ted a lphabet ica l ly by author surname. I f the au thor is no t known, the f i rs t

word in the t i t le (excep t ar t ic le) o f the source determines the order in which i t is l is ted on the

reference l is t .

I f the re lease date is not known, in the bracket "no date" should be inc luded. To ensure that

the references in the text re fer to the b ib l iog raphy as c lear l y as poss ib le , the sources should

be ind icated as fo l lows : (Meie r , undated a) , (Meier , undated b ) , e tc . I f severa l publ icat ions by

the same person are referenced in the same year, these too a re supplemented wi th lowercase

le t ters (2011a, 2011b, e tc . ) .

4.4 Comments/Annotat ions as footnotes

Comments are addi t iona l in format ion , amendments , re ferences to text or text acquis i t ion, to

other l i teratu re , e tc . These are inser ted as footnotes on the appropr ia te page and are for in -

format ion which is not s t r ic t ly necessary in the text i tse l f . They a re numbered consecut ive ly

wi th superscr ip t numbers . These numbers appear wi thout brackets and af ter the f ina l punctua-

t ion mark .



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5 Appendices

5.1 Declarat ion of independent work

Each p iece of wr i t ten student work must inc lude a declarat ion of independent work. In th is

s ta tement the author , or group of authors , dec lares that they have wr i t ten i t independent l y

and no sources other than those spec i f ied have been used (see a lso pamphlet Avoiding Pla -

giarism ) . The text o f the declarat ion of independent work is shown in F igure 3.



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Declarat ion of independent work

I hereby dec lare that I have independent l y wr i t ten th is pape r wi th the t i t le . . . . I de-

c lare that I have not used any sources other than those spec i f ied . Al l segments which

were taken f rom sources e i ther verbat im or by analogy ( inc lud ing paraphras ing) , I

have ident i f ied and refe renced as such. I unders tand that fa i lure to do so could lead

to (and, poss ib ly , even at some future point ) legal and / or d isc ip l inary act ion being

taken.

Place, Date Surname, Forename Signature

Figure 3 Declaration of independent work.

Such a dec larat ion is to be inc luded in the work fo l lowing the appendices and must be s igned

pr ior to the submiss ion of the or ig ina l copy.

5.2 Support ing mater ial

This is where addi t ional and support ing mater ia ls which are not s t r ic t ly necessary in the text

i tse l f should be inc luded. Only those mater ia ls that are re ferred to in the text are to be l is ted.

These suppor t ing mater ia ls are to be in the referenced as fo l lows (see appendix 1: work

p lans, pg. 22) a t the p lace in the text where they are refe rred to .

The mater ia ls are numb ered as appendices. Each appendix has a t i t le and the authorsh ip of

the mater ia l must be ident i f ied. The pages are numbered consecut ive ly (Arabic numerals) .

When support ing mater ia ls are put toge ther separate ly , the same guidel ines apply .

5.3 I l lustrated summary

For the pro ject work , and the Bachelor and Master 's Thes is MAS, an i l lus t ra ted summary of

the work is wr i t ten in German. The i l lus t ra ted summary should por t ray the ent i re work in a

v isual l y a t t ract i ve form and appropr ia te language. I t inc ludes an extended summary of the

Example l is t of appendices:

Appendix 1: Work p lans 22

Appendix 2: Organigram 23



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contents of the work, in par t icu lar the resul ts and assoc iated conc lus ions. Graphics or p i c -

tures which c lar i fy the content can be used as i l l u s t ra t ions.

The readership for such a summary can be subject spec ia l is ts or fe l low s tuden ts (a lso f rom

other un ivers i t ies) who might be in terested in get t ing an overview of the content o f a Bach e-

lor 's or Maste r 's Thes is . The i l lus t ra ted short vers ion is therefore a document that can and

should be publ ished.

The summary should g ive an overview o f the ent i re work and must inc lude

- the background of the work

- the quest ion(s) be ing cons idered

- the methods

- above a l l the resul ts and assoc iated conc lus ions

on no more than 2-3 pages (A4). Text and i l lus t ra t ions in the summary should be a su i tab le

proport ion ( i .e . in a ba lance appropr ia te to the co ntent o f the work ) .

