Guidelines for writing academic papers

for the programmes of study at ESB Business School

at Reutlingen University

Presented by:

The Professors of ESB Business School

Reutlingen, 23 November 2019

Table of Contents

List of abbreviations................................................................................................................iii
List of illustrations...................................................................................................................iv
List of tables...............................................................................................................................v
1 Introduction........................................................................................................................1
2 Structure and components of an academic paper...........................................................2
3 Formal requirements.........................................................................................................3
3.1 Page layout.....................................................................................................................3
3.2 Typeface and line spacing..............................................................................................3
3.3 Paragraphs and alignment..............................................................................................4
3.4 Numbering.....................................................................................................................4
3.5 Tables, illustrations, and technical drawings.................................................................5
3.6 Title page........................................................................................................................6
3.7 Lists................................................................................................................................7
3.7.1 Table of contents..................................................................................................7
3.7.2 List of tables........................................................................................................7
3.7.3 List of illustrations...............................................................................................7
3.7.4 List of abbreviations............................................................................................7
3.7.5 List of symbols.....................................................................................................8
3.7.6 List of references..................................................................................................8
3.8 Appendix........................................................................................................................8
3.9 Additional material........................................................................................................8
3.10 Declaration...................................................................................................................8
4 Quotations...........................................................................................................................9
List of References....................................................................................................................11
Appendix A Titlepage and declacation of authorship.....................................................12
A.1 Appendix Titlepage.....................................................................................................12
A.2 Appendix: Example of a declaration of authorship of an academic paper.................14
Declaration of authorship of an academic paper.................................................................15
Declaration of authorship of an academic paper with a partner university.....................16

2
List of abbreviations

APA....................................................................................American Psychological Association

pt .......................................................................................................Desktop-Publishing Punkte

3
List of illustrations

Illustration 1. Japan’s rate of inflation and unemployment; map of Japan.................................6

4
List of tables

Table 1. Components of an academic paper...............................................................................2

Table 2. Overview of typeface and layout.................................................................................4
Table 3. A sponge – numerial values..........................................................................................5

5
1 Introduction
The following guidelines apply for the writing of academic papers at ESB Business
School. The guidelines are exemplified for a graduation thesis, but also apply
analogously for all types of academic papers, e.g. seminar and assignment papers. These
guidelines are based to a large extent on the current guidelines of The American
Psychological Association (APA), which has set the standard for international social
sciences (American Psychological Association, 2009). In addition to the APA, ESB also
provides some further guidelines on formatting, which arise partly from our study and
examination regulations, and partly from the necessity of making all working conditions
the same for all examination candidates. Regulations specific to any one study
programme (e.g. with regards to language or the scope of the papers) are set by the
individual study programmes and described in their module handbooks.

The academic paper as a graduation thesis, according to the General Rules for Study and
Examinations (Allgemeine Studien- und Prüfungsordnung) for study programmes leading
to bachelor and master degrees at Reutlingen University, should show that the candidate
is able to deal with a problem within the subject within a set time using suitable academic
methods. These guidelines are intended to help students apply appropriate academic
methods.

6
2 Structure and components of an academic paper
Your paper can comprise the following parts. Table 1, Components of an Academic
Paper, provides an overview of the possible components and their order.

Component Status
Title page Obligatory
Copyright page If required
Dedication Optional
Thanks Optional
Abstract if required by your study programme
Table of contents Obligatory
List of tables if tables are used
List of illustrations if illustrations are used
List of abbreviations if abbreviations are used
List of symbols if symbols are used
Main part Obligatory
List of references Obligatory
Appendix If required
Additional material If required
Declaration on academic paper Obligatory
Table 1. Components of an academic paper

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3 Formal requirements
Academic papers at ESB Business School have to meet the following formal
requirements.

3.1 Page layout

The academic paper must be presented on A4 paper format with only one side of each
sheet printed. The left margin of the page must be 3cm wide, the top, right, and bottom
margins 2.5cm wide.

The paper must be presented firmly bound. We recommend a binding folder with a
transparent front and a glued binding. Examination regulations do not permit academic
papers to be presented in ring files.

