The first page of the document is the Copyright Page. The text is centered horizontally and vertically on the page and reads:
Copyright by
YOUR NAME IN CAPITAL LETTERS
Year Submitted
All Rights Reserved
To center text horizontally: type the required text and select it. Use the center alignment found under the HOME tab in the Paragraph section.
To center text vertically: with the text still selected, go to the LAYOUT tab and locate the Page Setup Dialog Box. Under the LAYOUT tab on the Dialog Box, select Vertical Alignment: Center and Apply to: Selected Text. Then press OK
This should center your text vertically and place a section break next page at the end of the selected content. This will also add a new page with normal vertical alignment and restore the default settings. If it didn't, manually insert a section break (next page) and go through the alignment settings above selecting vertically align to top instead to restore the default.
This is the first of two title pages in the dissertation. Both double as a signature page. This particular title page will have the signature lines for the Committee Chair (and Co-Chair if applicable) and the Dean of the Graduate College. There are four sections of content on this page and all will be centered horizontally (see copyright section for how-to) with the exception of the signature lines as you will see below. It should all be double spaced.
First, type the title of the dissertation in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, centered on the page. This should form an inverted pyramid if it is a long title that runs over multiple lines. This means that the first line is longer than the second line and so on. This may be only 1 line (if it fits between the margins) or more depending on the length of the title.
TITLE OF DISSERTATION IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
FORMING AN INVERTED
PYRAMID
Leave a few blank lines after the first section. The second section will read (be sure to select the appropriate degree type in the last line):
An Abstract of a Dissertation
Submitted
in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Education or Technology or Industrial Technology
Approved:
The signature lines will follow. Leave a little space after the word "Approved:" and right align your cursor. You'll want to single space the text (this will keep the signature line and the name of the signer together rather than adding a double space between).
You'll be using what is called a "tab stop" to create your signature lines and align the content in this area of the page. To access the "Tabs" you will need to open the Paragraph Dialog Box located under the HOME tab.
This will open the Tab settings and allow you to indicate which inch markers you would like the cursor to stop at when you press tab. You'll need to set a total of two tab settings to create signature lines. The first will create blank space prior to the line. The second will be used to create the underlined portion. The suggested settings are 3" and 6". You may choose to adjust the 3" mark slightly.
First, enter the 3" in the tab stop position line and ensure that the Alignment selection is "Left" and the Leader selection is "None" and then press the "Set" button at the bottom. Then, enter the 6" in the tab stop position line (this must be set to 6" to have the line reach the right margin) and ensure that the Alignment selection is "Right" and the Leader selection is "None" and then press the "Set" button at the bottom.
Once you've completed these steps, press OK. Press "TAB" on the keyboard once. Turn on the underline font style and press "TAB" a second time.
This should create a line that starts at the 3" mark of the page and ends at the right margin. Turn off the underline font style, press "ENTER" / "RETURN" to move to the next line. Press "TAB" so the cursor moves to be under the line and type the name and role of the first signer. Repeat this process until you have a signature line for the Chair, Co-Chair (where applicable), and the Dean of the Graduate College.
Once you've finished creating the signature lines, press "ENTER" / "RETURN" on the keyboard to move to the next line. If you've already set your "Normal" style, you can click on that in the styles pane to restore your tabs to the default setting and double-space the text.
Center the cursor and type the following, final section of text on the page:
Your Name
University of Northern Iowa
Month Year
The Month Year should be the month and year in which you submit the dissertation for approval. For Spring graduates enter May, for Summer graduates enter July, and for Fall graduates enter December. Immediately after the Year, insert a page break.
Below is an example of what the Abstract Title Page should look like with and without Markup on. Ensure the Page Break falls at the bottom of the page or it will insert an extra blank page.
Immediately following the Abstract Title Page, the Abstract is approximately 1-2 pages in length. This should be typed in normal paragraph format with the heading ABSTRACT typed in all capital letters, centered at the top of the page. Place a Page Break at the end of the Abstract.
The easiest way to format the Dissertation Title Page is to select all of the text on the Abstract Title Page then copy and paste it onto the blank page after the end of the Abstract.
Once you have done so, you'll make the following changes:
The first line of the middle section should read: A Dissertation instead of An Abstract of a Dissertation
There should be a signature line for each committee member and no line for the Dean of the Graduate College (you will likely need to copy and paste in some extra lines).
