TITLE

Student must select Topic before determining Title.

What is Topic?
Atopic/subject matters/ themeis the particular issue or idea that serves as
the subject of aparagraph,essay,report, orspeech.
The primary topic of a paragraph may be expressed in atopic sentence.
The main topic of an essay, report, or speech may be expressed in a
thesis sentence.

TOPIC SENTENCES

We will discuss three types of Topic Sentences

A.New Topic
B.Enumeration
C.Claims

A. NEW TOPIC
Writers often use topic sentences to introduce the main idea
as a new topic. In the example below, the topic sentence (the
first sentence) serves as a bridge in the transition from
primary and secondary education to the new topic concerning
universities" and "polytechnics".
The topic (shown in red below) typically occurs before the
verb and is what the paragraph is about, while the
controlling idea (underlined in blue) is what you want to
The about
Finnish
higher
education
system
consists
of universities
say
the
topic.
In this case,
the topic
sentence
contains
and polytechnics. The universities stress the connection
two
controlling ideas.
between research and teaching. The basic purpose of the
universities is to carry out scientific research and to provide
teaching in related subjects. Students at universities may take
a lower (Bachelor's) or higher (Master's) academic degree, as well
as academic further education, consisting of licentiate and
doctoral degrees. Universities also arrange further education and
open university teaching. In contrast, polytechnics emphasize a
connection with working life, and the degrees offered are higher
education degrees with a professional emphasis. Located
throughout Finland, universities and polytechnics aim to ensure
that all prospective students have equal opportunities for study,

Exercise: Topic and Controlling Idea

Write a short paragraph of Main Idea (New Topic) on Faculty of Economics with
two Department (Accounting and Management), and show the Topic and
Controlling Idea

B. ENUMERATION
In science, topic sentences are often used to introduce a LIST OF
ITEMS. Such paragraphs, based on a PATTERN OF ENUMERATION, have
topic sentences that typically include QUANTIFIERS, such as numerous,
several, many, much, and a number of.
Often the controlling idea (underlined in green) in such lists consist of
superordinates, such as reason, cause, difference.
There are a number of good reasons for immigrating to Finland.
First, everyone speaks English (though they are not very talkative).
Second, Finland has a superior, free health system (if you dont mind the
long lines) and all education is free (and you get what you pay for). In
addition, most public transport is free (except if you get caught). A third
reason is that Finns are friendly, outgoing people (when they are
intoxicated). Finns also value equality between the sexes (so, no opening
of doors for the fairer sex). Finally, where else except in Finland can you
swim outside during the winter (through a hole in the ice).
In the above paragraph of enumeration, notice how each item is presented
using enumerators (e.g., first, second, another, finally).

There are a number of good reasons for immigrating to Finland:

1.All Finns speak English (though they are not very talkative).
2.Finland has a superior, free health system (if you dont mind the long lines)
and all education is free (and you get what you pay for). In addition, most
public transport is free (except if you get caught).
3.Finns are friendly, outgoing people (when they are intoxicated).
4.Finns also value equality between the sexes (so, no opening of doors for the
fairer sex).
5.Where else except in Finland can you swim outside during the winter
(through a hole in the ice).

Exercise: Enumeration
Write a short paragraph of Enumeration to answer the question:
Why do student select Faculty of Business and Ecnomics when they pursue the
Master degree?

C. CLAIMS
Topic sentences can also introduce the main idea of the paragraph as a
claim. Claims are opinions that that are not introduced by the pronoun "I". In
the example below, the topic sentence makes the claim about how easy it is
to learn Finnish. Notice how this claim is explained, developed and
supported by evidence in the sentences that follow the topic sentence .
The topic (shown in red below) typically occurs before the verb and is what
the paragraph is about, while the controlling idea (underlined in green) is
what you want to say about the topic.

 Finnish is an easy language to learn, It is written the way that it is

pronounced. Finnish has no articles (i.e., a, an, the), nor does it distinguish
between masculine and feminine forms, as do other European languages, such
as Spanish, French and German. Thus, Finnish makes no distinction between
she and he; one word hn serves for both sexes. Another feature that makes
Finnish easy to learn is that words are formed from common roots, thus
learning the the word kirja (book) quickly opens the way to learning other
related words, including kirjasto (library), kirje (letter), and kirjoittaa (to
write). Furthermore, Finnish has no separate preposition words (e.g., to, from,
on, in). Instead, they are all simply added to the end of words.

Finnish is an easy language to learn.

