Formatting Requirements for NIU Theses, Dissertations, and Dissertations of Practice

• Overview of Changes
• Requirements for the Entire Document
• Heading System
• Order of Document Components
• Title Page
• Abstract
• Acknowledgements
• Dedication

• Table of Contents
• Lists of Tables, Figures, Symbols/Abbreviations
• Preface
• Main Text
• Tables and/or Figures
• References/Bibliography/Works Cited
• Appendix or Appendices

Thesis- and dissertation-writing students must follow the NIU formatting requirements, which are detailed below and preset in the NIU Thesis and Dissertation Template. Use of the template is strongly recommended.

Overview of Changes

• The title page comes before the abstract.
• All margins are one inch.
• Headings align with APA formatting.
• All pagination is in Arabic numerals.
• Lists of tables, figures, and appendices are optional, not required.
• Manuscripts must meet accessibility standards including the use of structured headings, simplified tables, and alt text for figures.

Requirements for the Entire Document

• Top, bottom, left, and right margins must all be set to one inch.
• Major headings (i.e., all items listed under Order of Document Components except for Title Page) must be centered at the top of the page and typed in all capital letters.
• Subheadings follow APA heading levels 1-5.
• Font must be 12-point and easily accessible (e.g., Aptos or Arial).
• Text must be double-spaced and left-aligned (not fully justified).
• Paragraphs must begin with a single tab, 0.5-inch indentation.
• Page numbers must be centered at the bottom of all pages except for the title page, on which there is no visible number.
• Page numbers are located in the footer, 0.5 inches from the bottom of the page.
• Tables and figures, if used, must be accessible, numbered consecutively, and labeled consistently.

Heading System

• Major Headings: Centered, bold, all capital letters
• Subheadings
  • Level 1: Centered, bold, title case
  • Level 2: Left-aligned, bold, title case
  • Level 3: Left-aligned, bold, title case, italic
  • Level 4: Indented, bold, title case, ends with a period
  • Level 5: Indented, bold, title case, italic, ends with a period
• The above headings must be assigned in “Styles” when using Microsoft Word so that they are accessible through assistive technology. These headings are preset in the template available on this website.
• If you choose to number your headings, use the decimal style, in which the first digit indicates the chapter number and subsequent digits separated by decimals indicate subsections.

Order of Document Components

• Title Page (no visible page number)
• Abstract (page 2 of document)
• Acknowledgements (optional)
• Dedication (optional)
• Table of Contents
• Lists of Tables, Figures, Symbols/Abbreviations (optional)
• Preface (optional)
• Main Text
• References/Bibliography/Works Cited
• Appendix/Appendices (optional)

Title Page

• This is the first page of the document, but the page number is not shown.
• The month and year near the top of the page indicate when you expect your degree to be conferred (e.g., May, August, or December).
• Information on the title page is typed in all capital letters except for the author’s name after the copyright symbol (“©”) and year. 

Abstract

• The abstract appears on page number 2, and Arabic pagination continues from this point through the last page of the document.
• Abstracts are typically no longer than 250 words.
• Begin each paragraph with a single tab, 0.5-inch indentation.
• Left-align and double-space the text.
• Do not include citations, images, or footnotes in the abstract.

Acknowledgements (optional)

• Begin each paragraph with a single tab, 0.5-inch indentation.
• Left-align and double-space the text.

Dedication (optional)

• This is usually just one or two lines long.
• Center and double-space the text under the major heading.

Table of Contents

• All document components with major headings should be listed.
• Each item in the table of contents must be worded exactly as it appears in the document.
• Major headings (i.e., chapter titles and chapter title equivalents) must be typed in all capital letters in the table of contents.
• Subheadings are not required to be listed, but they may be.
• Subheadings, if listed in the table of contents, should be indented and written in title case (not all caps).
• Chapter titles and subheadings that are two lines or longer may be single-spaced.
• A corresponding page number must be specified for each item in the table of contents, and all page numbers must be accurate.
• Leader dots must follow the final word of each item in the table of contents. Do not run words into the page number column. Make sure there are at least 4 or 5 leader dots before an item’s page number.

Lists of Tables, Figures, Symbols/Abbreviations (optional)

• List components begin with a major heading and are listed in the table of contents.
• Table or figure labels that are two lines or longer may be single-spaced.

Preface (optional)

• This is often used in dissertations of practice.
• This component begins with a major heading and is listed in the table of contents.
• Begin each paragraph with a single tab, 0.5-inch indentation.
• Left-align and double-space the text.
• A preface includes explanatory remarks about the background of the work and immediately precedes Chapter 1.

Main Text

• The body of the document is divided into chapters, which may be further divided into sections and subsections.
• Each chapter or chapter equivalent must begin on a new page with a major heading.
• Begin each paragraph with a single tab, 0.5-inch indentation.
• Left-align and double-space the text.
• Single spacing is allowed for
  • footnotes
  • block quotations
  • table and figure captions/notes
  • references
  • material in appendices
• There can be no blank pages within the document.

Tables and/or Figures

• Tables and figures may be placed between paragraphs within chapters, grouped as a section with a level-one subheading at the end of a chapter, or grouped as the last chapter in the document. Placement must remain consistent with one of these choices.
• Position table and figure numbers/labels above each table or figure. Captions/notes, which are optional, can be below.
• Tables must have row and/or column headers and a simple structure. Do not use merged/split cells or multi-level/split headers.
• All figures must have alt text to describe what is represented visually. This cannot be the same as the caption and should convey the context of the image.
• A table should not straddle two pages if it can fit on one page, and a long table should begin at the top of a page rather than in the middle or at the bottom of a page.
• Tables and figures that continue on subsequent pages should indicate that they do so at the top of the continuation, e.g., “Table 1 (continued),” “Fig. 3 (cont.),” or similar.
• Table and figure numbers/labels and captions/notes should be left-aligned and single-spaced. Font within a table may be as small as 8-point.
• Tables and figures may be numbered simply through the entire document or may utilize the decimal system in which the number before the decimal indicates the chapter, and the number after the decimal indicates the item number.
• Wide tables and figures may be displayed horizontally on landscape pages where their numbers/labels, captions/notes, and page numbers are also rotated.

References/Bibliography/Works Cited

• This section begins on a new page with a major heading.
• Reference section pages are numbered consecutively from the last page of the body of the text.
• References may be single- or double-spaced.
• Every citation in the text must have a reference entry with correct spelling, dates, publishing information, etc.
• In some disciplines, and in “three-paper” dissertations, references may be placed as final sections of chapters rather than as a chapter equivalent at the end of the entire work.

Appendix or Appendices (optional)

• Each appendix must begin on a new page with a major heading.
• Assign each appendix a capital letter and a specific title (e.g., “Appendix A: Surveys”).
• Number appendix pages consecutively from the last page of the reference section.
• Appendices must maintain one-inch margins but may have content that is single- or double-spaced.
• Tables or figures in an appendix may be numbered consecutively from those in the main document or labeled with their appendix letters and numbers (e.g., A1, A2, B1, B2, etc.).