Thesis header: what to include?

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Correct formatting is crucial for a well-written thesis, including margins and headers. The header content and style depend on the citation style used. APA requires an abbreviated title and page number, while MLA only needs the last name and page number. APA also requires a running head on the title page.

Whether you are writing a narrative thesis, persuasive or informational thesis, excellent formatting is important, including correct margins and the correct thesis header. The type of information in your header depends on the citation style you are using for your thesis work. The APA citation style requires a page number and a “header,” or a header that appears on every page, containing an abbreviated form of the title of your thesis work. If you are using the MLA citation style, your thesis header will only consist of your last name and page number.

If you are writing an MLA thesis, the thesis header will need to contain your last name and page number with a space between them. Heading should be right-justified or flush with the right margin 1 inch from the edge of the paper. The header should be 0.5 cm (1.3 cm) from the top of the paper. Your header must match the source of your work. Times New Roman 12 point font size is standard for an MLA thesis. The rules for heading an APA article are more complicated.

If you are writing an APA thesis, your header needs to contain your race head and page number. The header contains a few words from the title of your thesis work in all capital letters. For example, if your title is “Confusing Rules: What to Put in a Thesis Heading”, your running head will be “WHAT TO PUT IN A TITLE HEADING” or simply “HEADING HEADING”. The amount by which you shorten the paper title is up to you, but there needs to be enough words in your title that your professor doesn’t confuse your work with another student’s. In an APA thesis work, the sliding head is left-justified, or flush with the left margin, and the page number right-justified, or flush with the right margin. The running head and page number must be 1 inch from the top of the page.

Another important thing to remember about the header of an APA thesis paper is that you need to identify the header of the title page. Your title page should have a header that tells the reader what the racing head will be. The title page header should contain the words “Moving Head” and a colon before the running head. For the example article, the title page header might read: “Running Head: THESIS HEADER.




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