1.easy to write because it is phonetic
2.easy because it has no articles, no masculine and feminine forms, and only
one word hn serves for both sexes.
3.easy because words are formed from common roots
4.easy because it needs no separate prepositions

Choosing and Narrowing a Topic

How to Choose a Topic
These few examples are not paper topics; these could all be the subjects of
books : conflict management, abortion, the Cold War, capital budgeting,
organizational culture, global warming, Toyotas management style, and EU
agricultural subsidies . Why? Too broad!
Narrow a subject by looking at its smaller parts, or by choosing a specific
problem, time period, or place to cover.
Example
- the reasons American women choose abortion rather than adoption
- the psychological effects of previous abortions on women who become
pregnant again
- the consequences of Polands ban on abortions on Polish womens lives
- solutions to ending the practice of using abortion as a tool for gender
selection in India
- whether or not the morning after pill should be sold to girls under 16.
Specific topics like these are much more likely to fit the goal of academic
writing and to fit the number of pages allowed in your paper.
15

Writing your Topic as a Question

An argumentative paper would probably have a yes/no question, such
as Should the U.S. have used the atomic bomb in World War II? or
Should the morning after pill be sold to girls under 16? or Should
animal organs be used for human transplants? or Which is a better
strategy for the EU to follow to encourage change in Burma
engagement or isolation? And then, of course, your paper would argue
for your answer to the question
An analytical paper most likely has a why/how question, such as Why
has childhood obesity been increasing in the United States? or How
has Polands ban on abortions affected womens lives? or How
effective is the article in supporting the authors thesis? or How could
the EU best reform its agricultural subsidies? And then, of course, your
paper will analyze the various answers, justifying your point of view to
the audience.
An informative paper often has a what/why/how question, such as
What are the negative aspects of wind energy? or What are the
causes of anorexia in teenage boys? or How can managers evaluate
whether to invest money in a software upgrade project? And then, of
course, your paper will explain the various answers, giving the readers a
new way of looking at the topic.
16

Characteristics of a Good Paper Topic

Your question does not have a simple answer (A good
question has several alternative answers, or no accepted
answer, or maybe an easy but unsatisfactory answer. In other
words, there is no one right answer to your question. Your
paper will give and justify your own best answer(s), and it will
require research and critical thinking to do this.)
Your question is worth answering. The readers will care
about the answer to your question.
Your paper will achieve its purpose.
You are interested in the topic.
The topic is the right size for the length of the paper.
There is enough (but not too much) information
available in reliable sources.
You have enough time to do what you need to do.
17

Completing selection of Topic a student then determines a title.

Most written work begins with a title, and students must be quite clear what
question the title is asking before starting to plan the academic text (e.g. essay)
and read around the topic. It is essential to identify the main requirements of
the title. You must be clear about what areas your Instructor wants you to
cover. These will then determine the organisation of your academic text
(e.g.essay).
For example:
The state should play no part in the organisation of industry discuss.
Here the key word is discuss. Discussing involves examining the benefits and
drawbacks of something

Exercise
Underline the key words in the following titles and consider what they
are asking you to do.
a) Define information technology (IT) and outline its main applications in
Pokemon GO game
b) Compare and contrast the capital punishment process in Indonesia and
Malaysia
c) Evaluate the effect of mergers in the motor industry in Indonesia
d) Trace the development of religious education in Indonesia.
Note that most of the titles above have two terms in the title. You must decide
how much importance to give to each section of the academic text: e.g. title (a)
might require 10% for the definition and 90% for the explanation.

The following terms are also commonly used in essay titles.

Match the terms to the definitions on the right.
Analyse
(note/report/criteria)

Give a clear and simple account

Describe

Make a proposal and support it

Examine
points

Deal with a complex subject by giving the main

State

Divide into sections and discuss each critically

Suggest

Give a detailed account

Summarise

Look at the various parts and their relationships

Titles are not too general nor too detailed without a period. Why?. It should be:
informative and specific
concise
understandable
Descriptive title: e.g. Influence of aspirin on human megakaryocyte
prostaglandin synthesis
Declarative title: e.g. Inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis as a mechanism
of
action of aspirin-like drugs
Avoid articles in titles, except a the preceding unique items (only,
usual, best, elderly).
Example: Increased solitary living among the elderly of southern Finland,
1950-2000: A population-based study
Avoid sentence-titles, change their temporal verbs into participles, or even
into infinitives.
X leads to X, leading to. or X, found lead to.
Do not use past tense in a title in English. All verbs that do appear in titles
must be in present tense.
No abbreviations in titles. Unless it is pH, DNA, or AIDS, write out each full
term in the title.

