Dissertation & Thesis Review Services - Top 10 Formatting Problems

Top 10 Formatting Problems

After you read about the top 10 formatting problems listed below, you'll find answers to these additional questions: How hard can this be...really? How much time will formatting take? and, When should I consult with the Dissertation and Thesis Reviewer?

The following errors are avoidable if students carefully read the SDSU Dissertation &; Thesis Manual (DTM). For students using the template, the ReadMe File (Word template instructions) should also be read carefully. The biggest mistake students make is looking at old theses as examples and/or using either the Word or LaTeX templates without reading the DTM or the template instructions. Both of these actions can produce a manuscript that is so far out of compliance that it is rejected by the Dissertation and Thesis Reviewer. (See the policy on Rejection of Theses/Dissertations.)

1. References

Because the faculty committee is responsible for verifying accurate source documentation, the Dissertation and Thesis Reviewer only spot checks references in text against the reference list to be reasonably sure that the following types of errors are not present in the dissertation/thesis.

Sources are not cited in the text (or don't match the reference list entry for author(s) names or year of publication).
Sources in the text are not cited correctly (i.e., according to the departmental style guide; see Sec. 2.2.4 in the DTM).
reference list entries are not formatted according to the departmental style guide.

To make the rather tedious process of preparing your reference list as easy as possible, follow these 2 guidelines:

Table 2.3 in the SDSU Dissertation &; Thesis Manual (DTM) lists the approved departmental style guides. Some departments list 2 or 3 different style guides (or any number of refereed journals) as appropriate style guides for theses. In that case, ask your thesis chair about his/her preference or which style would be most appropriate for your research. Also, read Section 5.2.1 of the DTM regarding Reference Lists and Notes. Do this before you start your research; then prepare your reference section as you do your research. You can always delete sources you don't use. It is much harder to go back and gather documentation information after you no longer have the documents.

Electronic Sources: Check the Web for the style guide you are using (many are listed in Table 2.2 in the DTM) before doing your research so that you can get up-to-date instruction on the information you will need to gather in order to document any on-line sources. Also, read my handout, Citing Internet Sources, to find out how to make sure your url's work and what to do if they don't.

2. Title &; Signature Pages

Name of degree is incorrect (all degree names are listed in Table 2.3 in the DTM).
Student's name doesn't match that which is in the university's record system (check it via the Web Portal).
Professor's names are spelled incorrectly or are missing something (faculty names should be entered as they are shown in the Bulletin of the Graduate Division; call the Graduate Division (594-5213) to have someone look it up for you if you don't have one.
Department names are incorrect, incomplete, or incorrectly displayed, e.g.,
Correct: Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Incorrect: Department of Mathematics
Mathemathics and Statistics Department.
The approval date is not written in by the thesis chair when s/he signs the signature page. Yes, the "date" line was moved to the bottom of the page with the 11th edition of the DTM, but its function did not change; it should still reflect the thesis chair's approval (not the Dissertation &; Thesis Reviewer's approval).

3. Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures

The SDSU Template includes pages for these lists that have already been generated. Students need only to update these lists, and, after the final update, make a few, minor modifications. It is these modifications, as well as proofing, that many students forget about:

Table of Contents: The preliminary page numbers must be added manually. The chapter numbers, also, must be added manually (or indentation modified if using Section Style text formatting), and the appendix entries must be altered (if there is more than one appendix). The ReadMe File contains complete instructions.
List of Figures: Source information (when present) must be deleted. Also, if desired, the caption may be truncated following the rules in the DTM, Section 5.1.9.
Pagination check: See #4 below.

4. Pagination

The first page of text must restart numbering at "1" and pagination from that point forward should be continuous and sequential. Students should always check to make sure this is the case. The insertion or deletion of section breaks in the Word template could cause: (a) the text to continue numbering from the preliminary pages, or (b) sections within the text to restart numbering at "1" -- both of which are incorrect. The easiest place to check for this is the Table of Contents after it has been generated. Also pay attention to appendix entrys for pagination errors.

