> Division of Graduate Education
Style and Composition Guide
Overall, it is important to submit an ETD that has a consistent and readable
appearance. Departments have many of the rules for writing in their own discipline
already established by academic journals and international organizations. As
a graduate student, you need to abide by these rules if you wish to publish
in your field.
Please make an appointment with our ETD formatting advisor as soon as a draft is available.
The ETD Formatting Advisor maintains a list of typists/editors as a resource for students. The individuals listed are independent contractors and are not employed by the Division of Graduate Education. Contact the ETD Formatting Advisor for more information.
The DGE does not provide technical support for Word or LaTeX but we do have a list of the most frequently asked questions on Word formatting here. Templates for WORD and LaTeX are available.
Master's template for WORD
Doctoral template for WORD
LaTeX Guide
Questions about formatting? Please call or email Ginny Heimann, ETD formatting advisor, 994-4125 MWF.
Margins |
All page margins must be 1 inch except for the left hand margin which needs to be 1 ½ inches.
Page numbers must be below the 1 inch top margin.
|
Numbering of Pages and Composition
View examples by clicking on the Links provided |
Every page in a thesis/dissertation, except the copyright notice is counted and must be assigned a page number. There are two separate series of page numbers. The first, in lower case Roman numerals, begins with the title page, and ends with the abstract. The second series, in Arabic numerals, begins with the first page in chapter one and continues throughout the thesis/dissertation, the literature cited, and the appendicies.
Each chapter must begin on a new page.
Front Matter
The front matter contains the following items, in the order each should appear: All front matter is in roman numerals.
|
Page Numbers:
must be centered and below the 1 inch top margin.
|
| Title Page |
Counted as page i, but not numbered. Must include full legal name (middle included). Official degree title, no emphasis. Month and year accepted by graduate vice provost. |
| Copyright Page |
Not counted or numbered. This page must be included in every ETD. There is a $65 fee for doctoral students wanting to register their copyright. |
Approval Page (2 copies needed)
Example for ETD
Example with signatures |
Page ii.
One Approval Page will be included with the ETD.
One copy will be printed and must include original signatures of committee chair, department head, and Vice Provost. This will be turned into the Division of Graduate Education. No one may sign for another person on your approval page.
|
| Statement of Permission to Use Master's or Doctoral |
Page iii. The permission to use page differs for master’s students and doctoral students, see sample pages. Permission given to library to make thesis available for inspection and limited copying. Since this page is required with your electronic document, just type your name and the Month and Year, for example 'April 2007'. It does not need to be printed and signed. |
| Dedication, vita, acknowledgements (optional) |
Continue in roman numerals. Not recommended, but if included, must follow specific format. Frontispiece or dedication may be no longer than one page, single spaced. Acknowledgments must be no more than one page double spaced. If you include a vita, it usually contains the full name of the author, date and place of birth, parentage, secondary education, and collegiate degrees. The vita should be written in essay form in the third person, and may not exceed one single-spaced page. |
| Table of Contents |
Continue in roman numerals. Complete and detailed listing of all subdivisions in thesis. Identically worded to subdivisions in thesis. Use Table of Contents in guide as a reference for completing the table of contents. Front matter is not included in the Table of Contents. |
List of Tables, Figures, and Images
List of Tables
List of Figures |
Continue in roman numerals. List of Tables should come before List of Figures. Each should be on a separate page. |
| Glossary or Nomenclature (optional) |
Continue in roman numerals
|
| Abstract |
Last roman numeral page. Single spaced and no more than 350 words. The abstract must contain the following elements: (1) statement of the problem, (2) procedure or methods, (3) results, and (4) conclusions. Mathematical formulas, abbreviations, diagrams, and other illustrative materials should not be included. It should be written to be understood by a person who does not have expertise in the field. |
Body Matter
|
|
sample of level headings
sample of table/figure/image
|
Chapter 1 begins Arabic numbered pages; continue Arabic numbers through the end of the thesis or dissertation.