3.2 Typeface and line spacing

The paper can be printed in serif typeface or sans-serif typeface. Serif refers to the small
cross pieces at the ends of the main letter strokes. Times New Roman (in which these
guidelines are printed) is an example of a serif typeface, Arial (in which this sentence
is printed) is a typical example of a sans-serif typeface. Balzert, Schröder, and Schäfer
(2013, p. 101) have observed that serifs emphasise the nature of a letter more strongly
and allow the reader’s eye to follow the line more easily, which is the reason why most
printed material is in serif typeface. Sans-serif typefaces, on the other hand, have a more
modern appearance and are particularly preferred by the natural sciences and engineering
sciences.

With the exception of formulas, only one typeface may be used throughout the whole
document, with a total of 12 desktop publishing points (pt.). For the reasons given above,
we recommend Times New Roman. The 12 pt. size also applies for all headings, which,
however, should be emphasised in bold print. Headings should not be underlined.
Footnotes and captions (text in tables and illustrations) should be 10 pt. typeface1. Line
spacing should be 1.5 in the main text, 1.0 in footnotes, reference lists, and in captions.

8
Emphasis of words in the main text should be done by using italics. Emphasis with bold
print or underlining should be avoided.

9
Component Format Line spacing Alignment
Main Text 12 pt 1.5 lines Flush left
Emphasised text 12 pt, italics 1.5 lines Flush left
Headings 12 pt, bold 1.5 lines Flush left
Footnotes 10 pt 1.0 lines Flush left
Captions 10 pt, bold 1.0 lines Flush left
Formulas 12 pt Centred
Tables, illustrations 12 pt 1.0 lines Centred
List of references 12 pt 1.0 lines Flush left
Page numbers 12 pt Flush right
Table 2. Overview of typeface and layout

3.3 Paragraphs and alignment

Before every paragraph and every heading, there should be a space of 12 pt. In order to
achieve a more readable text, each main chapters (1, 2, 3, etc.) should begin on a new
page. Sub-chapters (1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.3, etc.) can follow on the same page.

Regular and not too large word spacing is essential for an easily readable text. Using
justified alignment is typographically very demanding, and often inappropriate, as spaces
between letters and words often have to be retrospectively manually adjusted. We
therefore recommend that the text should be flush left with ragged right alignment. In
order to achieve a good face in texts written in English, however, appropriate
hyphenation should only be used where necessary.

If formulas are used, these will be easier to read if centered and in a separate line2.

n
( x+ a ) =∑ n x k an−k
()
n
(1)
k=0 k

10
3.4 Numbering
Headings in the text should be indicated in sequence with Arabic numerals. The
introduction to the paper begins with the first heading and the first chapter number: “1
Introduction”. When numbering the headings, a full-stop must not be used after the last
number. Use of abbreviations is not allowed in headings. The structure could be as
follows:

1 Introduction

1.1 Research Question

1.2 Structure of the paper

Care should be taken never to have only one sub-heading under a main heading. If you
have a sub-heading 1.1, then a sub-heading 1.2 must follow.

The pages of the paper must be numbered. The page numbers are entered right flush at
the bottom of the page, below the main text area. Page numbering begins on the title
page with an imaginary one, which, however, does not appear on the page. The
following pages, up to the list of contents, are numbered with small Roman numerals
flush right: ii, iii, iv, etc.

Numbering begins on the first contents page with the Arab numeral 1 flush right. All the
following pages of the main text and the literature references and appendix are numbered
with Arab numerals.

All formulas used in the text will be sequentially numbered with Arab numerals in round
brackets flush right, e.g.:

−b ± √ b2−4 ac
x= (2)
2a

The footnotes used in the text should be numbered sequentially with Arab numerals.
Endnotes should not be used.

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All tables and illustrations in the paper will be numbered with Arab numerals under the
table. Illustrations will be numbered sequentially with Arabic numerals and with a title,
and source reference if tanked from other works. An example:

ß ß365 V1 Q1
0.999999 0.999635 0.998 0.998
0.999 0.694 0.957 0.956
0.990 0.026 0.876 0.868
0.900 1.988 × 10−17 0.696 0.627
0.500 0 0.536 0.268
Table 3. A sponge – numerial values [CITATION Dix12 \p 565 \l 1031 ]

3.5 Tables, illustrations, and technical drawings

Tables and illustrations should be represented on one page and, as far as possible, not
spread over two or more pages. Detailed tables and illustrations, unless they are essential
for understanding the text, should be presented as attachments. The tables should be in
the same format as the paper and not be presented as screen shots. This also applies for
illustrations which can be newly reproduced. Non-reproducible grphics on which, for
example, the basic data are missing, may be transferred directly. An example:

12
Illustration 1. Japan’s rate of inflation and unemployment; map of Japan [CITATION Smi08 \p 1326
\l 1031 ]

Technical drawings should be produced according to the DIN standards.

