Guidelines for Writing &

Submission of MSc Dissertations

DISSERTATION NOTES & GUIDELINES FOR AY2019/2020

This guide is for students who wish to complete their Master of Science by coursework programme via
Coursework & Dissertation option.

1. A dissertation project will be in lieu of 2 courses (6 AUs)

2. A candidate will no longer be liable for tuition fees when both conditions below are met:
a) He/she must have completed the entire coursework component of the programme, and
b) Must have his/her dissertation submitted and approved for examination not later than the
end of the second week of the semester.

3. Candidates must also pass the Research Integrity Course and submit their certificate towards
the end of their dissertation project.

For more information regarding Dissertations, anti-plagiarism and research integrity policies, visit
NTU’s website at https://research.ntu.edu.sg/rieo/RI/Pages/Theses--Dissertations.aspx.

ELIGIBILITY

To apply for dissertation, students must fulfil all of the following:

1. Complete at least one semester;
2. Attain at least 12 AUs; and
3. Achieve a minimum CGPA of 4.0

APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION SCHEDULE

Schedule DEC JAN FEB MAR APR May

Application By 17 Jan
Submission for Examination By 15 Apr
Estimated Result Release 15 May
Final Submission 22 May

*Above dates are tentative and may be subjected to changes

OPTING FOR DISSERTATION

To undertake dissertation, students must submit the below documents to the Graduate Studies Unit
(GSU) office by 17-Jan-20 (Friday). Note that students must receive School’s approval before working
on their project.

1. Dissertation Application Form (Section B must be signed by Supervisor)

2. A printed copy of your latest exam result

School of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Guidelines for Writing & Submission of MSc Dissertations

Updated for AY2019/2020

TURNITIN REPORT & RESEARCH INTEGRITY COURSE

Students are required to complete their Research Integrity Course and Turnitin Report via NTULearn.

Research EPIGEUM RESEARCH INTEGRITY COURSE MODULES FOR NTU (RI-ERIC)

Integrity Course
- Search for the above course name on NTULearn
- After completing, certificate must be printed for verification

Summary of CEE GSU Dissertation Course Site (CEE-GSU-DIS)

Originality
(Turnitin) - Create your Turnitin report by accessing the above course site
- Report must be printed and endorsed by Supervisor before submission

EXAMINATION & FINAL SUBMISSION

Completed reports must be submitted for examination to GSU office, together with the following:

1. Dissertation Submission Form (Section II must be signed Supervisor)

2. Two ring-bound hardcopy reports, complete with the signed declaration statements
3. Summary of Originality of Report (Turnitin) (Supervisor must endorse Similarity Index)
4. Research Integrity Course Certificate

After examination, supervisors will return the hardcopy report to students for amendments. Students
must make the necessary before revisions before submitting the final report in PDF Format to their
supervisor and copy GSU office (ceeMScprog@ntu.edu.sg)

Students who wish to join the Convocation must meet the following submission timeline:

- Submitted for examination : 10-Apr-20 (Friday)

- Final submission after revision : 22-May-20 (Friday)

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is a serious offense in research and is strictly prohibited. Students are required to maintain
proper citations to the relevant sources throughout the entirety of the report.
You must seek your supervisor’s signed acknowledgement for your report’s similarity index before
submitting for examination.

INSTRUCTIONS ON REPORT FORMAT

Note that any reports that do not follow the below format will be rejected for examination.

1. Length of Report

Between 10,000 words to 15,000 words, excluding tables, diagrams,

Word Count
appendices, references, etc.

School of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Guidelines for Writing & Submission of MSc Dissertations

Updated for AY2019/2020

 Pages - Between 60 – 100 pages.

2. Citation Style
You are required to use the American Psychological Association (APA) citation style you’re your
referencing throughout the report. This includes both your in-text citations and reference list
page.

3. Sequence of Report
The report should follow the below sequence.
1. Title Page
2. Statement of Originality
3. Supervisor Declaration Statement
4. Authorship Attribution Statement
5. Abstract
6. Acknowledgement
7. List of Abbreviations (optional)
8. List of Symbols (optional)
9. List of Figures (optional)
10. List of Tables (optional)
11. Table of Contents

4. Formatting Guidelines

Paper Type White A4 size (210mm x 297mm) paper

Margins - Each page must have a left margin of 3.7cm to allow for binding
Font - Times New Roman, font size 12

Spacing - One and a half spacing (1.5) should be used throughout body of text

Printing - Single-sided, portrait orientation

- The cover page should include NTU’s logo, dissertation title, author’s name
Cover Page
and year of submission. All words must be written in block letters.

