Standard Formatting Option - Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Below is the Standard Formatting Guide created by the Graduate School. A Manuscript Formatting Option is also available. Students should check with their department to find out if the Manuscript Option is acceptable for their ETD.

Page Numbers and Composition

View Sample Pages PDF

Every page in an ETD, except the copyright notice, is counted and assigned a page number. There are two separate series of page numbers. The first, in lower case Roman numerals, begins with the title page and ends with the abstract or preface/foreword. The second series, in Arabic numerals, begins with the first page of chapter one and continues throughout the ETD, references cited and appendices.

Each chapter must begin on a new page.

Front Matter The front matter contains the following items, in the order each should appear.	Formatting Guidelines All front matter pages are numbered in Roman numerals.
Pagination	Page numbers must be centered and sit at the bottom of the header with one single-spaced line below. View these page number guidelines for help creating a Word doc with different page numbering formats.
Title Page	Counted as page i, but not numbered. Must include the fullest form of your name, official degree title (no emphasis), month and year ETD is accepted by The Graduate School. Shape title as an inverted pyramid.
Copyright Page	Not counted or numbered. This page must be included in every ETD. Type "by / [Your Name]" on the same lines as the same words on your title page. Use the fullest for of your name.
Dedication, Acknowledgements, Vita, American Indian Heritage (optional)	Continue in Roman numerals. Frontispiece or dedication may be no longer than one single-spaced page. If you include a vita, it can contains your full name, heritage, education, etc. The vita should be written in essay form in the third person and may not exceed one single-spaced page. American Indian/Alaska Native students wishing to include heritage and tribal information may do so as part of a vita or as a seperate single-spaced page. Acknowledgements are limited to one double-spaced page.
Table of Contents	Continue in Roman numerals. Complete a detailed listing of all subdivisions (headings) in ETD. Front matter is not included in the Table of Contents. Single space individual entries and add a double space in between major entries (e.g. chapter titles). If your TOC runs onto more than one page, include a heading (continued) at the top of each additional page. Take caution before creating a custom TOC in Word.
List of Tables, Figures, Images, etc.	Continue in Roman numerals. List of Tables should come before List of Figures. Each should be on a separate page. Double space between entries and single space individual entries. See Sample Pages for how to format headings and align entries. If your List of Tables/List of Figures runs onto more than one page, include a heading (continued) at the top of the page and include Table/Figure and Page headings on each additional page.
Glossary or Nomenclature (optional)	Continue in Roman numerals. Match spacing of entries to List of Tables/List of Figures.
Abstract	Final Roman numeral page (unless you include a Preface or Foreword). Single-spaced and no more than 350 words. The abstract must contain the following four elements: (1) statement of the problem, (2) procedure or methods, (3) results and (4) conclusions. (You do not need to number or identify the preceding elements.) Mathematical formulas, abbreviations, diagrams, and other illustrative materials should not be included. The Abstract should be written to be understood by a person who does not have expertise in the field. The abstract can be written in the student’s native language along with an English translation.
Preface or Foreword (optional)	Final Roman numeral page of your front matter, if included. Double space and indent the first line of each paragraph.
Body Matter	All body matter pages are numbered in Arabic numerals, starting with chapter one.
Chapter titles and headings Table and Figure	Chapter One begins Arabic numbered pages. Continue Arabic numerals through the end of your ETD. Write out chapter numerals (e.g. CHAPTER ONE not CHAPTER 1). See our Hints for Spacing (PDF) for additional help. If you have a long table that spans more than one page, include a heading (e.g. Table 1 Continued) at the top of the second page. If you are having trouble adding “Table [x] Continued” to the top line of the second page, try these tips.
Back (Reference) Matter The back matter contains the following items, in the order each should appear.	Formatting Guidelines All back matter pages are numbered in Arabic numerals, continuing from the body matter.
Bibliography, Literature Cited, or References Cited	Continue Arabic numbers after final page of body matter. References are single-spaced with a double-space between citations. Use a References Cited divider page as shown in the example ONLY if you also have appendices. Otherwise, type REFERENCES CITED (or the heading of your choice) at the top of the same page as your references, triple-spaced above your first reference entry.
Appendix or Appendices	Continue Arabic numerals after Reference matter. The bibliography/references will precede the appendices except when the appendices contain references that have not previously appeared in the text. Appendix material should be subdivided into logical classifications and each appendix should be given a separate letter and title. Include divider pages for each individual appendix.

Chapter and Heading Levels

A consistent system of spacing for headings and subheadings, tables and figures, etc. must be used throughout the entire document. See our Hints for Spacing (PDF).

Chapter titles: All caps, centered on page. See the Sample Pages (PDF) for two examples of how to format your chapter titles. Triple space above and below.
First level headings: Centered, upper and lower case, underlined. Triple space above and below.
Second level headings: Aligned with left margin, upper and lower case, underlined. Triple space above and double space below.
Third level headings: Indented from left margin, upper and lower case, underlined, paragraph text starts on same line. Third level headings may be separated by a space or punctuation. (Do not underline the punctuation or space following the heading.) Triple space above.

Fonts

Font should be consistent and readable — any easily readable standard type font is acceptable. Script, for example, is not considered standard type. Ideally, font is set to 12 points; smaller than 10 points is not acceptable anywhere in your document.

Italic, script, or other nonstandard font styles are not acceptable except for emphasis or other special purposes.

Use consistent font throughout your ETD — all sections of your document should use the same font and font size, including your page numbers. The titles of tables and figure captions should use this standard font and size. There are two exceptions:

The contents of a table may use a smaller size of standard font to allow a large table to fit on a page; however, the text must be clearly readable.
The contents of a figure may contain text in any typeface, as part of the original figure; however, it too must be clearly readable.

Tables, Figures, Illustrations, etc.

Tables and Figures may be located in one of two places in your document; choose one system and use it consistently throughout your work:

Insert the table or figure within the text, as close as possible after the first reference is made to it.
Place your tables and figures at the end of the chapter in which they are first discussed or referenced.

Table and Figure captions may be located either above or below the table/figure. Choose one system and use it consistently.

Triple space your tables and figures (including the caption) from the surrounding text. Single space your captions. If a table or figure is the first content on a page or sits alone on a page, start it on the top line of the page.

Tables and figures should fit inside of the 1" margins. If they do not, the page can be rotated to the landscape orientation instead. See the landscape information page for help with rotating the page numbers.

Standard Formatting Option Guidelines

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