How to Write a Thesis & Research Paper for TU, KU, and PU: Format, Chapters, & Citations

Writing a final-year thesis or research paper is mandatory for completing Bachelor (BSc CSIT, BIT, Engineering, BBA) and Master degrees across Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University, and Pokhara University.

This guide provides the official structure, formatting guidelines, and practical tips to draft a thesis that passes university evaluation smoothly.

Standard Thesis Chapter Structure

A standard university thesis in Nepal comprises 5 primary chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction - **Background of the Study**: Contextualize the problem within real-world and academic literature. - **Statement of the Problem**: Explain the precise gap or challenge your research addresses. - **Objectives of the Study**: Main objective and specific sub-objectives (use action verbs like *To evaluate*, *To implement*, *To analyze*). - **Scope & Limitations**: Define boundaries of dataset, tools, and constraints.

Chapter 2: Literature Review - Systematic review of existing research papers, books, and existing software models. - **Theoretical Framework**: Key algorithms, models, or formulas used. - **Research Gap**: Clearly state why your work is distinct from existing publications.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology / System Architecture - **Data Collection / Dataset Description**: Preprocessing steps, training/test splits. - **System Design & Block Diagram**: High-level flowcharts, ER diagrams, context diagrams. - **Algorithms & Mathematical Formulation**: Precise pseudocode and formulas.

Chapter 4: Implementation, Testing & Results Analysis - **Experimental Setup**: Hardware/software specs, libraries used. - **Results & Screenshots**: Confusion matrices, performance graphs, execution metrics. - **Comparative Analysis**: Compare your results with existing baseline models.

Chapter 5: Conclusion & Future Recommendations - Summary of findings tied back to Chapter 1 objectives. - Limitations encountered during implementation. - Specific recommendations for future researchers.

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Citation & Reference Formatting

Nepali universities enforce strict citation compliance:

• **IEEE Format** (Engineering, Computer Science, IT):
• - In-text: `[1]`, `[2]`
• - Reference: `[1] A. Akhtar, "Deep Learning for Natural Language Processing," Journal of AI, vol. 12, pp. 45–50, 2024.`
• **APA 7th Edition** (Management, Social Sciences, Education):
• - In-text: `(Akhtar, 2024)`
• - Reference: `Akhtar, S. A. (2024). Financial Markets in Nepal. Academic Press.`

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Plagiarism & Formatting Rules

**Warning**: Most universities use Turnitin or SimilarityCheck software. Your thesis similarity score must remain **under 10% to 15%** (excluding references and quotes).

Typography Specs: - **Font**: Times New Roman / Calibri - **Font Size**: 12 pt for body, 14 pt bold for H2, 16 pt bold for Chapter Titles. - **Line Spacing**: 1.5 lines - **Margins**: Left margin **1.5 inches** (for binding), Right/Top/Bottom **1.0 inch**.

Read our comprehensive **[University Thesis & Research Format Guide](/thesis)** for detailed sample documents and downloadable templates.