It is essential that the work is properly written and structured, its presentation in an inappropriate way can make it difficult to read. The work must be drafted correctly, in a clear and direct language, and with a good structuring of the information. It is about allowing partial and specific readings.

The creation of academic work requires knowledge on the writing of scientific works. There is also a set of recommendations on the structure and the elements of a work that are quite universal and that can be found in manuals of methodology of the scientific work and guides of style for the writing. A selection of these materials can be found in the libraries of the UPC:

• Amor Almedina, MI (ed.). Practical guide for end-of-degree education work. Barcelona: Graó, 2017.
• Baelo, M. Practical guide to write and present academic papers: TFG, TFM and Doctoral Thesis. Valencia: Tirant Humanidades, 2018.
• Baelo, M. The art of presenting academic papers before a court: TFG, TFM and doctoral thesis: practical guide for university students. Alicante: Editorial Círculo rojo, 2017.
  González García, JM, [et al.]. How to write an end-of-degree job: some experiences and practical advice. Madrid: Síntesis, 2014.
• Icat, MT (ed.). How to prepare and present a research project, a dissertation and a thesis. Barcelona: Publications and Editions of the University of Barcelona, ​​2012.
   

Guide for the scientific writing of the Language Service

#20 recommendations to write well

The structure of the work should be formed, at least, by These mandatory elements: cover, summary, introduction, body of work, conclusions and / or recommendations and bibliography. Additionally, if any, one of these elements may be considered optional: summary, list of abbreviations and symbols, annexes and alphabetical index.

• Cover. It is the source that allows to identify the work. The data to be stated depend on the type of work, but some of the fundamental ones are: the title, the author, the subject, professor and group, director, university department, the degree chosen (in case of dissertations and final projects), and date of submission. After the cover one or more blank sheets are usually left courtesy.
• Summary. It is a brief text, about 250 in 500 words written in a standardized way in accordance with ISO 214, which informs about the content and nature of the document, so that the reader can decide if he wants to read it whole work The objectives, the methods, the results and the conclusions using the standard terminology of the subject are stated specially.
• Content table or table. The title of all sections and subdivisions must be entered by order of appearance in the text with the indication of the page where they begin. If there are illustrations and numbered boxes, it is customary to make a separate summary.
• List of abbreviations and symbols. It is compulsory to state what a priori can not be easily understood by the readers, although the easiest thing to do is to indicate all the ones used throughout the work
• Introduction. The purpose and objectives, the motivation, the scope (chronological, geographic, typological, etc.) and its justification, a general comment about the documents consulted and the methodology used, the general acknowledgments and the Closing date for the different stages of work.
  Body of work It must be divided into numbered homogeneous chapters that could be grouped into four broad areas: theory, method, results and discussion.
• Conclusions and / or recommendations. They must be the result of the clear and ordered presentation of the deductions made during the work.
• Bibliography. The set of documents consulted, mentioned or not, throughout the work, form the bibliography which is presented at the end of the work arranged chronologically or alphabetically. Bibliographies ordered by topic, with or without comments, that serve to present the state of the issue with documents that have not been cited throughout the work are usually given as an annex.
• Annex. Its purpose can be to complete the body of the work with information that has not been addressed so as not to break the logical and ordered presentation, or to offer complementary information that helps understand the methods used. Other complementary materials, hardly interchangeable, such as maps, samples, photographs, glossaries, etc. can also be included. The supplementary information of the work included in the annexes must be cited at the end of each of them.
• Alphabetical index. They complement the summaries with more specific access points. Since work can be used to find very specific data, it is very useful for the reader to find them quickly. The generation of an alphabetical index of concepts, names of people, institutions, or significant sites is currently feasible through word processors.
   

• Els headings of chapters, sections and sub-sections They must appear hierarchical by typography and Arabic numerals subdivided by points. For example:
   
  • 2. Chapter
    • 2.1 Section
      • 2.1.1 Subparted
            
• Els Annex They must be identified by consecutive uppercase letters. For example:
   
  • Annex A
  • Annex B
  • Annex C
     
• The works are presented in sheets written on two sides.
   
• All sheets, except for the cover, the sheets of respect and the summary, They must be numbered with an Arabic number Normally placed at the bottom of the sheet that will start with the number 3 or 4 based on the number of unnumbered sheets at the beginning.

Spacing and margins

• It is necessary to observe the prescriptions that are requested for the presentation of the work in relation to if the text can be typed in one or two spaces. However, it must be remembered that the most correct thing is the presentation in two spaces and the use of a single family of letters.
• The text must be breathed and, therefore, appropriate margins must be set and facilitate fragmented text reading with spaces between paragraphs and paragraphs.
   

Footnotes and footers

• Observations and comments that complement the text should be given in a footnote or end of chapter.
• The indication in the text will be in superscript.

Figures and tables 

• If they are essential for the understanding of the main text they must be interspersed in the body of work within a box.
• The document from which they are extracted must be mentioned at the foot of the page and must be accompanied by a legend that allows to understand the figure or the table. They must be numbered in different sequences for figures and tables.

As a general rule, isolated images or parts of other works cannot be included in a work or exercise unless: 

• These are self-produced contents (for which the exploitation rights have not been transferred to third parties).
• Permission is obtained from the owner of the exploitation rights (the author or others to whom they may have been transferred).
• It is a work with a free access license (Creative Commons or similar).
• This is a work of public domain (the author died more than 80 years ago, or 70 if he passed away after December 7, 1987).

However, in application of the32 article of the Intellectual Property Law (LPI), isolated images or fragments of other works can be incorporated even if none of the previous cases apply, as long as the following conditions are met:

• That it is a work that has already been published
• That its inclusion is made as a quote or for its analysis, commentary or critical judgment. For example, an image that guarantees the understanding of the text can be included, but not an image with purely decorative purposes.
• To be used only for teaching or research purposes.
• That the work be used to the extent justified by the purpose of this incorporation. For example, reproducing only the fragment strictly necessary to make the commentary, not other more extensive parts of the work.
• Mention must be made of the source and author of the work used.

It is important to keep in mind that:

• It is recommended to rely on article 32 of the LPI only if it is very clear that all its requirements can be met.
• If the work you want to use was acquired through a contract or license of use, it is also necessary to check whether the supplier's clauses allow the desired use.

When incorporating an image, the source must be indicated below the image, in smaller font (for example, size 10), or if it is self-produced (Source: self-produced). However, the image must be centered on the page and, if applicable, must maintain a legible size that is proportional to the text. Example:

Also, figures must be referenced in the text (for example: “as shown in Figure 3”, “as shown in Figure 4.3.”) and must be included in a separate list indicating the page where they appear. Example: