A strong Honors thesis will be an original and significant contribution to your field. It will represent substantial scholarly effort, and will reveal your scholastic, intellectual and personal capabilities. A variety of approaches can be used toward this end. Your Thesis Director and committee will advise you on the most effective approach to take.

A successful thesis will usually contain the following elements:

• A clear statement of the issue and its significance—in this section, you should introduce your topic and provide a brief guide to the organization of your thesis
• Review of related work—this places your issue in context and provides criteria for judging the originality of your project
• Review of your techniques and any specialized terminology—this makes your thesis more accessible to other readers and clarifies your understanding of the material
• Thorough presentation of your work—this is the heart of your thesis. Your research should be described completely, clearly identifying original results by stressing differences with previous related work
• Discussion of results and a critique of the impact on your field
• Summary of what was original and significant in your thesis, and suggestions for further research

  NOTE: Creative projects require an accompanying written report documenting the originality, the evolution, and the intention and significance of the project, tools and methods used and why chosen, and an analysis of how the project compares to other works in its genre.

A DRAFT OF THESIS IS DUE TO YOUR ENTIRE COMMITTEE AT LEAST TWO FULL WEEKS BEFORE YOUR SCHEDULED DEFENSE DATE.

Once you have defended, made any necessary changes to your thesis and received the required signatures of committee approval of your thesis, you will submit it electronically to the Honors Office (hardcopy, bound manuscripts of final theses are no longer accepted).

All paper documents should be submitted to the Honors Office at the same time. Paper documents to be turned in to the Honors Office, in addition to the electronic thesis manuscript file:

• Defense Certificate—completed with original signatures.
• Original signed signature page (paper copy)
• One copy of the title page
• Completed and signed Electronic Library Deposit and Access agreement form
• OPTIONAL: completed and signed Access Delay request. This form must be signed by the student and the thesis director if either party wishes to request Worldwide Web access to the thesis to be delayed.

These forms must be submitted to the Honors Office at one time. Documents turned in separately from one another or that are missing signatures will not be accepted.

Two (2) electronic files to be submitted to the Honors in the Major office via Digital Drop Box in the Honors in the Major Blackboard organization (campus.fsu.edu):

• Manuscript file
• Abstract and keyword file

Final electronic manuscript must meet the following guidelines:

• Title page
• Signature page (this is an electronic copy of the original paper signature page. It should have the names and titles of your committee members (see sample signature page in the HITM Blackboard site. It will be unsigned—do NOT scan an image of the signatures from your original paper signature page into your thesis).
• 10 or 12 point font size throughout the entire document.
• The style of writing is defined by what is approved and used by your school, college, and department (e.g., APA, MLA, Turabian).
• Must be free of errors (i.e., typing, spelling, grammatical).
• Margins: there are no specific margin requirements for an electronic manuscript; however, it is recommended that a 1" margin (with 1/2" to the page numbers) on all sides be used to allow readers to print out the manuscript if desired. It is also recommended that the first page of each new chapter or section (ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, TABLE OF CONTENTS, LIST OF FIGURES, APPENDICES, REFERENCES, etc.) have a two-inch top margin (approximately six single spaces).
• Manuscript saved as PDF (Portable Document Format) file or Microsoft Word document to one file in this order: Title page, Signature page, Thesis Note: The conversion to a PDF file is most easily done using the full version of Adobe Acrobat (not Reader). This software is available in the computer labs in Strozier Library and the Carothers Building.
• Note: The conversion to a PDF file is most easily done using the full version of Adobe Acrobat (not reader). This software is available in the computer lab in the Union, Strozier Library and the Carothers building.
• Separate electronic file that contains an abstract of your thesis work (350 word limit) and at least three keywords (in natural language) that describe the main topics of your thesis project and will assist in library searches (e.g., rather than using a scientific name such as "sarracenia purpurea" as keywords, one would use "pitcher plant" instead). The abstract and keywords should be submitted on one page.
• If you are including image, videos or sound files, please read about Recommended Media Formats.
• Please name your files to allow for easy identification (e.g., SP07 Doe_John Thesis.pdf or SP07 Doe_John Abstract & Keywords.doc)

Once all paper documents and electronic files have been submitted to the Honors in the Major office, these items will be reviewed, approved and cleared for graduation. You will be sent an email confirming receipt and approval of your defense documents (the "with honors" designation will be posted on the official transcript once final GPA has been verified). The electronic thesis will be archived digitally at the university's Digital Library Center D-Scholarship Repository.

ALL FINAL THESIS DOCUMENTS (PAPER & ELECTRONIC) ARE DUE TO THE HONORS OFFICE THE LAST DAY THAT CLASSES MEET **BEFORE FINALS WEEK**, IN THE TERM OF DEFENSE.

THE UNIVERSITY HONORS IN THE MAJOR OFFICE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO WITHOLD THE "WITH HONORS" DESIGNATION FOR FAILURE TO SUBMIT FINAL THESIS DOCUMENTS AS REQUIRED IN THIS TUTORIAL.