Helps
Some
documents describing techniques for accomplishing certain layouts
in Microsoft Word® are available here. Clicking on the document
format you prefer will open or download a copy of the document. Some
of the tips are complete on this page.
To see photos of sample theses, click here.
Creating Cover Sheets
Cover Sheets are pages
that are neither counted nor numbered, and this creates a problem because
the software wants to assign a number to every page, even if the page
number isn't printed on the page. When deposit was done on paper, it was possible to put the cover
sheets at the end of the document or in a document of their own and
manuallyplace the sheets in the thesis. Now that we are depositing PDFs via ETD, using this method means the
pages won't be in the right place.
You can
keep the cover sheet (which is to be neither counted nor numbered) in
order numerically if you use a section break. While there are several ways to do th is, here is one: Insert a section break before the cover page, indicate the following text starts on a new page, and start the page numbering on the same number
as the preceding one. Create the cover page (e.g., BIBLIOGRAPHY, centered
on the page), insert another section break, and start the page numbering
for this section at the next page number. Then create the bibliography
according to instructions.
The same can be done for other cover sheets:
Appendices, Vita. See the thesis manual for instructions on cover sheets.
(No download for this tip; it is all printed here.)
Thanks to former grad student Matthieu Chan Tsin for this tip.
Use "US Letter"
setting for paper size, not A4
When you start to set
up your thesis, be sure that you choose "US letter" and not
"A4" for Page Size in the Page Setup box.
Theses have to be printed
on 8 1/2 x 11-inch paper (see page 3 of the Manual), which requires
the US letter setting wherever you are asked to designate page size.
The two places that occur to me off hand are the Page Setup box and
the Print dialog box. There may be others.
International students
please take note: In the US, almost no one knows what A4 paper is. The
standard in the US is US letter (8.5 x 11 inches). A4 paper, standard in most of the rest of the world, measures 8.26 x 11.69 inches. This
means it is slightly narrower and slightly longer than standard US letter
paper. If you use the A4 setting, your margins will not be correct when
you print to the paper you purchase in the store or that is provided
in the labs. Providing your own A4 paper is not an option because the
manual requires that thesis be printed on 8 1/2 x 11-inch paper. The
manual specifies a size, but it does not mention US letter or A4 (see
page 3); the size equates to US letter.
Removing
the Continuation Line, Word document (download)
When
Microsoft Word® places footnotes at the end of a document as endnotes,
it usually draws the continuation line on each page, just as if the
notes were still footnotes. This document tells how to remove the continuation
lines.
Microsoft
Word® Tips and templates on the Thesis
Office site (opens in a new window).
The
Thesis Office offers a number of documents of tips that includes such topics as
Creating a Table of Contents, Inserting "Landscape" Pagination,
and Removing the Continuation Line. Also offered on the site are a Page
Margin Template (a current one for Word 2007 for the PC and an outdated one for Word 2003) and some checklists.
How to format the first page of a chapter
The current thesis manual (7th ed.) doesn't have exact wording about how to format the first page of each chapter, although if you recognize that the chapter title is a major division heading, you should have no trouble. You can tell how to do the first page of a chapter by looking at either p. 40 (Appendix C: Sample Format of Subdivisions) or p. 44 (sample Acknowledgments page). You can follow the instructions on how to do the title for any other major division (acknowledgments page, preface, table of contents, list of tables, list of figures, etc., or introduction).
Here's how: The chapter number and title are all part of the chapter title / major division heading. The title begins 2 inches from the top of the page. The page does carry a page number, in Arabic numbers,
located in the same place as on every other page, 1/2 inch from the top of the page and
1 inch from the right edge of the page. The chapter title is typed in ALL CAPS, centered, with no end punctuation. Be sure to use single spacing for the chapter title, since this will make it easier to count the single-spaced blank lines that must follow. Also, if the title runs to more than one line,
it must be single spaced, so you will be all set if you use single spacing for all chapter titles. The title is followed by three single-spaced blank lines, and the text begins indented. The spacing for the text should be either double or 1 1/2 spacing, whichever you have decided to use throughout.
The training packets distributed at the thesis workshops each semester do contain an example of the first page of a chapter. Also, you can download an example here. This is a PDF that I made up. I have tried to make the measurements exact, but they may not be perfect. If you print out this PDF, the resulting page margins will be more accurate if you print with any boxes for centering or scaling unchecked or turned to off or none. If you still have questions, please see me in my office.
Computer
Labs in Stanley Coulter Hall
Check schedule on door of lab:
For group work or laptop access: G073
Labs with desktop machines:
MAC:
G046, 183
PC:
179, 189, 231, 246, 277, 283, 289
G
= ground (basement)
rev. 8/15/2011
Curling
the Quote Marks, Word document (download)
The
document entitled "Curling the Quote Marks" tells how to replace
straight or typewriter quote marks with curled or typographer's quotes
(also referred to as "smart" quotes).
When
you create a PDF, be careful!
Be
sure that you create the PDF on a computer on which you have checked
every aspect of the format of the Word document from which the PDF will
be made. If you have to take the Word file or files to another computer
to create the PDF, you will have to recheck every aspect of your thesis before you make the PDF. Otherwise, you may be surprised by things that
shift slightly. Tabs are especially likely to shift, but spacing and
almost anything else can also be affected.
This
is because Word documents are printer dependent. The printer connected
to the computer and the settings of the version of Word on the computer
may change the format when you open the file on the new computer to
make the PDF.
See
the Adobe® instructions for creating PDFs. The instructions are here on the Adobe site (opens in a new window).
Index
to Manual for Preparation of Graduate Theses (7th rev. ed. 2006),
Word document (download)
This
index for the thesis manual will help you to locate answers to your
questions more quickly.
Working with Languages Other than English, Word
document, PDF document (download)
This
document provides keyboard commands (AKA shortcuts) for common accent
marks and symbols in Microsoft Word® for both Mac and PC format,
and addresses several other issues about typing in a language other
than English.
Here
are the titles of some books on writing a thesis or dissertation:
Bond,
Alan, ed., Your Master's Thesis: How to Plan, Draft, Write, and
Revise, 2nd rev. ed. (Albergele, UK: Studymates, 2006). 135 pp.
Includes advice on working with your supervisor / major professor and
copyright. Written with UK in mind, but universally applicable. I have
a copy
of this book. Also available: Your PhD Thesis. http://www.studymates.co.uk
Bolker,
Joan, Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide
to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis (New
York: Holt–Owl, 1998). For a brief review of this book, and other
tips, visit http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/dissertation.html
Davis,
Gordon B. Writing the Doctoral Dissertation, 2nd ed. (Hauppauge
NY: Barron's Educational, 1997). 154 pp. ISBN-10: 0812098005; ISBN-13: 978-0812098006 (Paperback). Amazon has
excerpts available
online.
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