Dissertation Table of Contents in Word | Instructions & Examples

Have you ever wondered; how difficult it would be to find the chapter you are willing to read without a table of contents? You would again have to shuffle through all those pages in order to reach The One. To save all this struggle, a separate section of the Table of Contents has been introduced then, whether it is a table of contents in a research proposal, dissertation, or any extensive academic piece of writing.

When you get dissertation help from professionals; you will see a properly formatted table of contents soon after the title page. This table is equally helpful for the writer and the reader. All forms of software that are used to write documents have tools available to include a table of contents in the paper. Similarly; MS Word has the tools that help in the effective formation of the table of contents.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Table Of Contents?

Imagine you are sipping on a cup of coffee, eager to dive back into the suspenseful chapter of Harry Potter, but you can’t find the page! Frustrating, right? This is where a table of contents comes to the rescue. Of course; the purpose of ToC is mainly the same for all documents but it becomes more professional when you write a table of contents for research proposal or your academic pieces. The advantages that it holds include:

• Navigation: Professional dissertation writers UK always ensure organised ToC because they know it gives readers a preview of the structure of your document. So; they could immediately jump to the section of interest.
• Organisation: It allows the contents of your paper to follow a logical pattern in a way that it will not confuse your readers, especially if lengthy, be it as long as dissertations or theses.
• Professionalism: A ToC is the finishing touch of giving your document a level of polish. It is an important element that shows you are following proper academic discipline.
• Saves you time: Automatic tables of contents in Word save you so much time as any automatic formatting you make is picked by the system.

What Should Be Included In A Table Of Contents? MS Word Edition

Microsoft Word Is a popularly used word-processing software that is meant for creating, editing, formatting, and sharing text documents. When you write an academic piece of paper, it is divided into many sections, six of them are the main chapters while the remaining include a separate section of title page, bibliography, and of course table of contents. By buying dissertation online, you can have a proper idea of this categorisation of the academic projects.

When it comes to the creation of a table of contents for research proposal or any other academic document in MS Word then you can follow the below-mentioned approach:

Step 1: Apply Heading Styles:

Microsoft Word automatically generates a Table of Contents from the headings in the document. So; add Heading 1, Heading 2, and so on.  Once you have given headings to your document, they will automatically appear on your table of content in research proposal. These main headings will help you in giving sections to your document.

For example: if you have a chapter called “Introduction”, choose it. Apply a heading style. Click the Home tab on the ribbon. In the Styles group, click the appropriate heading style. Now use Heading 1 for the main sections, Heading 2 for the sub-sections, and Heading 3 for the sub-sub-sections.

Example:

Chapter 1: Introduction → Apply Heading 1.

1.1 Background → Apply Heading 2.

1.1.1 History → Apply Heading 3.

Follow the same steps for all the headings you want to be included in the Table of Contents.

Such heading hierarchy forms the structure of your table of contents that will eventually be automatically added to bibliography sections. You can also take annotated bibliography help from professionals for further guidance.

Step 2: Input The Table of Contents:

After you have set up your heading styles, it is time to insert the actual table of content for research proposal, dissertation, assignment, etc. :

• Mouse pointer:

Place the cursor where you would like the TOC to appear. Typically, this is at the beginning of the project, after the title page.

• Navigate to the References tab:

Click the References tab on the top of your Word screen.

• Insert a Table of Contents:

Click the Table of Contents button in your Table of Contents group. The Table of Contents group is the very first group in your ribbon. A list of TOC formats will appear. You can choose any one of the following from Automatic Table 1 or Automatic Table 2: These are preformatted options that automatically create table of contents in word and build the TOC based on the heading styles you applied.

• Manual Table: You can create a table of contents manually, but this will not update automatically as the document changes. However; it is always recommended to use the automatic version for effectiveness.

Step 3: Updating the Table of Contents:

As you revise the document, any new headings or changes in page numbers have to be done in the table of contents section as well. When you get online research proposal help, you will see every heading well-organised professionally.

• After you have revised the document and have included additional headings or modified section headings; right-click on the Table of Contents.
• Now go on to click on the Update Field in the dropdown menu.
• Select update options. A pop-up with two choices will come up. Update page numbers only and later on update the entire table. Updating page numbers alone is helpful in case you use no headings but only need to change the position of your sections.

