This is a brief guide on how to write your thesis according to the university guidleines

1. Towards best writing a thesis
Prof Ahmed Zeeneldin
Professor of Medical Oncology
NCI, Cairo University
2014

2. Agenda
Prof Topic Time
Ahmed Zeeneldin Introduction 5’
Rabab Gaafar Review of literature
Discussion
20’
Manar Monir Methods
Results
20’
Ahmed Zeeneldin Other sections
References
Style
15’
Audience Questions and comments 10’

3. Thesis structure
• Title Page
• First few pages; numbered in letters (i, ii, iii,...)
• CONTENTS with Arabic numbers (1, 2,......)
1. Introduction and Aim of the work
2. Review of Literature
3. Methods
4. Results
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
7. Recommendations
8. English summary
9. References
10. Appendices (optional)
11. Arabic Summary
• Arabic Title Page

4. Title Page
English
1. Exactly as in the protocol
2. Full Title in CAPITAL letters with no
abbreviations
3. The degree
4. The candidate and qualifications
5. The supervisors and their post
6. Faculty/Institute
7. University
8. Year
Arabic
.1‫اﻟﺑروﺗوﻛول‬ ‫ﻣﺛل‬
.2‫اﻟﺑﺣث‬ ‫ﻋﻧوان‬‫ﻛﺑﯾرة‬ ‫ﺑﺣروف‬
‫ﻣﺧﺗﺻر‬ ‫ﻏﯾر‬ ‫ﻛﺎﻣﻼ‬
.3‫ﻟﮭﺎ‬ ‫اﻟﻣﻘدم‬ ‫اﻟﻌﻠﻣﯾﺔ‬ ‫اﻟدرﺟﺔ‬
.4‫اﻟﻌﻠﻣﯾﺔ‬ ‫درﺟﺗﮫ‬ ‫و‬ ‫اﻟطﺎﻟب‬
.5‫ووظﺎﺋﻔﮭم‬ ‫اﻟﻣﺷرﻓﯾن‬
.6‫اﻟﻛﻠﯾﺔ‬/‫اﻟﻣﻌﮭد‬
.7‫اﻟﺟﺎﻣﻌﺔ‬
.8‫اﻟﺳﻧﺔ‬

7. First few pages
• Numbered in Roman letters (i, ii, iii,...)
• Approval sheet of discussion panel
• Table of contents with corresponding pages
– Chapters/sections ............................20
• Subsections............................................21
• List of tables with corresponding pages
• List of figures with corresponding pages
• List of abbreviations in alphabetical order (a-z)
• Acknowledgment
• Abstract

8. Approval sheet
‫اﻟﻤﻤﺘﺤﻨﯿﻦ‬ ‫ﻟﺠﻨﺔ‬ ‫اﻋﺘﻤﺎد‬

9. Acknowledgements
• You thank those who
helped you
• List these aspects
• Supervisors and others
• Has implications in the
publications

10. Table of contents
• Sections
– Subsections
• Corresponding pages
• List of figures
• List of tables
• List of abbreviations

11. Automatic table of contents in Microsoft word
Learn it via”www.youtube.com”

12. Abstract
• We will discuss it with the summary at the end

13. Introduction and Aims
• Introduction
– Short opening section (1-2 pages)
– Explain clearly why you researched this topic
– Summarise any necessary background information
– Set the scene that existed at the start of the project
– Clearly state your research question
• PICO?
• P: population under study
• I: Intervention
• C: Comparator
• O: outcome
– Example”
In patients with locally advanced breast cancer, does the addition
of celecoxib to standard chemotherapy improve efficacy?

14. Introduction and Aims
• Aim(s)
– Exactly as the protocol
– TO + VERB
– SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant,
time-bound
– To assess safety and efficacy of (…..) in patients with
(…..)
– To assess the prognostic/prdictive value of (…) in (…)
– And to calculate the cost/effectiveness
– To assess the impact on QoL

15. Review of Literature
Discussion
Prof Rabab Gaafar
Professor of Medical Oncology

16. Methods and Results
Prof. Manar Monir
Head of Cancer Epidemiology and
Biostatistics Dept.

17. Conclusions and recommendations
• Conclusions
– Summary of the results
• Recommendations
– For routine practice
– For improvements
– For future research

18. Conclusions
• In conclusion,
HCC affects males than females mostly in the
middle-age group. Most patients had chronic HCV
infections and cirrhosis......
TACE in the current study produced 25% overall
response rates that lasted for a median of 12
months. The median overall survival was 29
months. The median PFS was 12 months. It was
generally tolerable with PES being the most
common toxicity (90%) and live cell failure being
the most dangerous.