Write titles in a concise title. A title should be not:

-Too general: Trends in living alone among elderly Finns
or
-Too detailed: Figures for living alone among 3 000 men and women aged
over 65 in southern Finland from 1950 to 2000 rise from 17 to 37%
-Appropriate and concise:
Living alone among Finlands elderly: Trends toward an increase, 1950 to 2000
or
The elderly in Finland: solitary living, 1950-2000

Exercise
Write title (hypothetical): a. too general
b. too detailed
c. appropriate and concise

Writing outline for a title

Example of the title of an essay :
The state should play no part in the organisation of industry discuss
The outline look like this:
Introduction
-various economic theories: Marxist, Keynesian, free market
-most economies display trend towards privatisation
Disadvantages
-state protects workers from exploitation (e.g. children )
-consumers protected from dangerous products (e.g. medical
drugs)
Advantages
Union)

Conclusion
interfere with free

-state has resources to support new technologies

-few state-controlled economies are successful (e.g. Soviet
-state control does not encourage individual effort
-state intervention often leads to corruption
-state has a role in protecting weakest, but should not
enterprise

Exercise (submit next week)

Write an outline for one of the following titles:
Describe the growth of the ASEAN/China
- Analysis of relationship between ASEAN and China
- Discussion of the current economic situation in China
-Summary of the enlargement of the ASEAN 1975 to present
Summarise the arguments in favour of privatisation and evaluate its record in
Indonesia
-Case study of electricity privatisation
- Analysis of the trends in privatization of State Owned Enterprises ( BUMN)

Title Page (depend on academic style you select)

An example:
Center and double space the title in all caps about one-fifth of
the way down the page. Space down a few lines and, in upper
and lower case, put your name. Identifies topic, writer,
institution, degree and date (year and, if you like, month).
Title, candidate's name and qualifications, degree aimed at,
faculty, university, month and year presented.

Example of MLA Formats:

General format and title page: Your research paper needs to be typed and
double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5 X 11 inches). Use one-inch margins
on all four sides of each page. Unless your professor specifically calls for one, a
title page is unnecessary. In place of a title page, MLA style requires a heading on
the first page of your paper. The heading appears in the top, left corner of the
first page, double-spaced. The heading includes your name, your professor's
name, the course you are taking, and the date. Center your title one line below
the heading. Double-space the title if it extends past the first line. Write your title
in capital and lower-case letters. Do not underline your title or put it in quotation
marks. The page number preceded by your last name should appear in the upper
right corner one-half inch from the top. Do not use a hyphen, period, or any other
punctuation with the page number.

Cell Phones in the Hands of Drivers:

A Risk or a Benefit?

Title is centered
about one-

third
down the
page.

Paul Levi

Writers

name is
centered
around
the middle
of the
page

English 101
Professor Baldwin

Course name,
professors

name,

2 April XXXX

and date are

centered

near the
bottom of
the page.

Example of APA Formats

General format and title page: Your research paper needs to be typed, double-spaced on
standard-sized paper (8.5 X 11 inches). Use one to one-and-a-half inch margins on all
four sides of each page. APA (American Psychological Association) calls for a title page. A
running head on this page is not necessary unless you are submitting your paper for
publication. At the top of your title page, flush right and one-half inch from the top edge
of the paper (inside your top margin), you will write what is called a "manuscript
header." A manuscript header consists of one or two key words from you title followed by
the page number (see example). Your title will appear centered on this page, written in
capital and lower-case letters. If your title extends past one line, double-space between
lines. Your name will appear centered and in capital and lower-case letters one doublespaced line below your title. Your university name (Oregon State University) will be
placed one double-spaced line below your name. If you are a communication major, you
also will include below the institution's name the title of your department.

Apes and Language 1

Short title

and
page number
for
student
papers

Apes and Language:

Full title,

writers

A Review of the Literature

name, name

and
section
number of
course,
instructors
name, and
date (all
centered).

Psychology 110, Section 2

Professor Verdi
March 2, XXXX

Example (Ubaya)
Declining Profit of State Owned Company
2000-2005
A thesis submitted to the University of Surabaya in part
fulfillment of the requirements for award of Sarjana in
Economics

by
Anonymous
August 2012
Department of Economics,
Faculty of Business and Economics
University of Surabaya

Declaration of participation
It states each authors contribution. This page immediately
after the title page. Each author must sign a statement
agreeing to be an author and accepting responsibility for all
that the article contains. This also helps discourage the vice of
listing many authors, some of whom may never have read the
text and may accept no responsibility, especially not for fraud.
Fraud is increasing.
Those who provided aid, but insufficient aid to be called
authors. Thank other individuals in Acknowledgements.

