General

Headings

 

Example:

Headings in Theses and Dissertations

All theses and dissertations must include multiple levels (or orders) of headings to organize chapters and sections. Headings guide the reader through the manuscript and indicate increasing specificity as levels progress. While most style guides allow up to six heading levels, most theses and dissertations use no more than four.

The style and position of each order of heading must be consistent across chapters to avoid confusion.

To comply with ADA Title II, all headings must be tagged using Styles in Word. Tagging headings with styles creates a navigational outline of the document. You will also want to make sure that each style is linked to the appropriate outline level. This can be checked and adjusted in Paragraph settings.

Formatting Headings

  • Different capitalization schemes are used to distinguish heading levels. Most commonly:

    • ALL CAPS

    • Title Case

    • Sentence case

  • In addition to capitalization, headings may be differentiated by formatting features such as bold, italic, underlining, alignment (centered, left-aligned, right-aligned), or or combinations thereof. 

  • While formatting styles may vary, they must be applied consistently across all chapters. 
  • Note that a shift from Title Case to Sentence case is not sufficient on its own, because with one-word headings there is no discernable difference.
  • The font size for all headings and page numbers must match the body text.
  • All headings that appear in the manuscript must also be listed verbatim in the Table of Contents (TOC).

Tagging Headings using Styles

  1. Select the heading text you wish to tag & style
  2. Click on the dropdown for the Style box in the Home ribbon
  3. Right click on the Style you wish to use, click Modify
    • Pre-styled selections in the ETD Template are Level 1 Major Section Heading, Level 2, Level 3...
    • Unstyled headings in Word are labeled Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3,...
    • Make sure that each level of heading is formatted appropriately (no colored text, no change in font typeface or size, further, we recommend you defer to the style guide most commonly used by your field for styling) by modifying the style in the Style pane.
  4. Modify and update the style using the basic Formatting and Format in the bottom left to style the heading how you want it styled. All items tagged with this style will then be formatted according to the style and placed in the specified outline level.
  5. Double-check or modify the level of the Style by formatting Paragraph> Outline Level
  6. Tag all levels of heading throughout the manuscript according to their level
How to modify Styles in Word, accessing menu
1st-Order Headings (Chapter and Major Section Headings)
  • First-order headings (e.g., chapter titles) must:
    • Begin on a new page.
    • Be positioned flush with the top margin of the new page
Header example on top of Word page
2nd- to 6th-Order Headings (Subheadings)

Subheadings should follow continuously in the text and not begin on a new page, unless they are orphaned at the bottom of a page, in which case they should be moved to the top of the next page.

  • Each heading level must have a unique and consistent style. Acceptable distinctions include:
    • Bold
    • Italics
    • Indentation
    • Other style combinations

You may choose how to style each level of heading, but each level鈥檚 styling must be consistent throughout the document. We do recommend you defer to the style guide preferred by your discipline or major professor.

Numbering

Numbering headings is optional. Numbering headings is not a requirement for ETD.

If you choose to number your headings:

  • Each level must still be visually distinct (differing by at least one formatting element).
  • Numbering and formatting must be consistent across all heading levels and throughout the manuscript.

  • Numbering in Chapters must be in Arabic numerals.

How Numbering works:

Level 1 headings do not have a number in front. Level 2 headings indicate the chapter and then section. Further subsections add an additional Arabic numeral.

  • Level 1 Example: Chapter 1: Title, Chapter 2: Title, Chapter 3: Title, References,
    Appendix A: Title, Appendix: B: Title
    • Level 2 within Chapter 1 Examples: 1.1 Introduction, 1.2 Literature Review, 1.3
      Another Level Two Heading Title
    • Level 2 within Appendix A: Title Example: A.1 Level Two Heading, A.2 Level Two
      Heading
      • Level 3 within 1.2 Literature Reviews Example: 1.2.1 Theme 1 of
        Literature Review, 1.2.2 Theme 2 of Literature Review (note that each
        level nests within the section before it)