Submission Guidelines

These guidelines apply to all written submissions at MF.

Rules for Submission

Assignments submitted after the set deadline will not be assessed.
The word limit is usually given as a range, for example, 1500-2000 words. There is no leeway beyond the word limit.
You must work independently and submit independent work unless it is specified that collaboration is allowed, according to MF's rules on cheating.

Submissions must be written with:

Submissions must include information about:

Course code and semester (e.g., SAM1040 Spring 2025)
Word count (excluding cover page, table of contents, and bibliography. Footnotes are included.)
Continuous page numbers in the header or footer
Title/topic/assignment wording

Use the template to ensure that the formal requirements are met. The master's thesis template is available on the master's thesis page.

At MF, the usual rules for citation apply. You can find information about these in the resources from MF's writing course and on the websites Search and Write and The Citation Compass.

The most important rules are:

You must cite when you reproduce someone else's work.
You must cite when you reproduce your own previous work.
This rule does not apply when you revise a previously submitted assignment in the same course, such as when resubmitting after a fail.
You must have a good reason to cite your own previous work. Link to more information.
Direct quotes must be marked with quotation marks or indentation.
All references/sources must be listed in the bibliography.

In addition to the usual rules for citation, MF has the following specific rules:

Relevant literature from the course must be used as a source in the submission. The course literature can be found in Leganto. The course literature can be supplemented with other literature. Individual written assignments and drafts of these may be exempt from the above rule (check with the course responsible if in doubt).
Running references in the text must include page numbers if available (e.g., Henriksen 2011, p. 214).
If page numbers are missing, use chapter/section and paragraph number in the citation, e.g., Henriksen 2011, chap. 1,1 para. 3. If the chapters are unnumbered, you should use the chapter name instead. If the chapters are long, you can use subchapter or subheading instead. The most important thing is to make it easy for the reader to verify citations.
Violations of the rules can be considered cheating. See MF's guidelines on cheating.

The resources from MF's writing course are available to MF students in Canvas. Here you will find video lectures and extra material covering writing theory, source use, etc.
On the websites Search and Write, and The Citation Compass, you will find useful information about academic writing.
MF's writing center is a service for MF students who want to develop their writing skills. More information is available here.