College of Graduate Studies

Theses & Dissertations: Content/Chapters

Beginning a new chapter

Always start a new chapter on a new page.  Use the page break function to insert a blank page; do not use the Enter key multiple times.

1. Type CHAPTER 1: TITLE OF CHAPTER at the top of the page; your chapters will be numbered sequentially starting at 1.  Be sure to label each title as a chapter title heading to format it properly; see the headings section below for instructions.
2. Leave the next line blank.
3. Start your chapter.
4. Chapter 1 needs to start on an odd-numbered document page according to Microsoft Word (not according to your page numbers). This may or may not happen naturally. Use the page break function to insert a blank page if it does not happen naturally; do not use the Enter key multiple times.

Headings

The headings will populate your table of contents. Follow these instructions to set up and label headings in your document. 

There are six possible levels of headings described in the table below.

• The title level is for thesis/dissertation titles and chapter titles.
• Level 1 headings are for main sections within a chapter; level 2 headings are subsections of level 1; level 3 headings are subsections of level 2; etc.

Pay close attention to word spacing in your heading and paragraphs. Review for potential spacing errors.

Heading Level	Heading Example
Page Title or Chapter Title	CENTERED, BOLD, ALL CAPS
Level 1	Centered, Bold, Title Case for the Heading Next paragraph begins indented as usual.
Level 2	Flush Left, Bold, Title Case for the Heading Text Next paragraph begins indented as usual.
Level 3	Flush Left, Bold, Italics, Title Case for the Heading Text Next paragraph begins indented as usual.
Level 4	Indented, Bold, Title Case for the Heading Text, End with a Period. Next paragraph begins right after heading.
Level 5	Indented, Bold, Italics, Title Case for the Heading Text, End with a Period. Next paragraph begins right after heading.