APPENDICES
Students may refer to the following appendixes for reference.
Appendix 1 : Cover Page
Appendix 2 : Thesis Declaration Statements
▪ Statement of Originality
▪ Supervisor Declaration Statement
▪ Authorship Attribution Statement
Appendix 3 : Table of Contents

School of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Guidelines for Writing & Submission of MSc Dissertations

Updated for AY2019/2020

School of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Guidelines for Writing & Submission of MSc Dissertations

Updated for AY2019/2020

3.7cm Margin 10 cm

[TITLE OF PROJECT]

[NAME OF STUDENT]

SCHOOL OF CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN [NAME OF PROGRAMME]

[YEAR]

Appendix 1: Cover Page

 Statement of Originality

I hereby certify that the work embodied in this thesis is the result of original
research, is free of plagiarised materials, and has not been submitted for a
higher degree to any other University or Institution.

[Input Date Here] [Input Signature Here]

Date [Input Student’s Name Here]

Appendix 2: Thesis Declaration Statements

 Supervisor Declaration Statement

I have reviewed the content and presentation style of this thesis and declare it
is free of plagiarism and of sufficient grammatical clarity to be examined. To
the best of my knowledge, the research and writing are those of the candidate
except as acknowledged in the Author Attribution Statement. I confirm that
the investigations were conducted in accord with the ethics policies and
integrity standards of Nanyang Technological University and that the research
data are presented honestly and without prejudice.

[Input Date Here] [Input Supervisor’s Signature Here]

Date [Input Supervisor’s Name Here]

Appendix 2: Supervisor Declaration Statement

 Authorship Attribution Statement

Please select one of the following: (*delete as appropriate)

*(A) This thesis does not contain any materials from papers published in peer-
reviewed journals or from papers accepted at conferences in which I am listed as an
author.

*(B) This thesis contains material from [x number] paper(s) published in the following
peer-reviewed journal(s) / from papers accepted at conferences in which I am listed
as an author.

Please amend the typical statements below to suit your circumstances if (B) is selected.

Chapter 4 is published as D.T. Murphy, S. Schmid, J.R. Hester, P.E.R. Blanchard, and W.
Miiller. Coordination site disorder in spinel-type LiMnTiO4. Inorganic Chemistry 54,
4636-4643 (2015). DOI: 10.1021/ic502747p.
The contributions of the co-authors are as follows:
• A/Prof Schmid provided the initial project direction and edited the manuscript
drafts.
• I prepared the manuscript drafts. The manuscript was revised by Dr Hester and
Dr. Blanchard.
• I co-designed the study with A/Prof Siegbert Schmid and performed all the
laboratory work at the School of Materials Science and Engineering and the
Singapore Synchrotron Light Source. I also analyzed the data.
• All microscopy, including sample preparation, was conducted by me in the
Facility for Analysis, Characterization, Testing and Simulation.
• Dr James Hester assisted in the collection of the neutron powder diffraction
data.
• Dr Peter Blanchard assisted in the interpretation of the X-ray absorption
spectroscopy data and carried out the spectral interpretation.
• Dr Wojciech Miiller assisted in the collection and provide guidance in the
interpretation of the magnetic measurement data.

Chapter 5 is published as H. V Doan, B. Yao, Y. Fang, A. Sartbaeva, U. Hintermair, V. P

Ting, Controlled Formation of Hierarchical Metal-Organic Frameworks using CO2
Expanded Solvent Systems. In press, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (2017).
DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b01429.

The contributions of the co-authors are as follows:

• Prof Ting suggested the materials area and edited the manuscript drafts.

Appendix 2: Authorship Attribution Statement

 • I wrote the drafts of the manuscript. The manuscript was revised together with
Dr. Sartbaeva and Dr. Yao.
• I performed all the materials synthesis, collected X-ray diffraction patterns and
visible light spectra, carried transmission electron microscopy, and conducted
data evaluation.
• Dr. Y. Fang conducted the Rietveld analysis of the powder X-ray diffraction data
and single crystal structure determinations.
• Dr U. Hintermair conducted the molecular dynamics simulations.
• Ms. A. Sartbaeva prepared the samples for electron microscopy.

[Input Date Here] [Input Signature Here]

Date [Input Student’s Name Here]

Appendix 2: Authorship Attribution Statement

Table of Contents
Statement of Originality............................................................................................................................i
Supervisor Declaration Statement ........................................................................................................... ii
Authorship Attribution Statement .......................................................................................................... iii
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... iv
List of Abbreviations (Optional) ............................................................................................................... v
List of Symbols (Optional) ....................................................................................................................... vi
List of Figures (Optional) ........................................................................................................................ vii
List of Tables (Optional) ........................................................................................................................ viii
5. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... x
6. Literature Review .............................................................................................................................. x
7. Main Body.......................................................................................................................................... x
3.1 XXXX ........................................................................................................................................... vi
3.2 XXXX ........................................................................................................................................... vi
3.3 XXXX ........................................................................................................................................... vi
8. Conclusions & Recommendations ..................................................................................................... x
9. References ......................................................................................................................................... x
10. Appendices ........................................................................................................................................ x

Appendix 3: Table of Contents

 Nanyang Technological University
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Graduate Studies Unit

T (+65) 6790 5828 | E: ceeMScprog@ntu.edu.sg

50 Nanyang Avenue, N1-01a-33, Singapore 639798