Example of declaration of participation:

We certify that we have read this thesis and that, in our opinion,
it is satisfactory in scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of
Sarjana in Economics.
Thesis
committee

_______signature___________
Chairman/Pembimbing I

______signature____________
Pembimbing II

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Acknowledgements
In academic writing it is appropriate to give credit to funding bodies, departments and individuals
who have been of help during the project, for instance by supporting it financially or by giving
feedback on the text during its composition and revising stages. Such brief written notes of thanks
are called acknowledgements.
In journal articles, there may be a brief note indicating gratitude to those who have been of help,
whereas acknowledgements in book-length studies (e.g. doctoral theses) will sometimes be
considerably longer.
Generally, acknowledgements contain the following elements:
-Full name of all individuals who are being thanked. In general, the most important person to
thank
is your thesis advisor or major professor overseeing your thesis.
-A brief statement as to what kind of help the writer has received from each individual, group of
people, scholarship, etc.
-In some disciplines, ethical clearance or some other kind of permission is needed, and it is
often
stated in the acknowledgements that such permission has been granted.
Note that personal pronouns such as 'I, my, me ' are nearly always used in the
acknowledgements while in the rest of the project such personal pronouns are generally avoided
The acknowledgment page sometime is placed at the end of a formal thesis or dissertation
A note on spelling: 'acknowledgement' can also be spelled 'acknowledgment'.

Depending upon academic texts, the following are included in acknowledgment:

Main supervisor
Second supervisor
Other academic staff in your department
Technical or support staff in your department
Academic staff from other departments
Other institutions, organizations or companies
Past students
Family *
Friends *
* If you wish to acknowledge the help of family members or friends make sure you
restrict the wording of your thanks to a relatively formal register.
NOTE: before writing acknowledgment consult your supervisor

The following vocabulary/phrases are often used when expressing

acknowledgements and they may be
of help when writing your own acknowledgements.
I would like to express my very great appreciation to ***
I would like to offer my special thanks to ***
Advice given by *** has been a great help in ***
I am particularly grateful for the assistance given by ***
Assistance provided by *** was greatly appreciated.
I wish to acknowledge the help provided by ***
Dr *** provided me with very valuable ***
I would like to thank the following companies for their assistance with the
collection of my data:
***
***
My special thanks are extended to the staff of *** company for ***

Example:
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my deep gratitude to Professor *** and Professor ***,
my research supervisors, for their patient guidance, enthusiastic encouragement
and useful critiques of this research work. I would also like to thank Dr. ***, for her
advice and assistance in keeping my progress on schedule. My grateful thanks are
also extended to Mr. *** for his help in doing the meteorological data analysis, to Ms
***, who helped me calculate the wind pressure coefficient and to Ms *** and Mr. ***
for their support in the site measurement.
I would also like to extend my thanks to the technicians of the laboratory of
the *** department for their help in offering me the resources in running the
program.
Finally, I wish to thank my parents for their support and encouragement
throughout my study

Exercise # 3 (submit one week from now):

Write an acknowledgment for your thesis (hypothetical) and include all elements in
slide # 15

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sample Table of Contents minimal (with Acknowledgment placed at the end of

thesis)

Sample Table of Contents detailed (and continuing onto a second page)

Another example (each chapter has Introduction & Conclusion))

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
ABSTRACT
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Thesis Organization
Literature Review
PART I. STUDY OF SITE A
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Population
Data Collection
Assays and Analyses
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Sample Characteristics 28

vi
vii
ix
1
1
5
6
19
20
23
23
24
26
28

Sample Table of Contents for thesis arranged in parts

Iii
Data Analysis
Discussion
CONCLUSION
PART II. STUDY OF SITE B
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Population
Data Collection
Data Analysis
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Sample Characteristics
Data Analysis
Discussion
CONCLUSIONS
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
APPENDIX A. RAW DATA
APPENDIX B. ADDITIONAL TABLES
REFERENCES

30
40
45
47
48
51
51
52
57
58
58
60
67
70
72
75
82
87

Pagination
Lower case letter (i, ii, iii, iv, and so on) used for title page, approval page, abstract, table
of contents, list of tables, list of figure. The page numbers are not written on the page
contain a heading.
Number all the pages with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, and so on), but the page numbers are
not written on a page with a heading. Type the page numbers in the upper right corner. You
may center the page numbers in a footer at the bottom of the page instead, but you must
be consistent.
The titles and subtitles of sections should appear in a style and size consistent with their
position in the hierarchy (see style manuals for help in selecting your system).

Numbering hierarchy (there are several numbering hierarchy, for example:

1, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.1.1 (maximum 5 numbers e.g. 1.1.1.1.1.);
I, A, 1, a, 1), a), (1), (b) (maximum 7 levels)

Table of Contents
Lists all major divisions and subdivisions marked by numbers and indicates which
page they are on.
The titles and subtitles of sections should appear in a style and size consistent
with their position in the hierarchy (see style manuals for help in selecting your
system).
Numbering hierarchy (there are several numbering hierarchy, for example:
1, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.1.1 (maximum 5 numbers e.g. 1.1.1.1.1.);
I, A, 1, a, 1), a), (1), (maximum 7 levels)

Exercise :
Select any textbook and rewrite its Table of Contents in research report structure
type.
Exercise due on one week from now!