The example has five total committee members, including a Chair and a Co-Chair. Update the number of lines and roles to match your approved committee.
Note that you may need to adjust spacing / delete some lines to fit all of the necessary signature lines on the page. At the end of the Dissertation Title Page (after the Month Year), insert a Section Break (Next Page). You must use a Section Break and not a Page Break so you can properly format the next pages.
The first page following the Title Page will be the first page of the document that a page number appears on. The Title Page is the first official numbered page of the Front Matter, though a number is not displayed. The first page following the Title Page will be numbered in lowercase Roman Numerals as page ii. It is very important that there is a Section Break (Next Page) at the bottom of the Title Page.
To insert the page number, double click in the header of the page following the Title Page. This should open the Header & Footer Tools.
Once the Header & Footer Tools have opened, there are several things that should be checked prior to inserting the page number.
If you properly followed the document setup instructions in this guide, the Header from Top location should be set to 0.75". If it is not, change it now.
Ensure that "Different First Page" and "Different Odd & Even Pages" are not checked.
"Link to Previous" usually defaults to be turned on (indicated by it being in dark gray, like the image above). This should be deselected or turned off. If you do not do so, any formatting changes (adding the page numbers) done to this section will also happen to the previous section.
After these items have been checked, the formatting of the page numbers will need to be changed to Roman Numerals, starting at ii. To do so, click on the Page Number drop-down and locate the "Format Page Numbers..." This will open the options you need to edit.
Change the Number Format to be in Roman Numerals and change the Page numbering so it "Starts at" ii.
Click OK. Then go back to the Page Number and select Page Number and the option to insert them right-aligned.
You should now have page ii in the top right of the header. Ensure that page numbers were not inserted on the previous pages. If they were, you likely did not deselect the "Link to Previous" header tool.
The Dedication & Acknowledgements are optional pages. If you wish to include these pages, the header DEDICATION or ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS must be typed in all capital letters and centered at the top of the page. The body of these pages often follow the default paragraph setting, though are not required to. Always end the page with a Page Break to ensure the text flows properly. These pages will immediately follow the Dissertation Title page and be the first numbered pages in the document if they are included. If you do not wish to include these pages, move on to the next section below.
A TABLE OF CONTENTS will be required with the minimum of entries for every chapter heading level. If the document includes any tables (information organized in columns and rows) it will also include a LIST OF TABLES. If the document includes any figures (images, charts, etc.) it will also include a LIST OF FIGURES.
Start by setting up the basic formatting for the pages that you will need for your document. Leave these as a placeholder. There is information in the body section on how to update the information in these as you link things throughout the body of the document.
All three pages have the same basic setup. The heading is centered at the top of the page and is typed in all capital letters. On the next line down from the heading, the word PAGE will be right-aligned and typed in all capital letters.
You will use Page Breaks between these pages as they are part of the Front Matter section and will have the same basic formatting. At the end of the last one of these, as it applies to your document, you will use a Section Break (Next Page). See the notes at the bottom of each section to help determine which is appropriate for your work.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
With your cursor left aligned on the next line down after PAGE, complete the following steps:
Locate the Table of Contents found under the REFERENCES tab.
Select the "Custom Table of Contents..." option. In the window that opens you will want to ensure that "Show page numbers" and "Right align page numbers" are checked and that "Tab leader:" is set to dots. These should be the defaults. Select how many heading levels you wish to show. You must have at least one (which will be chapter headings), though it is recommended to go up to 3 or 4 for longer works that use that many heading levels (a description of heading levels can be found under the "Body of the Document" page).
You will likely get some sort of an error but the following (or something similar) should show. This is a field that you will be able to update once you link headings in the body.
**If you do not have any tables or figures, insert a Section Break (Next Page) here
**If you have tables and/or figures, insert a Page Break here
Note: If you do not have any tables but have figures skip this section
LIST OF TABLES
PAGE
With your cursor left aligned on the next line down after PAGE, complete the following steps:
Locate the "Insert Table of Figures" option under the REFERENCES tab.
This will provide you the option to select "Caption label: Table." In the window that opens you will want to ensure that "Show page numbers" and "Right align page numbers" are checked and that "Tab leader:" is set to dots. These should be the defaults. Press OK.