Numbers in tables should be presented flush right or be aligned on the decimal point.
Horizontal dividing lines should be used only where necessary to improve the readability
of the text (compare Table 3. A Sponge: numerical values). Vertical dividing lines should
be avoided.

3.6 Title page

The title page must include the following:

 Title of the paper: Top, centered, type size 14 pt., bold

 The rest of the text in type size 12 pt.

 Description of the type of paper, e.g. assignment, seminar paper, bachelor or

master graduation thesis (science or arts)

 Study programme and name of the university

 Name and student ID number of the author

 Name of the examining professor

 Name of the second examiner, if known

 Place, date

Please note that the use of logos of Reutlingen University, ESB Business School, or of
partner schools, is subject to specific regulations and trademark laws in their current
forms. An example of a title page is to be found in the appendix to these guidelines.

3.7 Lists
The List of Contents, List of Tables, Lists of Illustrations, and list of symbols (in the
order given here) should come before the main part of the text. Lists of Tables,
Illustrations and Symbols are only necessary if they are not to be empty. The List of

13
References, in which the sources of all quotations in the paper must be included, is added
after the main text and given a main chapter number. Each list of contents is on its own
page. The following points should be noted:

3.7.1 Table of contents

The table of contents shows all chapters. The number of the page on which each chapter
begins is shown on the right.

3.7.2 List of tables

The List of Tables shows the number and descriptive title of all tables and the numbers of
the pages on which they appear. The sources of the tables are not indicated in this list.

3.7.3 List of illustrations

The List of Illustrations indicates the illustrations used with a number, a descriptive title,
and the number of the page on which each illustration is shown. The source of the
illustration is not given in this list.

3.7.4 List of abbreviations

In general, abbreviations should be avoided wherever possible. Every non-standard
abbreviation used in the text must be written out in full in the first instance) and included
in the List of Abbreviations. In all following instances, only the abbreviation should be
used. In the list of abbreviations, all abbreviations used in the text are given with their
meanings written out in full. Standard abbreviations, such as e.g., i.e., etc., are not to be
included in the list of abbreviations. The list should not indicate where in the text the
abbreviations are used.

3.7.5 List of symbols

All symbols used in the text are to be explained in the first instance and listed in the list
of symbols. Page numbers with respect to the position in the text where the symbols are
used are not displayed in the list of symbols.

14
3.7.6 List of references
The list of references contains all the sources quoted in the paper with full bibliographic
references. No literature not quoted in the paper should be included in the list of
references. We recommend the use of special software for generating lists of references.

Each title is shown in a new line with single line spacing and with an indent of 1 cm in
the second line, if a second line is required. The list of references is ordered
alphabetically, according to the surname of the first named author. Differentiation of
categories of literature (e.g. journals, books, conference papers, etc.) should not be made.
An example of a list of references is given in the .

3.8 Appendix
The appendix of an academic paper contains all the components that are not essential for
understanding the text. Examples of components that should be presented in the
appendix are: the author’s own calculations, the results of which have been presented in
the main text; questionnaires used in empirical surveys.

3.9 Additional material

All non-textual parts of the paper must be listed in the chapter “additional materials” and
handed in with the paper. Examples of such materials would be audio tape recordings, or
material samples.

3.10 Declaration
A declaration by the candidate that the paper has been written using only permitted
resources must be included as the last chapter in the paper. A draft declaration is included
in the appendix to these guidelines.

3.11 Word Count

The word count of an academic paper contains the words of each chapter titel, the text of
all chapters, text in tables and figures, footnotes and titles of tables and figures.
Text in front of the first chapter and after the last chapter, i.e. the words of the lists (table
of contents, list of figures, list of table, list of symbols, list of formulas, list of

15
abbreviations, list of references), abstract, foreword or appendix are not part of the word
count.

16
4 Quotations
If you include in your paper the ideas of other people, either verbatim or in paraphrase,
then you must clearly indicate the original source. This is to show that such ideas are not
originally your own. Correctly indicated quotations enable the reader to differentiate
between your own contributions and your treatment of the ideas of others.