I f quotat ions are used in the i l lu s t ra ted summary, they a re to be documented in accordance

wi th the ins t ruct ions g iven.

The summary of the work wi l l be appended to the paper (pro ject report , Bachelor ’s and Mas-

ter 's Thes is) and submi t ted on a CD in both , pdf - f i le format and in the fo rmat (MS Off ice co m-

pat ib le) in which the main work has been prepared.

For the Master ’s Thesis MSc a poster is to be created. Des ign in format ion can be found in

document W 235-08, in Appendix 3 .

6 The language of a scienti f ic paper

6.1 Genera l

A wr i t ten work, as par t o f a course of s tudy at the ZHAW , fu l f i ls a sc ient i f ic , that is , genera l ly

appl icable requi rement . Accord ing ly, the language should be factua l , accurate and pr ec ise.

'Narrat i ve ' language should be avoided. A sc ient i f ic paper should mainta in a cr i t ica l d i s tance

f rom the subject be ing invest igated. One’s personal exper ience is not important , but ra ther

the universa l ly appl icable procedure (por tab i l i t y) and the res ul t (ver i f iab i l i ty/ repeatabi l i t y) .

The reader o f a wr i t ten work should be able to fo l low the genera l course of the invest igat ion

and, i f requi red, be able to t ransfer th is to the i r own c i rcumstances, that is to say, the inve s-

t igat ion and the resul ts shou ld be genera l i zable.

6.2 Readabi l i t y

A wr i t ten work is the t ranscr ip t o f an in te l lec tua l , research -based undertak ing. That means

that a s tudy, an invest igat ion, a reorganizat ion, a pro ject - that is where pract ica l work is ca r-

r ied out - a lso needs to be wr i t t en down and c lear ly readable for a th i rd par ty. The ideas,

methods, the scope and the resul ts should a lways be comprehensib le ; th is means the log ical



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and s t r ingent t ranscr ip t ion of the key s teps of a theoret ica l and pract ica l ly conducted invest i -

gat ion. Types of wr i t ing inc lude:

- Document ing (excerpts , paraphras ing, descr ib ing the phenomena, e .g . pro cesses, e tc . )

- Reasoning when evalua t ing, drawing conc lus ions and ref lec t ing

6.2.1 ' I ' - form and 'We' - form

The ' I ' - fo rm' does not appear in the main component o f a ssessed wr i t ten work. I t is on ly a p-

propr ia te in the acknowledgements . The author 's own opin ion can be ident i f ied in the main

part wi th the phrase “ in my opin ion” ( . . . ) .

The summary of the work of o ther persons, for example in theoret ica l chapters /sect ions is

expressed in neutra l and genera l l y appl icable formulat ions. However, act ive language is pre f -

erable and f requent pass ive construct ions should be avoided. The s ty le of sc ient i f ic wr i t ing

has changed in recent years . Accord ing to the APA (Amer ica n Psychologica l Assoc iat ion) ,

such th ings as one’s own views, conc lus ions, and the researchers act iv i t ies may now be ide n-

t i f ied us ing the I -or we-form.

6.2.2 Uni formi ty o f s ty le

In genera l , use s imple, c lear and co mplete sentences! The tense for genera l s ta temen ts and

f ind ings is normal l y the present tense ; to descr ibe the p rocess of the work, a past tense is

used.

Al l spec ia l terms are to be def ined and the i r use must be cons is tent wi th th is def in i t ion . No

co l loquia l isms and no f i l le rs are to be used.

Al l the ru les of spel l ing and grammar must be adhered to . The author i ty wi th respect to

spel l ing and grammat ica l norms is (e i ther) the Oxford Engl ish Di c t ionary (o r the Merr iam -

Webster Dic t ionary) . W hichever is chosen, i ts use must be cons is tent throughout .

Examples:

Unsui tab le: Bet ter :

I had the idea . . . The fo l lowing concepts are conceivable : . . .

I cons idered … The fo l lowing cons iderat ions are, in my opi n ion,

dec is ive . . .

The d i rector gave me the t ip … I t was dec ided that . . .



