American International University– Bangladesh (AIUB)

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Format of Thesis for the Students of the

Department of Law
LL.B. Program

(1.0) Format of Thesis for the Students of the Department of

Law

1.1 The Thesis Proposal Format

Each student will have to prepare a Thesis Proposal giving details of the proposed
topic /study upon which he/she wants to work. The Proposal should not be of more
than 10 pages. The main contents of the Proposal are given below:

a) Brief Introduction of the Topic/Study

i. Title of the Study

ii. Hypothesis (After extensive literature survey, researcher, in the light of the
survey, has to re-phrase or reformulate his statement of problem, if necessary. A
statement of problem, depending upon research goals and the nature of inquiry
involved, may take form of either a mere statement or a proposition indicating
possible relationship between two or more variables or concepts, the validity of
which is unknown in the beginning. Such a proposition is known as hypothesis.)

iii. Rationale of the Study (Why are you proposing this study? What is the
relevance of this study to you as a student and in your future career? What
contributions it can give to the Department of Law or to the University as a
whole?)

iv. Limitation of the Study (The Limitation in research is something that is beyond
the control of the researcher. Identify major limitations and provide response on
how the study that you will conduct will address each limitation.)
 b) Statement of the Problem: The problem statement is concise, includes a
description and informs the reader of the exact purpose of the study. Consider the
following five elements while clearly specifying the problem or purpose of the
research:
i. The topic and the research problem (the concerned issue).

ii. Evidence of the existence of the issue and justification of the importance of the
problem as found in the past research and the research in practice. (You
should have included a discussion in detail in the Literature review segment
about the past literature. Therefore, here you just need to highlight the gaps in
the literature using 1-2 lines from some of the most important literature.)

iii. Give an indication of what research has been done in the past.

iv. The deficiencies in the existing knowledge about the problem. (Identify the gap
in the literature.)

v. Explain your research plans to fill in the gap.

c) Scope & significance of the Study: Identify the theoretical and practical
significance of the research. Remember, in the introduction and statement of the
problem parts, you have shared that, there are research problems or gaps in the
literature. Describe the significance of your proposed research to fill up that gap. State
what study will contribute and who may be benefited from the findings of your thesis.
Moreover, speculate on implications of anticipated findings.

d) Objectives of the Study: Objectives should have a reflection in the title of the
Thesis/Research. And, looking at the objectives, one should guess about the research
questions. This may vary from discipline to discipline i.e., from law to social science,
science to humanities, etc.

e) Research Questions: State concisely the research questions. Research questions

should reflect the research objectives. Research objectives and research questions
work like a mirror for each other. Look at your objectives, break them into elements and
convert them into questions. There should not be more than 3 most significant research
questions in a thesis.

f) Methodology of the Study: In many legal research, theory is seen as the principle,
method is seen as the application and methodology is seen as the data collection and
data analysis techniques/tools. Describe and justify the methodology, design of
research, data collection methods and data analysis method to be adopted in the
study. To do so, remember to mention these five things- (a) define your data, (b) how
will you collect the data, (c) how will you analyze the data, (d) how will you ensure the
validity and reliability of your research data and findings, (e) how will you share your
research finding i.e., descriptive, or analytical manner, etc. This section also contains
the method the students will apply in the study (qualitative/quantitative or doctrinal).

g) Literature Review: The review of literature should be appropriate, provide

background information regarding the proposed research. Suggesting or sharing the
works of others is not sufficient; rather the shared literature should be presented in
critical manner i.e., by showing the strengths, weaknesses, conflicts with other
literature and link them with the intended research.
h) Timeline of Activities: These are the lists of activities to be undertaken at the start
and completion of the thesis with their corresponding dates.

1.2 Style Guideline of Writing the Thesis

a) Students should follow OSCOLA (4 th Edition) to write the thesis, which can be
found at this link
https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxlaw/oscola_4th_edn_hart_2012.pdf.

b) The thesis should be written in English, in ‘Times New Roman’ font while the
font size is 12 and the space is 1.5 in between lines.

1.3 Format of Thesis for the Students of LAW

The thesis should be in between (5000-12000) words excluding the Appendices or
Attachments. Based on the proposal submitted by the student; this thesis is presented as
a partial requirement for the degree (Bachelor of Laws). The preparation of the Final
Thesis shall follow the format given below:

a. Cover Page (see the standard format)

b. Title Page (see the standard format)

c. Letter of Transmittal (This letter contains the information about the

submission of the Final Thesis to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
through OPA)

d. Letter of Endorsement (by the supervisor)

e. Certificate of Approval (Dean, Advisor, Viva Board Member, Supervisor)

f. Declaration (The thesis is not submitted anywhere)

g. Acknowledgment (Page no. in Roman Form; ex. I, II / i, ii)

(Expression of thanks to the people, and others who have made invaluable
contribution to the completion of this thesis.)

h. Executive Summary (Not more than 500 words)

