Formatting and Converting Theses and Dissertations

Requirements of the Office of the Graduate School

and the MSU Libraries

Office of Thesis and Dissertation Format Review Website

library.msstate.edu/thesis

Upcoming Workshops

• Formatting and Converting Theses and Dissertations

Wednesday, March 09, 2011 6:00 PM• ONLINE ONLY: Word & Acrobat: Formatting an

d Converting Theses and Dissertations

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 6:00 PM• Formatting and Converting Theses and Dissert

ations

Monday, March 28, 2011 2:00 PM

Covered in the Workshops…

• Setting margins• Disabling AutoFormat • Showing the Ruler• Vertical Page Position• Formatting the Title Page• Using Section Breaks and

Page Breaks• Using a table for the

Committee Approval Page

• Formatting the abstract• Saving multiple Word

documents• Page numbers• Tab stops and dot leaders

(table of contents)• Page numbers for

chapters• Combining files into one

PDF

Setting the Margins

• Top=1in• Bottom=1in• Left=1.5in• Right=1in

• Footer=1in

Disabling AutoFormat

Uncheck all options EXCEPT for “Straight quotes” with “smart quotes.”

Showing the ruler

Vertical Page Position

Right click at the bottom of the Word window (anywhere in the gray or blue bar).

Select Vertical Page Position.

This shows the cursor’s position from the TOP OF THE PAGE, not the margin.

Make sure you CLEAR the minimum spacing requirements, rather than not having enough space.

Formatting the Title Page

• Full title in all caps, inverted pyramid style

• Full name• Title and name must be

consistent throughout• Triple spacing = 2 blank

lines between text• Double spacing = 1

blank line between text

3.5” to 4”

1”

1.5”

2 blank lines1 blank line

Page Breaks and Section Breaks

Page Breaks move to a new page but keep the page numbers the same

Section Breaks create new sections, which can be formatted differently than previous or following sections. Useful for copyright page and landscape pages.

Using a Table for Committee Approval Page

Insert a 3x4 table to properly format your committee approval page.

The center column should be the width of the word “By” and the whole table should stay within your margins.

Remove all borders and just add a top border to each cell for the signature line. Leave 3 blank lines to make room for the signature.

Abstract Page

• Each entry at the top of the abstract is separated by a single blank line (double spaced), but it is easier if you leave this part SINGLE SPACED and just manually add the blank lines

• For the “Title of Study” line, set the hanging indent as shown, click before the first letter of the title, and press TAB to align it with the second line.

Abstract Page (cont’d)

• Leave 2 blank lines after “Candidate” line

• Set the first line indent to 0.5” and double space the rest of the abstract.

• Thesis = 150 words• Dissertation = 350

words

Saving Sections as Separate Files

• Save different sections as different files

• Makes it easier to format each section

• Makes page numbers easier

• Files will be merged together to make final PDF.

Page Numbers

Double click at the bottom of the page to open the Header & Footer Tools

Make sure the Footer from Bottom measurement is set to 1”

Click Page Number > Bottom of Page > Plain Number 2

Page Numbers (cont’d)

Make sure the page number is the same font and point size as the rest of the document

Click on Page Number > Format Page Number

Change the number format to small roman numerals

Click “Start at” and enter “ii” in the box.

Tab Stops and Dot Leaders

DO NOT use the table of contents feature in Word

Click in the ruler to add a tab stop. Double click the tab stop to open the options.

Decimal Tab for roman numerals, Left tabs for headings, and a Right tab with a dot leader for the page numbers

Page Numbers for Chapters

• Chapter page numbers begin at 1

• The body of your thesis or dissertation can be a single document

Merging Files into Single PDF

• Open Acrobat Pro• Click Create and select

Merge Files into a Single PDF

• Add the files• Use the Move Up and

Move Down buttons to order the files

• Click Combine Files

Questions?

• Microsoft Word Questions

Thomas La Foe and Stephanie Agnew662-325-8867

• Formatting Questions/Review

Damen Peterson and James Nail662-325-8756 or 662-325-2170

http://library.msstate.edu/thesis