19. Recommendations
It is recommended that:
• TACE using beads to be the standard practice
at the NCI.
• Standard doses of chemotherapeutics rather
than the higher doses be used
• MDT be set to discuss all HCC cases
• Predictive markers be developed to predict
which patients can benefit from TACE and
with the least toxicity

20. Summary and Abstract
• Both
– Reduce a long text to its essential key points
– Should be composed after work completion.
• An abstract:
– More specialized summary.
– Structured summary
– Less exhaustive than summary and word-limited
e.g. 500 words and never exceeds a page
– Contains key words

21. Summary and Abstract
Abstract
• Structured :IAMRC
• Word limit: 250-500 words
• Page limit: one page max
• One paragraph
• Key words
Summary
• Non-Structured :
• No Word limit
• No Page limit 2-3 pages as
needed
• More than one paragraph
• No Key words
• ‫ﻟﻣﻌﻧﻲ‬ ‫ﺗرﺟﻣﺔ‬ ‫ھو‬ ‫اﻟﻌرﺑﻲ‬ ‫اﻟﻣﻠﺧص‬
‫ﺗرﺟﻣﺔ‬ ‫ﻟﯾس‬ ‫و‬ ‫اﻻﻧﺟﻠﯾزي‬ ‫اﻟﻣﻠﺧص‬
‫ﻗﺎﻣوس‬ ‫اﺳﺗﺧدام‬ ‫ﯾراﻋﻲ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ﺣرﻓﯾﺔ‬
‫اﻟطﺑﯾﺔ‬ ‫اﻟﻣﺻطﻠﺣﺎت‬

22. Abstract and Key words
• One page ONLY
• Word limit:
200-500
• Structured:
– Background
– Aims
– Methods
– Results
– Conclusions
• Key words:
– 5-6 key words

23. Examples of summary
English summary
• This study was conducted
on # of patients with ........
• to ......
• They were divided into two
groups. Group 1
received.........
• Key results
• ± conclusions
• ± recommendations
‫اﻟﻌرﺑﻲ‬ ‫اﻟﻣﻠﺧص‬
•‫ﻋﻠﻲ‬ ‫اﻟدراﺳﺔ‬ ‫ھذه‬ ‫أﺟرﯾت‬#‫ﻣرﯾض‬
‫ب‬ ‫ﻣﺻﺎب‬.......
•‫اﻟدراﺳﺔ‬ ‫ﻣن‬ ‫اﻟﮭدف‬ ‫وﻛﺎن‬........
•‫إﻟﻲ‬ ‫اﻟﻣرﺿﻲ‬ ‫ﺗﻘﺳﯾم‬ ‫ﺗم‬ ‫ﻗد‬ ‫و‬
‫ﻣﺟﻣوﻋﺗﯾن‬.‫ﺗﻠﻘت‬ ‫اﻷوﻟﻲ‬..........
•‫أن‬ ‫اﻟﻧﺗﺎﺋﺞ‬ ‫أظﮭرت‬ ‫ﻗد‬ ‫و‬........
•‫أن‬ ‫اﺳﺗﻧﺗﺟﻧﺎ‬ ‫ﻗد‬ ‫و‬........
•‫ﻧﻧﺻﺢ‬ ‫و‬........

