9. Formal Layout and Final Corrections

Contents

Formal Layout

Formal design guidelines serve to structure written work and improve its readability and comparability. They cover the individual components of a paper, define its scope and may contain guidelines on citation, page layout and the use of specific typefaces.
The following explanations are based on the guidelines for written scholarly work of the HMTM Institute of Musicology.

Please note!

The specific requirements can vary greatly depending on the university, degree program, type of text and lecturer. Therefore, find out for each written assignment how long the assignment must be and whether there are layout specifications, e.g. in the form of a style sheet. Compliance with these specifications directly influences the overall grade you are awarded for the assignment!

Regardless of whether it is a seminar paper, Bachelor’s/Master’s or Zulassungsarbeit, in most cases written papers consist of a cover sheet, table of contents, main text, appendix (if applicable) and list of sources.
All written papers at the HMTM Institute of Musicology must also include a signed declaration, that you have produced the written work yourself (independently, without the assistance of others unless otherwise stated in the document) and that all sources you have used in producing the written work has been clearly referenced. In German, this is called the eidesstattliche Versicherung.

(1) Cover sheet

Each written academic paper should include a cover sheet with the following information:

Name of the university
Semester
Title of the course
Name of the lecturer
Title of the paper
Type of work (seminar paper, Bachelor’s thesis, Zulassungsarbeit, etc.)
Name of the author
Date of submission
Degree program and semester
Matriculation number
E-mail address

(2) Table of contents

The table of contents contains all headings and subheadings of the main text (including the appendix and list of sources) and their respective page numbers. It is advisable to number the headings consecutively (1, 1.1, 1.1.1, etc.). The page numbers start with the first page of the main text body, while the cover page and table of contents are usually not counted.

It is best to format the headings using the templates provided by the word processing program of your choice. The table of contents can then be created automatically with little effort (as demonstrated here).

(3) Main text

The components and structure of the main text have already been covered in the previous lesson. The following guidelines have proven useful for the formal design:

Font: Use a font that is easy to read (e.g. Times New Roman, Arial), font size 12pt for the main text, 10pt for the footnotes.
Bold type: Avoid bold type and underlining, italicize titles of works (e.g. Richard Strauss, Eine Alpensinfonie op. 64); differentiate between “direct quotations” and a “‘quotation’ within a quotation.”
Page margins: Top 2.5 cm, bottom 2 cm, left 2 cm, right at least 2 cm (3-4 cm is better as a correction margin).
Line spacing: 1.5-spacing for continuous text, single (1.0) spacing for footnotes and longer quotations.
Paragraphs: Use justified text alignment and automatic hyphenation; indent the first line of a paragraph (except at the beginning of a chapter and after illustrations or longer quotations) for better readability.
Quotes Indent a quotation that is longer than three lines.
References: Depending on the specifications: in the form of footnotes (at the end of each page), endnotes (at the end of the chapter or text), author-date system; footnote symbols are placed either directly after the quotation if the quotation is in the middle of a sentence, or at the end of a sentence after the punctuation mark.
Illustrations: These are numbered consecutively and always include a caption with a complete source reference.

(4) Appendix

Sources that are important for understanding the argumentation but are too extensive for the main text (e.g. longer excerpts from scores, interviews, measurement data, tables, images, etc.) can be included in the appendix. They are numbered consecutively.

(5) List of sources

The list of sources contains all sources used in the work, separated into primary sources and secondary literature. Particular attention must be paid to the completeness of the information!
The sources are listed alphabetically by authors’ surnames. If you are unsure of how to cite certain sources, please read the lesson on citation again.

Final corrections

A thorough final proofreading is absolutely essential for a successful written assignment and has a direct impact on the grade awarded. However, a common pitfall is not allocating sufficient time for this final step before the assignment is submitted. Depending on the length of the assignment, you should therefore allow at least three days, and preferably a week, for thorough corrections and revisions. The corrections do not only concern spelling and grammar, but covers all aspects of the work.

Final corrections checklist

Form: Have all the necessary components of the written assignment been included: cover sheet, table of contents, main text, appendix (if applicable), list of sources and references, affidavit (if applicable)? Does the written assignment meet the required scope?
Content: Are all facts stated correctly (names, dates, work titles, etc.)? Is the argumentation coherent? Is the research question adequately answered? Is there unnecessary repetition of information?
Style: Can the text be improved linguistically (delete repeated words and filler words, split up long sentences, clarify terms)? Are all formulations understandable? Are technical terms used correctly?
Orthography and punctuation: Spelling, grammar, commas, hyphenation correct? Have you activated the automatic spell-check function and also manually (personally) checked the text for any further mistakes?
Quotations: Are all references complete and correctly cited?
Scholarly apparatus: Are all references complete and correct in terms of content? Are all citation rules complied with? Are all sources included in the list of sources and references? Are all sources cited in the list of sources also used in the footnotes? Are all references in the footnotes to other places in your own text correct? (e.g. “See footnote 32”; “See the comments on p. 13”).
Layout: Does the table of contents match the headings and page numbers of the main text? Is the layout consistent (e.g. line spacing, heading formatting, references, paragraph formatting, etc.)? Has enough space for correction margins been made?

Exercise

A few last tips!