You will likely get some sort of an error but the following (or something similar) should show. This is a field that you will be able to update once you link table titles in the body.
**If you do not have any figures, insert a Section Break (Next Page) here
**If you have figures, insert a Page Break here
LIST OF FIGURES
PAGE
With your cursor left aligned on the next line down after PAGE, complete the following steps:
Locate the "Insert Table of Figures" option under the REFERENCES tab.
This will provide you the option to select "Caption label: Figure." In the window that opens you will want to ensure that "Show page numbers" and "Right align page numbers" are checked and that "Tab leader:" is set to dots. These should be the defaults. Press OK
You will likely get some sort of an error but the following (or something similar) should show. This is a field that you will be able to update once you link table titles in the body.
**This will be the last page of the Front Matter and must have a Section Break (Next Page) at the end of it
You can "link" your document's headings, table titles, and figure titles to create a Table of Contents, List of Tables, and List of Figures that will generate all additions and update the page numbers. This information is found on the "Body of the Document" page. Start here to set up the necessary pages in the front matter and then review linking in the body of the document.
Once some headings have been created and linked (even if they are placeholder headings) you should follow the steps in this tabbed box to update and ensure proper formatting of the Table of Contents. Doing this now will make it easier than doing so later with a lot of heading entries. It will be easier to identify formatting errors and make corrections as needed.
Once you've inserted the Table of Contents field, you will need to update it as you add content and headings. To do so, right click on the field and select "Update Field."
Always select "Update entire table" from the popup. If you do not select this option, any headings that have been added or changed will not show.
The Table of Contents will not automatically update as you are working, so occasionally remember to go in and update the entire table and do so before submitting any drafts of your work.
The basic default style of Word's Table of Contents is close to matching the requirements in the Thesis and Dissertation Manual. Small adjustments may need to be made to ensure the formatting is correct.
Start by opening up the Styles Dialog Box to see all of the style types. This is located under the HOME tab by clicking the pop out under the Styles section.
When this opens, locate the TOC 1 style. There should be a TOC # style for each level of heading you have incorporated into your table of contents. This example shows up to TOC4
TOC 1 will need to be modified to remove the extra space after the line break. To do so: click on the TOC 1 style and select the "Modify" option to open the formatting options. There is a button with two arrows pointing towards each other. This will remove the extra space between lines when it is selected. Do so until the preview font in the box no longer shows extra space between lines and click ok.
TOC 2 will need the indentation corrected to be properly spaced. Start by clicking on TOC 2 and selecting "Modify." Then, in the window that opens, select the option to decrease the indent. This will move the text in the preview window to be flush left instead of indented 0.17".
At the bottom left corner, locate the Format dropdown and select "Tabs..." This will open the Tab stop positions. Two tab stops will need to be set. The first will be 0.25" (leave the alignment set to left and the leader set to none) and the second will be 6" with the alignment changed to right and the leader set to dot leaders.
Once these have been set, click ok to exit out of the Tab stop position window and go back to Modify Style. Now, indent the style by clicking the button with the arrow pointing right and click the option to remove space after lines.
TOC 3 will need the indentation corrected. Start by clicking on TOC 3 and selecting "Modify." Then, in the window that opens, select the option to decrease the indent. This will move the text in the preview window to be flush left instead of slightly indented.
Locate the Format drop down in the bottom left corner and select "Tabs..." This will open the Tab stop positions.
Start by "clearing all" existing tabs. Then you will add 0.5" left aligned with no leader and 6" right aligned with dot leaders. Then click ok.
Now, indent the style by clicking the button with the arrow pointing right and click the option to remove space after lines.
TOC 34 will need the indentation corrected. Start by clicking on TOC 4 and selecting "Modify." Then, in the window that opens, select the option to decrease the indent. This will move the text in the preview window to be flush left instead of slightly indented.
Next, locate the format drop down in the bottom left and select "Tabs..." Set a 0.75" tab stop position (left aligned, no leader) and a 6" tab stop position that is right aligned with a dot leader. Then click ok.
Now, indent the style by clicking the button with the arrow pointing right and click on the option to remove space after lines.
With proper formatting, your TOC should look similar to the image below.