24. ‫اﻟﻄﺒﯿﺔ‬ ‫اﻟﻤﺼﻄﻠﺤﺎت‬ ‫ﺑﻌﺾ‬ ‫ﺗﺮﺟﻤﺔ‬
rate ‫ﻣﻌدل‬/‫ﻧﺳﺑﺔ‬ Median ‫وﺳﯾط‬
Overall Response ‫اﻟﻛﻠﯾﺔ‬ ‫اﻹﺳﺗﺟﺎﺑﺔ‬ Mean ‫ﻣﺗوﺳط‬
Complete response ‫اﻟﺗﺎﻣﺔ‬ ‫اﻹﺳﺗﺟﺎﺑﺔ‬ Overall survival ‫ﺣﯾﺎ‬ ‫اﻟﺑﻘﺎء‬
Partial response ‫اﻟﺟزﺋﯾﺔ‬ ‫اﻹﺳﺗﺟﺎﺑﺔ‬ Disease free survival ‫اﻟﻣرض‬ ‫ﻣن‬ ‫ﺧﺎﻟﯾﺎ‬ ‫اﻟﺑﻘﺎء‬
Stable disease ‫اﻟﻣرض‬ ‫ﺛﺑﺎت‬ Progression free survival ‫ﻣن‬ ‫ﺧﺎﻟﯾﺎ‬ ‫اﻟﺑﻘﺎء‬
‫ﺗطور‬/‫اﻟﻣرض‬ ‫ازدﯾﺎد‬
Progressive disease ‫ﺗطور‬/‫اﻟﻣرض‬ ‫ازدﯾﺎد‬ Relapse free survival ‫إرﺗﺟﺎع‬ ‫ﻣن‬ ‫ﺧﺎﻟﯾﺎ‬ ‫اﻟﺑﻘﺎء‬
‫اﻟﻣرض‬
Toxicity ‫ﺳﻣﯾﺔ‬ Relapse/recurrence ‫ارﺗﺟﺎع‬/‫ارﺗداد‬
Adverse events ‫اﻷﺣداث‬‫اﻟﻌﻛﺳﯾﺔ‬ Remission ‫ﻛﻣون‬‫ظﺎھري‬
Side effects ‫اﻵﺛﺎر‬‫اﻟﺟﺎﻧﺑﯾﺔ‬ Predictive factors ‫ﺗﻧﺑؤ‬ ‫ﻋواﻣل‬
Incidence rates ‫اﻟﺣدوث‬ ‫ﻣﻌدل‬ Prognostic factors ‫ﺗﻛﮭن‬ ‫ﻋواﻣل‬
Prevalence rates ‫اﻹﻧﺗﺷﺎر‬ ‫ﻣﻌدل‬

25. Writing Style and references

26. ‫اﻟﻜﺘﺎﺑﺔ‬ ‫طﺮﯾﻘﺔ‬
Writing Style
• Volume:
– MSC: 100 pages
– MD: 150 pages
– ROL: not more than 1/3
• Margins:
– Upper, lower, outer: 3 cm
– Inner: 4 cm
• Header of chapter name: optional
• Page number: upper right corner
• Spacing:
– English: 1.5
– Arabic: 2
• Paragraph indents: 7 spaces
• Spacing between paragraphs: 2

27. References
• Why should you reference?
– Credit to original authors
– Authorize to your work, strengthens your
argument and demonstrates the breadth of your
research.
– Verify your sources of information.
– Avoid being accused for Plagiarism

28. Referencing style
• Alphabetical (author and date):
– References are arranged in the reference list
alphabetically in an ascending order. No numbers
– In-text citations mention author last name and
year. Not numbers
– Used in academic writing e.g. Theses
Harvard style

29. Citation and reference
Breast cancer is the commonest
malignancy in Egyptian females (Zeeneldin et
al., 2013). COX-2 expression is encountered in
46% of patients (Abdelwahaab et al., 2012).
Reference list
Abdelwahaab A (2012) COX2 in Egyptian …….
Zeeneldin A (2013) Breast cancer laterality……

30. Author names
• Citation: surname ONLY
– (Zeeneldin, 2014)
• Reference: surname + first name initials ± middle
name initials
– Zeeneldin A (2014) breast cancer.....
– Zeeneldin AA (2014) breast cancer.....

