Formatting Your Thesis using MS Word

General Hints/Suggestions

Use the templates provided and ALWAYS use styles for headings throughout your thesis. Using styles for your headings will enable you to use the automated MS Word feature to create the Table of Contents for your thesis.

The document Notes for Thesis Workshop has been written to be used in conjunction with the Thesis workshop. This document is provided here as a reference/help for thesis writers using MS Word. However, keep in mind that it has been written to be used as a resource when attending the Thesis Workshop and not as a stand alone user guide. 

Some of the topics covered in the document are:

  • Creating a Reference List
  • Footnotes
  • Headers and Footers
  • Referencing Pictures and Tables
  • Sections
  • Styles
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Figures/Table of Tables
  • Tabs and Tables
  • Templates

It is particularly important that you read the sections on Styles and Referencing.

Writing/Formatting Your Thesis

You can create your thesis as one document right from the start. If your thesis is a very large document you may find this method slow for editing. However, if you choose to use this method, use the thesis template and make sure you Save often.

If your thesis is very large, you may decide to create your thesis by writing each chapter as a separate document and then bringing all documents into one master document. To do this, use the Front Pages template for the first part of your thesis and then the New Chapters template for each chapter. You can then use either the Master Document or Insert File method to bring all documents into one thesis. The documents to help you do this are Creating Master Document and Insert file Method

Templates

The templates provided contain styles and some text to assist you with formatting your thesis.

  • New Chapter Template: contains styles to be used for headings with automated numbering for your thesis.

    When using this template,
    • Separate each chapter with a Page Break
    • Make sure you use the Styles provided or the table of contents will not work. Note: for numbered headings, the style will automatically number – do not type the numbers.
    • Use the “Insert >Reference > Caption method for captions on pictures so that the List of Figures and List of Tables works (see Notes document).
  • Front Pages Template: Use this template for the first part of your thesis, eg Introduction, Acknowledgements, etc. This template contains some text and the styles to use (in brackets). The Table of Contents is automated and will be compiled from styles. To update the TOC, right click within the TOC and choose Update Field and if a second window appears, choose Update Entire Table. It will not work if you do not use the Styles.
  • Thesis Template: Contains text and suggested styles for the whole thesis.

Compiling the Whole Thesis into One Document

If you created your thesis by writing separate documents for each chapter, there are several ways to complete the formatting of your thesis.

  1. Using a Master Document
  2. To use the Master Document feature of MS Word, you will need to be very precise in your use of Styles and other formatting. It is not something I would recommend without a very high level of MS Word understanding. See document Creating Master Document for compiling a Master document.
  3. Using the File – Insert method
  4. This method enables you to create the front pages section and each chapter of your thesis as separate documents and then bring them together into one large document. You are advised to use the Front Pages template for the introductory section of your thesis and the Blank Chapters template for each chapter. See document Insert File Method for instructions on using the File-Insert method.

Note: All documentation and templates are written for Word XP or 2003 NOT Word 2007.

Last reviewed: 21 August, 2009