Errors may also occur around landscape-oriented pages. Although the pre-formatted landscape pages are formatted to place the page number in the correct position and orientation, modifications may need to be made, especially to the page following a landscape page so that page numbers there do not show up in the footer alone, or in both the header and footer. Students should read the ReadMe File instructions carefully.

5. Headings

Students should read both Section 4.8 and all of the text in Figure 4.3 in the DTM before formatting headings--whether using the SDSU Template or formatting manually. The most frequent errors are:

The level hierarchy is not followed. Headings should be applied in a consecutive top-down progression: Heading 1 for the first-level heading, Heading 2 for the 2nd-level heading, etc. It really is as easy as 1, 2, 3--just follow the numbers!
Position of heading (centered or side) and/or style of font (small caps or not) is incorrect. This usually happens when a student is using an old thesis as a reference since heading formatting changed significantly from the 10th to 11th editions of the DTM. Read the DTM and look at the 3 sample theses provided on this web site.
There are capitalization errors. This happens with all heading levels, but primarily with the 1st and 3rd-level headings which use "small caps." In this style, all the letters look like capital letters, but the letters that are capitalized are taller. It is easiest to check for capitalization errors in the headings by checking the generated Table of Contents where "small caps" is not used. Not sure which words should or should not be capitalized? Read the definition of major words in Section 4.8.2 in the DTM and use a dictionary's part-of-speech label to determine whether to capitalize or not.

6. Tables and Figures

Students should read Sections 4.10.1 &; 4.10.2 in the DTM (which apply to both tables and figures), then Section 4.10.3 for tables, Section 4.10.4 for figures, and Section 4.10.5 for plates, as applicable, for specifics pertaining to each type of illustration. Most common errors are:

Illustrations are not identified by number in the text preceding the illustration (4.10.1)
Illustrations are misplaced in the text (4.10.1)
There are page layout errors (4.10.2), including excessive bottom margins (see #7 below).

7. Excessive Bottom Margins

These occur when text (or text and graphics) pages are not filled to the bottom margin. The bottom margin is 1" and variance in the bottom margin between 1" to 1.5" is normal and acceptable. [Mathematics, statistics, and other theses containing a large number of equations are an exception; the variance in these bottom margins may be greater.] Excessive bottom margins usually occur when:

Students are not following page layout instructions for combining text and graphics (see #6 above).
Students start some or all headings on a new page even though the prior page is not filled. Text pages can stop short only at the end of a chapter. Headings, to the contrary, must be continuous within the text.

8. Editorial Style Errors

Editorial style issues are discussed in Section 4.9 in the DTM. The most common style errors involve:

Bad end-of-line breaks. Whether it is splitting names, numbers, or text with numerals, students do need to pay particular attention to Section 4.9.2 in the DTM.
Block quotations. Spacing around them or indentation level are the two biggest errors. If using the SDSU Template, there is a style for this--just use it and don't add any extra spacing on your own.
Enumeration. Students have problems with both (1) lists within a paragraph of text (see Section 4.9.2.3) as well as (2) numered or bulleted lists where each items starts on a new line (there are styles for these as well; read the ReadMe file).

9. Appendices

There are a variety of errors that can happen with the appendices and many theses that include them have at least one of the following errors. Formatting guidelines for appendices are in Section 5.2.2 of the DTM.

Appendices are not identified in text.
The labeling sequence is incorrect.
The cover sheet is missing.
The title on the cover sheet is missing or is incorrectly formatted.
The pages are not paginated consistent with the rest of the manuscript (e.g., placement, font size, font style).
The appendices exceed even the minimal margin limits for oversized materials (in which case, they should be reduced or placed on 11" x 17" paper).
They are copies, and the copy quality is poor either because they are unclear or "dirty."