(Page no. in Roman Form; ex. I, II / i, ii)
(This is the recap of the report or study highlighting the important and
significant features of the study.)

i. List of Abbreviation
j. Table of Contents

k. Body of the Thesis

i. Introduction to the Thesis/Study: This is one of the most important

parts of any scholarly work and will work as a teaser of the movie
i.e., this part will attract the readers to the research. This will be
regarded as Chapter 1 of the thesis (the students can use any sub-
section of this part as 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and so on). Tips: Ideally,
this part should be written at the end of the completed research
when the researcher will have detailed knowledge of the research.
Smart researchers include the most important selling and pressing
points in this part. The following things should be included in this
part.
 Background and Context (Thesis background)
 Rationale of the Study (see research proposal
format)
 Statement of the Problem (see research proposal
format)
 Hypothesis (see research proposal format)
 Scope & Significance of the Study (see research
proposal format)
 Research Questions
 Objectives of the Study (see research proposal
format)
 Limitation of the Study

ii. Review of Related Literature: This will be regarded as Chapter 2 of

the thesis. The students should review the following literature while
writing this part:
 Legislation
 Case Laws/ Judgements
 Journal Articles
 Newspaper Articles
 Books
 Reports
 Any other mentionable literature

iii. Methodology of the Study: This will be regarded as Chapter 3 of

the thesis. The students should write the research methodology in
this part.

iv. Analysis and Interpretation of the Data: Analysis and

interpretation can be made on the basis of the data and
information collected which are usually presented in tables,
matrices and graphs. Some implications, explanation or
justification should be made why this obtaining situation will
 prevail. The sequence of the analysis should be made based on
the statement of the problem or objectives of the study. Some
Issues and Problems can be an offshoot of the analysis and
interpretation. This will be regarded as Chapter 4 of the thesis.

v. Findings of the Study: Specific significant findings of the study

after the analysis and interpretation of the data should be made
here as Chapter 5 of the thesis.

vi. Conclusion & Recommendation: These are specific and direct

answers to the questions in the statement of the problem or
objectives of the study. These are the suggestions based on the
findings of the study for improvement or sustainability of the
situation the researcher has worked on, strengthening of the
systems and procedures, possible revision of policies, and other
relevant suggestions. All suggestions must be based on the
study and not just personal perception, hypothetical or arbitrary.
This will be regarded as Chapter 6 of the thesis.

vii. Bibliography/References: The references of primary and

secondary sources should be mentioned here as per OSCOLA.

viii. Appendix: Additional information that supports the arguments of

the thesis, tables, figures, questionnaire, interviews, letters to the
respondents, or others should be included in this part, if
necessary.
 2.0 Thesis Cover Page & Title Page

Form – OPA02

American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB)

Thesis

on
“Title”

The Thesis is presented to the Faculty of Arts and Social

Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree
of Bachelor of Laws.

Supervised By:
“Name of the Supervisor”
“Academic Rank e.g. Lecturer/Assistant Professor/
Associate Professor/ Professor”

Submitted By:
“Name of the Student”
 “ID #”

Date of Submission: Date/Month/Year

 Thesis
on

“Title”
 Letter of Endorsement

The thesis titled has been submitted to the

Office of Placement & Alumni, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of Bachelor of Laws, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences on , 20XX
by Mr./ Ms.
, Id # - - . The thesis has been accepted
and may be presented to the Internship Defense Committee for evaluation.
(Any opinions, suggestions made in this thesis are entirely that of the author of the
thesis. The University/supervisor does not condone nor reject any of these opinions

or suggestions. This is an original work. It complies with the University policy

against plagiarism. It has not been submitted anywhere else.)

“Name”
Rank
Internship Supervisor

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 Certificate of Approval

This is to certify that, --- bearing ID no. ---- in the LL.B. (Honors) program in --- batch is a regular student
of the Department of Law, American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB). He/She has
successfully completed his/her research on ---- and prepared this paper under the direct supervision of
--, ---, Department of Law, American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB). I think that this thesis is
worthy of fulfilling the partial requirements to achieve the LL.B. (Honors) degree.

.………………………………. ………………………………...

Dean Advisor
Faculty of Arts and Social Science Department of Law
American International University-Bangladesh American International University-Bangladesh

.………………………………. .………………………………...

Supervisor Viva Board Member

Assistant Professor Associate Professor
Department of Law Department of Law
American International University-Bangladesh American International University-Bangladesh

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 Declaration

This is ----- bearing ID no. ---- is a student of the Department of Law in American
International University-Bangladesh (AIUB). I hereby announce that, this thesis paper
is the outcome of my rigorous research work, and it is completed by myself under the
supervision of ----- Department of Law, American International University-Bangladesh
(AIUB). I hereby also declare that, this thesis paper or any part of it has never been
submitted anywhere for the purpose of achieving any degree.

……………………………

Program: LL. B. (Honors)

Batch: 10th
ID: 18-38864-3
Department of Law
American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB)

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