Direct and indirect quotations are possible, whereby indirect quotations are to be
preferred. In the case of direct (literal or verbatim) quotations, you must include the
original text word-for-word (including all characters and punctuation, even misspellings).
A direct quotation can, for example, be useful for the inclusion of definitions, or “when
the original expression is formulated particularly succinctly [CITATION San13 \p 115 \l
1031 ]. Direct quotations should be indicated by speech marks (inverted commas: “…“)
and the source should be given with the page number (as in the previous sentence here)
directly after the quotation, after the closing inverted commas, even if the sentence in
which the quotation is included continues after it. If the original text contained
orthographic errors, these can be indicated by [!] or [sic!].

Indirect quotations are by far the more common type in academic papers. These
reproduce the contents of the other work in the quoting authors own words. A page
indication for the original text is only useful in this case if you are referring to a particular
passage in the work quoted. If you are reproducing the contents of the whole work, you
do not need to indicate page numbers. An example of an indirect quotation is given in
section 3.2 of these guidelines.

As a general rule, works that have been published in specialist journals subject to peer
review, and official publications of public bodies are considered to be especially quotable
in academic papers. In individual cases, students must discuss with their supervisor
whether it is permissible also to quote from other sources, such as text books, articles in
journals not subject to peer review, articles still under review, or information material
from private persons or companies. Lecture papers, popular science publications,

17
dictionaries, lexicons, and internet sources are only suitable for quotation under certain
conditions.

Breaches of the regulations regarding quotations (plagiarism), i.e. when intellectual

performances of other people (e.g. texts, presentations, ideas, insights) are included
without naming the source, will lead to the academic paper being assessed as failed.
Further sanctions will follow in line with the “General study and examination regulations
for bachelor and master degree programmes of Reutlingen University”.

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List of References
American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.

Balzert, H., Schröder, M., & Schäfer, C. (2013). Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten. Dortmund:
W3L GmbH.

Dixit, A. (2012). An Option Value Problem from Seinfeld. Economic Inquiry, 50(2), 563-
565.

Sandberg, B. (2013). Wissenschaftlich Arbeiten von Abbildung bis Zitat. München:

Oldenbourg Verlag.

Smith, G. W. (2008). Japan's Phillips Curve Looks Like Japan. Journal of Money, Credit
and Banking, 40(6), 1325–1326.

19
20
Appendix A Titlepage and declacation of authorship
A.1 Appendix Titlepage
An example of a title page is shown on the next page.

21
 [Titel of paper]

Graduation thesis towards the degree Bachelor/Master of [X]

In the study programme [name of programme] at Reutlingen University

Presented by:

[name of auther]

[Student ID number of author]

Presented to:

[Name of examining Professors]

[Name of second examiner – if known at deadline]

[place, date]

22
A.2 Appendix: Example of a declaration of authorship of an academic paper
In Section, “Error: Reference source not found” you will find a draft for such a declaration
which can be used if you are only presenting your paper at Reutlingen University. If the
regulations for your study programme also require you to present your paper to a partner
university, then you should use the declaration in Section, „Error: Reference source not found
mit Partnerhochschule.“

23
Declaration of authorship of an academic paper
I hereby declare that I have written this paper myself and used no other sources or resources
than those indicated, have clearly marked verbatim quotations as such, and clearly indicated
the source of all paraphrased references, and have observed the General Study and
Examination Regulations of Reutlingen University for bachelor and master programmes, the
specific regulations for study and examinations of my study programme, and the Regulations
for Ensuring Good Academic Practice of Reutlingen University.

Neither this paper nor any part of this paper is a part of any other material presented for
examination at this or any other institution.

Reutlingen, [Date] [signature]

[First Name Surname]

24
Declaration of authorship of an academic paper with a partner university
I hereby declare that I have written this paper myself and used no other sources or resources
than those indicated, have clearly marked verbatim quotations as such, and clearly indicated
the source of all paraphrased references, and have observed the General Study and
Examination Regulations of Reutlingen University for bachelor and master programmes, the
specific regulations for study and examinations of my study programme, and the Regulations
for Ensuring Good Academic Practice of Reutlingen University.

This paper is also being presented, in accordance with the study and examination regulations
of the study programme [name of study programme] to [name of the partner university].
Furthermore, neither this paper nor any part of this paper is a part of any other material
presented for examination at this or any other institution.

Reutlingen, [Datum] [Unterschrift]

[Vorname Nachname]

25