10. Template Abuse!

Unless students want to prepare a double-spaced dissertation/thesis, use a different font style, or need to modify the template to produce automatic numbering when using technical format, students should not reformat the template. That means, don't mess with the styles! (If a student believes the template is not working correctly, s/he should contact the Dissertation and Thesis Reviewer.) E.g., don't add additional space around headings, because the DTM says there should be extra space--the template styles have that built in. The DTM is very specific in pointing out what is included in the template and what things the student does need to format manually. Read it carefully. There are specific instructions on which styles to modify, what needs to be adjusted, and how &; what to modify to change line spacing or font style.

HOW HARD CAN THIS BE...REALLY?

You must know your word processing system well in order to format your dissertation or thesis to the required specifications. In addition to the basics, those using M.S. Word, for example, also need to know how to: use templates and wizards;* work with headers and footers, including page numbering;* use the ruler to change indentation and apply hanging indents and tabs; insert and delete footnotes and endnotes; insert graphics (tables &; figures); work with styles (applying and removing);* create an auto-generated Table of Contents using styles;* work with line spacing features; know the difference between page breaks and section breaks;* insert or remove hyperlinks; and be able to work with the reviewing, comments, and tracking functions.

* Items with an asterisk denote skills needed to use the SDSU Template effectively.

Fortunately, there is a BATS workshop (Microsoft Word Intermediate: Document Formatting) that covers these areas and this workshop is a mandatory prerequisite for the BATS Thesis Template Workshop. Both workshops are offered four or five times per semester as a set (back-to-back) for convenience. Although these workshops are not mandatory in order for students to use the SDSU Template, it is highly recommended that students attend. The four-hour investment is well worth the effort to alleviate countless additional hours of confusion and frustration.

Students working in LaTeX have available a thesis template produced by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics that conforms to the DTM. As with the SDSU Template in Word, the LaTeX template helps with most, but not all of the formatting and some things will need to be formatted manually.

If this seems like too much to handle and you are not confident about formatting, or if time is worth more than money to you, you might want to consider hiring a professional. The Graduate Division maintains a list of professional formatters.

HOW MUCH TIME WILL FORMATTING TAKE?

When you make projections about a completion date, build in enoughtime to format your thesis. It is suggested that you allow:

2-30 hours learning the regulations of your departmental style guide, depending on your current level of familiarity with it. This includes rules on how to cite sources in your text and how to prepare the reference list. Also, see the Citing Internet Sources handout.
8 hours, minimum, becoming familiar with and using the SDSU Dissertation &; Thesis Manual.
8 hours reading the ReadMe File and learning how to use the SDSU Thesis Template (including optional attendance at the free BATS Word Intermediate and Thesis Template workshops). If you are using LaTeX or some other software program, you should plan on spending the same amount of time or more depending on your level of expertise.
40 hours, minimum, to actually format your thesis.
8 hours proofreading and tweaking.

Therefore, as an absolute minimum, you should plan to spend two weeks (80 hours) formatting your dissertation or thesis. Some students may be able to format their theses in 40-60 hours. However, many more are likely to need 100 hours or more. Therefore, don't underestimate this part of the process! It will be much easier on you if you spread these hours across 2 semesters by starting the formatting process as you write your thesis/dissertation proposal.

WHEN SHOULD I CONSULT WITH THE DISSERTATION AND THESIS REVIEWER?

Answer: Whenever you need to!

Contact the Dissertation and Thesis Reviewer whenever questions arise. Concerns can be handled over the phone or via email. In addition, students can set up a brief pre-submittal consultation appointment. However, be aware that after the without-risk deadline, no pre-submittal consultations will be scheduled. So, start early!

Contact the Dissertation and Thesis Reviewer, also, whenever a formatting instruction is not clear. Do not use a completed thesis as an example (measurements change due to the binding process and, on rare occasions, exceptions to the manual may be made). The Dissertation and Thesis Reviewer is available to provide guidance throughout the thesis preparation process.

Last revised 1-09-07