Notes on the elaboration

Content of this page:

• General to the text
• Illustrations and pictures
• References
• Questions & Answers (with evaluation sheet)

• Do not use "I" or "we"
• Do not change the paragraph format; paragraphs are inserted by blank lines in the LaTeX source code.
• LaTeX is a page description language, so use the correct description elements (markup); don't try to achieve effects by abusing other features (like "\\" for paragraphs or even manual line breaks).

• Illustrations must always be referenced in the text! Where possible, supplementary explanations of the image content should also be given there (and what the main message/meaning is).
• Scanned or foreign images should not be used. Wherever possible, choose your own way of visualization (by the way: simply repainting other people's images does not make your own image...). Try to find your own images to visualize a problem or the solution.
• Use vector graphics (eps, pdf, svg) instead of pixel images (tiff, jpeg, gif); exception: pixel image (e.g. photo) should be shown.
• Consider appearance at black and white printing! (Colors may be used, but a b/w printout must remain recognizable). Accordingly, please do not address colors of the figure in the text.
• Diagrams and curves are created with the appropriate programs (e.g. gnuplot), the corresponding data sets come in the appendix of the elaboration, as far as they are not part of the main text as a table.
• In view of a later presentation, you should be able to explain the content of figures. If you take figures or tables from other sources, make sure that they are appropriately referenced in the figure/table caption (and preferably also in the accompanying text) .

• Use the standard bibtex format for references, never use custom formatting of individual entries unless there are serious formatting problems.
• Always check that all required fields (and as many of the optional ones as possible) are specified for a reference. Minimum is title, authors, year, conference/journal, if possible: address (conference location), for books ISBN.
• Use the correct bibtex entry for the reference (e.g. there is a difference between article and inproceedings).
• Reference URLs like this: <http://...> (please also use the \url{...} markup, see below) and specify an access date.

Examples:

Please be sure to fill in all required fields and otherwise enter as much information as possible!

For references to other theses, please use the entries in this list: publicStudents.bib (will be linked here soon ) and report missing entries.

Q: When will my paper be ready?

A: That's up to you! Everything you have done should be described in detail, as well as the background knowledge that was used. As a rule of thumb, the elaboration should be the only documentation suitable for incorporation into a follow-up paper.

Q: What do I need to describe?

A: For software, the self-designed algorithms (and their fundamentals) should be described in detail (note: please document all algorithms with pseudocode ). Also a description of all classes/functions (including file names) and the general as well as detailed structure of the software. For both, a separate chapter should be used. For a complete program, a short user manual should be given, as well as compilation and installation instructions(!).
For hardware, the implemented algorithms (with background) should be described in detail (Attention: please document all algorithms with  pseudocode ). A description of the general and detailed module structure as well as the interfaces and wiring should be given. Two chapters should be used for this purpose. Synthesis instructions should be given.

For HW- as well as SW work there should be a results chapter. Describe synthesis results and benchmarks. If possible, compare them with similar results from other work. Try to interpret, classify, discuss the results.

Q: How many pages should my paper be?

A: Good question! There is no must rule. Usually papers are between 45 and 85 pages. That seems reasonable. If less than 50 pages - is everything well described? If more than 80 pages, there should be a good reason why there was so much to write (sometimes there are good reasons!). Of course, these numbers do not include appendices.

Q: How is a thesis structured?

A: Introduction (motivation, task/problem definition, chapter overview), basics of algorithms and other background, description of concrete problem and fanned solution, description of implementations, results and interpretations, summary and outlook (future work). This is only a suggestion, for your concrete work a different structure may be useful.

Q: How can I improve my grade?

A: Basically, commit to your topic and take it forward on your own. A good paper would be one where you simply solve your assignment completely and without error under guidance . To be better than that, your commitment, especially the contribution of your own ideas, should be visible in the work . Below are some grading criteria by which (among other things) you will be graded. The contributions count with different weight.

• Work style
  
  • Self-reliance
  • Understanding
  • Creativity
  • Diligence and pace of work
  • Systematic and careful planning and execution
• Results
  • Quantity and speed of work
  • Quality
  • Completeness and usability of results
  • Degree of innovation
  • Fulfillment of the time requirements
• Elaboration
  • Structure
  • External form
  • Linguistic competence
  • Scientific approach
  • Correctness of the results
  • Completeness of the work
• Final presentation
  • Content
  • Presentation style
  • Quality of slides
  • Presentation
  • Discussion

If you have any further questions, please contact us directly.