On the other hand; updating an entire table, updates both the headers and the page numbers together. Apply when you have added, deleted, or changed headings in your document. Click OK to apply the changes.

Format A Complete And Effective Table Of Content For Your Academic Projects:

Even though the basic format of all table of contents is the same then whether it is the table of contents format for research proposal or for the thesis, still you need to understand the little differences adopted among various academic papers for more clarity.  So; let’s look into the individual style of each academic paper:

●       How To Make A Table Of Contents In Thesis?

Want to pay someone to do my dissertation? If you really need professional writing help then go for it but taking professional assistance just for table of contents formation must not be the reason.

To format a master’s thesis table of contents, you just need to stick to the following few simple steps:

1. Use Heading Styles for your main chapters and subheadings.
2. Go to the “References” tab and select “Table of Contents.”
3. Use one of the style files available or you can make your own according to the guidelines of your institution.
4. Indent the paragraphs and number the pages properly on both sides.
5. Update the table of contents whenever changes are made to the thesis. The same process goes for the bachelor thesis table of contents. So; follow the same method.

Example of Thesis Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Introduction…………………….Page 1

Chapter 2: Literature Review……………Page 5

2.1 Theoretical Framework…………………Page 6

Chapter 3: Methodology…………………Page 10

Chapter 4: Results and Discussion………Page 15

Chapter 5: Conclusion………………………Page 20

References…………………………………….Page 25

Appendices……………………………………Page 30

●       How To Format A Table Of Contents For A Research Paper?

As research papers are comparatively shorter than thesis projects, so; it is common for these projects to have only one entry level of each section. There is even a research proposal table of contents that helps in getting you the initial approval for your project.  The general example goes something like this;

Abstract……………………………………Page 1

Introduction……………………………….Page 2

Methods…………………………………….Page 5

Results………………………………………Page 8

Discussion…………………………………Page 12

Conclusion…………………………………Page 15

References…………………………………Page 18

●       How To Make A Table Of Contents In APA 7?

Want a professional to write my dissertation proposal? Getting professional help with your proposal formation is good as it kind of lays the foundation and gives direction to your research paper. However; make sure that you stick to the same format including the citation style.

In order to format the APA 7 table of contents word template, follow the below-mentioned steps;

1. Form headings. Heading 1 for main sections and Heading 2 for sub-sections.
2. At the top of the page, write “Table of Contents” in bold and centred
3. Make sure that all headings and subheadings are left-aligned while the page numbers are on the right.
4. The entire ToC should use double spacing under APA.

Example of Table of Contents In APA:

Introduction…………………………………….Page 1

Literature Review………………………………Page 3

Method………………………………………….Page 7

Results………………………………………….Page 10

Discussion………………………………………Page 13

References…………………………………….Page 16

Does A Proposal Have A Table Of Contents?

Yes, a research proposal also has a Table of Contents, especially for formal or lengthy proposals. It might be a lot briefer than dissertations or research projects; still, it has enough of content that demands an organised table of contents. Students hire dissertation proposal writers to get their projects done right and accepted instantly. It mainly contains the following sections:

• Introduction
• Problem Statement
• Objectives
• Methods
• Expected Outcomes
• References

Example of Table of Contents in Research Proposal:

Introduction…………………………………Page 1

Problem Statement……………………….Page 3

Objectives………………………………….Page 5

Methods…………………………………….Page 7

Expected Outcomes…………………….Page 9

References…………………………………Page 12

The Dos And Dont’s Of Writing Table Of Contents:

After looking into the research proposal table of contents example, thesis table of contents formation, and so on. It is time to instruct you with some useful dos and don’ts for enhanced quality.

Dos:

• Use Word’s automatic features to avoid wasting time.
• Do make the Table of Contents reflect your document’s organisation.
• Do check that all headings are formatted and aligned appropriately.

Don’ts:

Do not try to input the Table of Contents manually; it is intended to be generated through Word functionality.

Do not forget to update the Table of Contents after you have edited your document.

Do not be wordy in TOC keep it concise yet descriptive.

If you stick to the above-mentioned instructions; we assure you that you will be able to format a perfect table of contents for your academic projects.