BG Zehnergasse InfoHubStructure & Research Question â VWA / ABA
A clear outline and a well-defined research question are the foundation of every successful VWA/ABA. This page covers the recommended structure, tips for formulating your research question and the formatting guidelines.
Structure of the Paper
Front Matter (Roman page numbers)
- Title page â school logo, title, name, class, supervisor, submission date
- Declaration of independent authorship
- Abstract â 1,000â1,500 characters, in German or English
- Table of contents
- Optional: preface, list of figures/tables, list of abbreviations
Writing the abstract
The abstract summarises your entire paper on half a page: research question, method, results and conclusion. Write it last, once the paper is finished. The length should be 1,000â1,500 characters (including spaces).
Main Body (Arabic page numbers)
- Introduction â background, research question, methodology, structure of the paper
- Theoretical section â subject background, literature review, definitions
- Empirical / analytical section â your research, analysis, results
- Conclusion â summary, answer to the research question, outlook
Back Matter
- Bibliography and list of sources
- Appendix â interview transcripts, questionnaires, AI usage declaration
The Research Question
The research question is the core of your paper. It must:
- Be an open-ended question (How? Why? To what extent? Which?)
- Not be answerable with Yes/No
- Be precise and specific (max. 250 characters)
- Not be suggestive or evaluative
| Poor | Better |
|---|---|
| Is climate change bad? | To what extent does climate change affect wine production in Lower Austria? |
| Social media | What influence does Instagram use have on the self-image of 16â18-year-olds? |
| Is AI dangerous? | How does the use of AI systems change journalism in Austria? |
Common mistakes with research questions
- Too broad: "What is climate change?" â that is a report, not a research question
- Yes/No question: "Is social media bad?" â must be an open-ended question
- Suggestive: "Why is organic farming better?" â presumes an outcome
- Not feasible: The question must be realistically answerable within the scope of a VWA
Formatting Guidelines
| Property | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Format | DIN A4, single-sided |
| Font | Easily readable (e.g. Calibri, Times New Roman, Arial) |
| Font size | 12pt (body text), 10pt (footnotes) |
| Line spacing | 1.5 (body text), 1.0 (footnotes) |
| Margins | Left 2.5 cm + 1 cm binding offset, right 2â2.5 cm |
| Page numbers | Roman (front matter), Arabic (main body from introduction) |
| Direct quotes | Maximum 5% of the text |
Binding offset
The binding offset (1 cm extra on the left) is the area covered by the binding. This results in a total left margin of 3.5 cm. The BG Zehnergasse templates already have these settings pre-configured.
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