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6.2.3 Bul le t po ints

Bul le t po ints are in t roduced wi th a s ing le sentence. Upper and lower case le t ters are to be

used at the beginning of each point as fo l lows :

- Capi ta l isat ion of keywords conforms to word type ( i .e . proper noun or common noun).

- Complete sentences beg in wi th a capi ta l le t ter and end wi th a fu l l s top.

- I f on ly key words or par ts o f sentences a re used , the fa l l s top at the end of the l ine is

omi t ted.

6.3 Tit le

6.3.1 Structur ing of content

Ti t les he lp to s t ructure a text and to d iv ide i t in to separate areas/sect ions. Ti t les he lp to

s t ructure a text and to d iv ide i t in to separate areas/sect ions. This means the t i t l ing is cr i t ica l -

ly important . The t i t les set out what is be ing presented in the chapter or sect ion which fo l -

lows. This is where the content in t roduced by the t i t le (= 1 idea! ) is d iscussed. This a lso

means, don’ t separate that which b elongs together !

Ti t les in quest ion form should be avoided. There should be a neut ra l or inc lus ive generic

term (keyword) . Ar t ic les are not necessary before the noun, nor are compl ete sentences, so

the fu l l s tops at the end are omi t ted.

Don’ t se lect an over long t i t le for the main heading; i f need be, b reak i t up in to a main t i t le

wi th subheading(s ) .

6.3.2 Formal s t ructur ing

Al l t i t les tha t are p laced in the text must a lso appear in the i ndex (and vice versa) . Exact l y

the same word ing must be used. Al l t i t l es must be consecut ive ly numbered.

I f sub-subt i t les are used wi thout markers wi th in a text , they are , they are wr i t ten in bo ld.

The t i t le which has the h ighest c lass i f icat ion leve l sh ould each be p laced on a new page

(main sect ion) and appear in the header.

The d is tances between the t i t le and the sect ion which fo l lows should be cons is tent .

6.4 Gender-sensi t ive and non-discriminatory w ri t ing style

We recommend that you employ a wr i t ing s ty le that is gender -sens i t ive and non-

d iscr iminatory.



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For the descr ip t ion of female and male subjects , neutra l forms (e .g. , manager, employee) and

neutra l group labels (managers, employees) are to be used. The ZHAW guide g ives a tho r -

ough explanat ion of the correct grammat ica l use of the te rms

(h t tp : / /www.zhaw.ch/ f i leadmin/user_upload/zhaw/chancengle ichhei t /Sprachle i t faden.pdf or

ht tp : / /supp.apa.o rg/s ty le /pubm an-ch03.00.pdf ) . However, there is no def in i t ive ru le on how

these des ignat ions must be made. How th is has been handled can be c la r i f ied in a foo tnote.

Furthermore, you should use a non -d iscr iminatory language th roughout . In any d escr ip t ion,

focus on the person . Th is appl ies to top ics such as d isabi l i ty, age, sexua l or ientat ion, re l i g ion

etc .

Example: "People wi th d isabi l i t ies" is bet ter than " the d isabled" .

http://www.zhaw.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/zhaw/chancengleichheit/Sprachleitfaden.pdf



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Appendix 1 : Model t i t le page

Title

Subti t le / Topic

Conf ident ia l ( i f appl icable)

(Term paper 2 . Semester)

(Pro ject report 3 . Semester)

( In ternship report 4 . Semester)

(Bachelor ’s Thesis 6. Semester)

(Maste r ’s Thesis Master o f Advanced Studies, Maste r o f Sc ience)

Ins t i tu te of Fac i l i t y Management

(As requi red for p ro ject report , Bachelor ’s and Master ’s Thesis MSc/MAS)

In i t ia tor <Surname> <Forename>

Address

Author(s) < Surname > < Forename >

Course of s tudy 200_ - 200_

Due date <Day<>, <Time>

(For te rm paper and pro ject report , as wel l as Master ’s Thesis MAS)

Assessor <Surname> <Forename>, <acad. t i t le>

(For Master ’s Thesis)

Examiner 1 <Vorname> <Name>, < acad. t i t le >

Assessor 2 <Vorname> <Name>, < acad. t i t le >

<Company>, <Place>

mandatory guidelines to composition writing for …mandatory guidelines to composition writing for...

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