Please view examples at http://etd.lib.montana.edu/etd/view/.
|
Back (Reference) Matter
The back matter contains the following items, in the order each
should appear: |
|
| Bibliography, Literature Cited, or References
Cited |
Continue Arabic numbers after last page of body matter. Should be single spaced with double space between citations.
Use a References Cited title page as shown in the example ONLY if you have appendices. Otherwise, type References Cited heading on same page as your references. |
| Appendix or Appendices |
Continue Arabic numbers after Reference matter. The bibliography will precede the appendices except when the appendices contain references that have not previously appeared in the text.
Appendix material should be subdivided into logical classifications and each appendix should be given a separate letter and title.
|
|
|
Spacing |
The body of the thesis/dissertation must be double-spaced. The abstract must be single spaced.
Indented paragraph style is required.
|
|
A consistent system of spacing for headings and subheadings, tables and figures, etc must be used throughout the entire document.
Chapter titles – All caps, centered in page
1 st level headings – Centered, upper and lower case, underlined
2 nd level headings – Left margin, upper and lower case, underlined
3 rd level headings – indented from left margin, upper and lower case, underlined, text starts on same line. |
Fonts |
Consistent and Readable.
Any easily readable standard type font is acceptable. Script, for example, is not considered standard type. Fonts should be at least 12 points, smaller than 10 points is not acceptable anywhere in your document.
Italic, script, or other nonstandard font styles are not acceptable except for emphasis or other special purposes.
You should use consistent type throughout your document: all sections of your document should use the same font and font size. The titles of tables and figure captions should use this standard font and size.
There are two exceptions:
- The contents of a table may use a smaller size of your standard font to allow a large table to fit on a page; however, the text must be clearly readable.
- The contents of a figure may contain text in any typeface, as part of the original figure; however, it too must be clearly readable.
|
Color |
The use of color in the Electronic Thesis/Dissertation (ETD) is acceptable if it adds meaning to the content of your work. |
Supplemental Form & Style Manual |
If an additional style manual is needed for supplemental assistance in the preparation of the thesis/dissertation, select only one manual and be consistent in its use. |
Quotations |
Direct quotations of less than four lines may be run into the text and enclosed in double quotation marks. Direct quotations of four lines or more must be single-spaced and set off in an indented separate paragraph. |
Illustrations, Graphs, Charts, Maps, etc… |
Locate each table or figure as soon as possible after it is first referred to in the text. Illustrations, including captions and legends, should be placed entirely on one page whenever possible.
Include textual material on the same page with illustrations whenever possible. Gaps or blank spaces of over 2 inches will not be accepted.
Illustrations must be numbered consecutively throughout the thesis, including the appendix.
Captions should follow a consistent format throughout the thesis. |
Journal Articles |
Most theses can be adequately organized into chapters as described in previous sections of this Guide; therefore, the Division of Graduate Education does not recommend the combination of journal articles. However, occasionally it may be desirable to group journal articles with individual titles.
A combination of journal articles must have an introduction to the entire thesis as the first chapter that indicates the relationship of the articles. Multi article theses with unrelated articles are never acceptable. In cases where a student is required to research more than one topic, separate theses should be submitted if the topics are unrelated. The last chapter must be a discussion/summary/conclusion encompassing the entire thesis.
Page numbers must run consecutively throughout the theses, the same as for regular theses. Figures, tables, and other illustrations may be numbered either consecutively throughout the thesis or within each chapter, i.e., 1.1, 1.2, 1.3; 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, etc.
The same font style, size and spacing must be used throughout the entire thesis, even if this was not done for the separate journal articles. If necessary, reformat articles to be consistent with each other and with the requirements of this Guide. It is the student’s responsibility to submit the thesis or dissertation in the correct format.
A single table of contents must be used and placed as in a regular thesis. References cited may be included at the end of each chapter or as a single listing following the final chapter of the thesis. |
View ETDs |
View previously submitted ETDs. http://etd.lib.montana.edu/etd/view/.
|
| |
|
Copyright/Publishing
