Guidelines for Seminar Papers, Bachelor and Master Theses in English

Transcription

1 PROF. DR. CHRISTOPH SPENGEL Guidelines for Seminar Papers, Bachelor and Master Theses in English 1. Preliminary notes 2. Working steps 3. Format Specifications a. Submission process b. Paper and page limit c. Font size and style d. Margins and spacing 4. Structure Specifications a. Structure of the different parts of a thesis b. Numbering of the different parts c. Text of affidavit 5. Quotes 6. Bibliography

2 2 1. Preliminary notes These guidelines intend to give you some hints how to write a thesis. They particularly point out minimal formal requirements (they overrule the specifications given by the Examination Board in case they differ). However, there is no claim of completeness. 1 The thesis should read as one self-contained piece. It should be accessible and follow a clear logical structure. All general comments in these guidelines also apply to assignments. 2. Working steps The topics of the theses we supervise have a wide range, from legal or systematic analyses, over pure tax planning aspects to analytical or empirical works. The diversity of topics implies that there is no standard structure we would recommend. However, there are points which you may find useful when you prepare your thesis. 1. Reflect intensively your topic. What is it about? Are the major points of a legal character or is tax planning the main focus? Do you want to deal with the topic normatively, analytically or empirically? What is the main problem which you are expected to analyse? These questions lead to the research question which is essential for your thesis and which shall be the leitmotif of your entire thesis. 2. When you have found your research question think about how to answer it. A normative or systematic thesis usually makes use of legal principles or neutrality concepts (e.g. ability-to-pay principle or financing neutrality), analyses qualitatively or analytically how the specific tax rules differ from the optimum, and (if required) derives reform proposals. A thesis in the field of tax planning elaborates the best planning opportunities of a tax payer, either based on a qualitative or quantitative analysis. An empirical thesis derives or makes use of an existing theoretical model and/or derives hypotheses and tests the hypotheses empirically. 3. Afterwards you can structure your thesis. A fair amount of your work should be to structure the materials and you should spend some time thinking about how you 1 For further details how to write a thesis please consult Krämer, W. (1999), Wie schreibe ich eine Seminar- oder Examensarbeit?, 2 nd Edition, Frankfurt a. M.; Rossig, W. E./Prätsch, J. (2008), Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten, 7th Edition, Hamburg.

3 3 want to organize the content of your thesis. Ask yourself what belongs together and which parts naturally relate to each other. Usually you start with the basics. The basics contain on the one hand the legal aspects, such as a description of those parts of the tax code you need for the analysis; on the other hand they comprise the economic or systematic aspects. E.g. if you are writing a thesis in the field of tax planning you should elaborate the objective of the relevant tax planning person and which parts of the tax code are relevant for the respective topic. If you are writing a systemic/legal thesis you should elaborate the relevant neutrality aspects or legal principles. If you make an analytical or empirical thesis you should, after having shortly summarized existing models or analyses in this field, describe the motivation and possible impact factors and to what extent your work will add to existing research. When writing your theses you should bear in mind the following basic remarks: - The introduction should comprise the statement of the problem, the objective and the structure of the thesis. The introduction does not serve as a long summary of the thesis, it rather makes clear what the punch line is, what to expect and where to find it in the document. - You should aim for a concise, in-depth analysis. The quality of your original contribution and your independent judgement is of high importance. - The conclusion should bring all the arguments together, which have been pointed out in the text. - The appendix should not contain tables with significant amount of text, flowcharts, diagrams and other information that forms an integral part of the text. Tables and figures must have short captions that reveal the content. Every part of the appendix should have a clear role in supporting the argument in the main text. The appendix should never contain the argument itself, this belongs into the main text. The role of the appendix is entirely supportive. The appendix must not be used for information that belongs into the text in order to circumvent the page limit.

