Begin your master's thesis with a title page that includes the title in all capital letters, your name, as well as the university or journal for which the thesis was written. After the title page, include a table of contents, as well as a list of tables and figures, if any are used in the essay. Then, include an abstract, which summarizes the content of your thesis. Place the thesis essay after the abstract, then conclude the essay with a bibliography.
Begin each new chapter of your master's thesis with a major heading title, centered and written in all capital letters. Include three blank lines, then write a minor heading title, centered and underlined. Include major and minor titles throughout your thesis to denote chapters and sections. You can also include second- and third-order headings, if necessary. Second-order headings are written in plane text and centered, while third-order headings are underlined and aligned left. Include three blank spaces between major sections and two blank spaces between minor ones.
In-text citations follow conventional APA format. If the author's name is mentioned in the sentence, include the publication year in parentheses directly after the author's name. For direct quotes, also include the page number. If the author is not referenced in the sentence, include the author's last name at the beginning of the citation. Compile all references into a bibliography page. Include the title "LIST OF REFERENCES" centered at the top of the page, then list your citations in alphabetical order.
If, alternatively, you are writing an essay in which you wish to cite a published master's thesis, the proper APA citation format is as follows: "Smith, John. (2007). Thesis Title (Master's thesis). Alaskan Institute of Technology, Fairbanks, AK." Note that the quotes are not included in the citation, and the thesis title appears in italic font. The words "Master's thesis" are written in parentheses after the title to denote the type of thesis being referenced.