31. Citing within the text
Artificial intelligence can be defined as the science
of making machines do things that would require
intelligence if done by men (Minsky, 1968).
(Minsky & Sriver, 1968) (Minsky et al., 1968).
According to Striver (2001 p21) “all aspects of
rational thought should be considered to involve
some degree of experimentation” (Striver, 2001)

32. Citing within the text
(alphabetical)
• Rules
– include the author’s surname and the year of
publication and also any page numbers if you are
quoting from a specific page
– If more than 2[3] authors, give only the first
authors surname and initials followed by et al.
– If you state the authors name within your work
then just include the date of publication to
indicate the work being cited

33. 4 Essential components of a reference
Who (When) What Where
Authors Year of publication Title (article,
book, book
chapter,
thesis)
Journal, book,
website,
thesis. Exact
numbers
Zeeneldin A (2012) Breast cancer
in Elderly
Egyptians
JENCI
13(7):23-29
‫ﺳﮭل‬ ‫ﺳﮭل‬

34. Essential components
Who (authors)
– Surname, initials (Zeeneldin, A [AA])
– List all authors without AND
– List some followed by et al.
• 6: 5 et al.
• 4: 3 et al.
– Be consistent

35. Essential components
Where (source)
Article Journal name Volume Issue pages
Book Edition if not 1st Publisher City pages
Book chapter In -à book
Website [online]. Available at: Web address (access date)
Thesis Degree thesis Faculty/university

36. Essential components
Where (source)
Article Journal name Volume Issue pages
e.g. JENCI. 12(3):27-29
Book Edition if not 1st Publisher City pages
e.g. 5th ed. Madbooli: Cairo. pp 202-213
Book chapter In -à book
In khaled H et al. (eds.) Lymphoma. 2nd ed. Cairo Univ: Cairo. pp 100-160
Website [online]. Available at: Web address (access date
[online]. Available at: www.clinicaltrials.gov (access date 20 March, 2014)
Thesis Degree Faculty/university
MD Thesis . NCI, Cairo University.

37. Bibliography
(reference list)
• Alphabetical (author and date):
– References are arranged in the reference list
alphabetically in an ascending order of author sur. No
numbers
Zeeneldin A (2011) …..
Zeeneldin A (2012) …..
Zeeneldin A (2013a)…….
Zeeneldin A (2013b)…….
Zeeneldin A, Taha F, ….. (2009)….

38. Examples
• Book:
– Halliday, D., Resnick, R., Walker, J. (2005)
Fundamentals of physics. 7th ed. New York: Wiley.
pp 20-50.
• Book chapter:
– Murray, A.P. (1999) Fundamental equations of
surface theory. In: Ledermann, W. & Vajda, S.
(eds.) Combinatorics and geometry. 2nd ed.
Chichester: John Wiley, pp. 23-66.

39. Examples
• Article:
– Kim, H.S. (2007) ‘A new model for communicative
effectiveness of science’. Science Communication,
28(3), pp. 287-313.
• Webpage:
– Allen, S. (2007). Referencing: a guide for
University of Liverpool online students [Online].
Available from
http://www.liv.ac.uk/library/ohecampus/ref.htm
(Accessed 15 August 2007).

40. Examples
• Thesis
– McDonald, L.R. (2005) Assessment of body
composition using magnetic resonance imaging.
Ph.D. thesis. University of Liverpool.

41. Referencing software
• Endnote
• Ref manager
• Ref works
• Zotero
• PubMed (my bibliography)
• -
• -

42. Appendices (optional)
• Any thing you feel it is worth adding e.g.
– Master sheet
– questionnaires
– Raw results
– IRB approval
– ICF
– A modification of a standard method.

43. Timing of each section
First:
1. Title Page, Arabic Title Page
2. Introduction and Aim of the work
3. Methods
Second
1. Results
Third:
Review of Literature
Discussion
References
Fourth:
Conclusions, Recommendations
Appendices (optional)
English summary, Arabic Summary, Abstract
Fifth:
First few pages; numbered in letters (i, ii, iii,...)
i. Acknowledgements
ii. Table of Contents with corresponding pages
iii. List of Tables, List of Figures, List of Abbreviations
Sixth:
i. Approval sheet

44. First
• Title Page:
English
and Arabic
• Introducti
on & Aims
• Methods
Second
• Results
Third
•Review of
Literature
•Discussion
•Reference
s
Fourth
•Conclusions,
Recommendat
ions
•Appendices
(optional)
•Summary:
English and
Arabic ,
•Abstract
Fifth
•Acknowle
dgements
•Table of
Contents
•List of
Tables,
Figures,
Abbreviati
ons
Sixth
•Approval
sheet
Timing of each section

45. Thank YOU