4 4 3. Format specifications a. Submission process Two final copies plus a PDF file of your thesis have to be submitted to the office of the Chair Prof. Dr. Christoph Spengel no later than 12 pm on the last day of the prevailing time limit. Master theses have to be bound. Bachelor theses have to be stapled. b. Paper and page limit Only use white paper with a DIN A 4 paper size Master thesis: 50 pages (main text) Bachelor thesis: 20 pages (main text) c. Font size and style The text should be justified using hyphenation Typeface: Times New Roman Text: 12 point font size Footnote specification: 10 point font size d. Margins and spacing Left side: 5 centimetres Right side: 1.5 centimetres Top: 2.5 centimetres Bottom: 1.5 centimetres Text: 1.5 spaced Footnote specification: Single spaced 4. Structure specifications a. Structure of the different parts of a thesis 1. Blank cover sheet 2. Title page 3. Table of contents 4. List of tables

5 5 5. List of figures 6. List of abbreviations 7. Text 8. Appendix 9. Bibliography 10. Affidavit 11. Blank cover sheet b. Numbering of the different parts Use Roman numerals for the title page, the table of contents, the list of tables, figures and abbreviations. The page count begins with the title page; however the numeral on the title is not displayed. Use Arabic numerals for the main text, the appendices, the bibliography and the affidavit. Page 1 starts with the first page of your main text. c. Text of affidavit: I confirm that I wrote this thesis independently and on my own without using any other sources and aids as I stated. Where I used other sources I clearly marked them as not my own. This thesis has not been received by any examination board, neither in this nor in a similar form. Furthermore I agree to an anonymous test of plagiarism which electronically verifies the validity of my declarations. I am aware that my thesis will not be evaluated in case of not making this statement. 5. Quotes Please use footnotes, not endnotes. Your footnotes should make clear if you are referring to another document or another location in your thesis. Quotes have to be written in the following form: a. Journals [surname] ([year]) [page/pages]. - See Hey (2009) p See Schön (2000a) pp. 90 f.

6 6 - See Schön (2000b) p b. Judgements [name of the court], [date], [case/reference number], [official source], [paragraph/page]. Example: See ECJ, September 12, 2006, C-196/04, 2006 ECR, Para. 37. c. Books and working papers [surname] ([year]) [page]. - See Jacobs (2009) p See Adams (1977) p d. Series [surname] ([year]) [page]. - See Ault (1993) p See Desai/Dharmapala/Fung (2007) p. 17. (If you mention the same source which contains more than two authors for the second time, you can abbreviate the quote as follows: e.g. See Desai et al. (2007) p.17.) e. Online sources (HTML) [surname] ([year]) Example: Frenze (1996) 6. Bibliography The bibliography is a comprehensive list of all sources mentioned in the text or footnotes, sorted alphabetically. Do not list any literature you have not cited. The bibliographical references have to be written in the following form: a. Journals [surname], [first name (abbreviated)] ([year]), [title], [name of the journal] [volume], [pages]

7 7 - Hey, J. (2009), Gestaltungsmissbrauch im Steuerrecht nach der Neufassung des 42 AO und dem dazu ergangenen BMF-Erlass, Betriebs-Berater 64, pp Schön, W. (2000a), W., Tax Competition in Europe the Legal Perspective, EC Tax Review 9, pp Schön, W. (2000b), Seminar E: Der Schutz des Steuerbürgers, Internationales Steuerrecht 9, pp b. Judgements [name of the court], [date], [case/reference number] [name of the judgement], [official source] Example: ECJ, September 12, 2006, Case C-196/04 Cadbury Schweppes, 2006 ECR I-7995 c. Books and working papers [surname], [first name (abbreviated)] ([year]), [title], [edition], [first place of publication] Example: - Jacobs, O. H. (2009), Unternehmensbesteuerung und Rechtsform: Handbuch zur Besteuerung deutscher Unternehmen, 4th Edition, Munich - Adams, J. (1977), The International Taxation of Multinational Enterprises in Developed Countries, London d. Series [surname], [first name (abbreviated)] ([year]), [title], in: [surname of the editors], [first name of the editors (abbreviated)] (Eds.), [title], [place of publication], [pages] - Ault, H. (1993), The Role of the OECD Commentaries in the Interpretation of Tax Treaties, in: Alpert, H. And van Raad, K. (Eds.), Essays on International Taxation, Deventer, pp Desai, M. A./Dharmapala, D./Fung, W. (2007), Taxation and the Evolution of Aggregate Corporate Ownership Concentration, in:

8 8 Auerbach, A. J./Hines, J. R./Slemrod, J. (Eds.), Taxing Corporate Income in the 21st Century, Cambridge, pp e. Online sources [surname], [first name (abbreviated)] ([year]), [title], [webpage], [date of access] Example: Frenze, C. (1996), The Reagan Tax Cuts: Lessons for Tax Reform,