Fonts

With few exceptions, all textual elements in your document will share the same font--that is, both typeface and size should be consistent. The font typeface refers to the kind of font you are using, like Verdana or Times New Roman, whereas font size refers to how large the font is.

If your reviewer has noted an issue with fonts in your document, they may be referring to either typeface or size--check both to ensure they are consistent with the font used in your body paragraphs in your chapters.

Consistent font can most easily be achieved by using styles within Word.

Contents
  1. Formatting Requirements
  2. Troubleshooting
    1. Clearing formatting
    2. Showing formatting markup
    3. Inconsistent font
    4. Kerning
  3. Links

Quick Answers

The font used in the the body paragraphs in your chapters is assumed to be the default font of your document, and that same font should be used throughout your document, unless noted otherwise.

  • For example, some of the font on the Disquisition Approval page is larger or smaller than the paragraph text in the chapters. Do not change the alignment, spacing, and font of our Disquisition Approval page; if you have, you can download a new template from our website.
  • For example, the font size within large tables may be reduced if and only if doing so would result in the table fitting onto a single page. Font size may never be reduced more than 4 points, and font size should only be reduced if other options have been exhausted, such as resizing the columns in the table to eliminate whitespace.
  • For example, text within images, such as in a figure or scheme, does not need to use the same font typeface, size, or color as the paragraph text, though we encourage all authors to employ a consistent font throughout all of their non-text items.
  • For example, single words or phrases within paragraph text or tables may use a different color for effect, such as coding a word or phrase in a paragraph to match the color used in an image or highlighting a particularly important result within a table.

Yes, absolutely. Not all fonts are acceptable, but any font from our list of approved fonts can be used for your document.

Formatting Requirements

If you are writing a doctoral dissertation or a master’s thesis, ProQuest requests that you embed all fonts when you convert your disquisition to a .pdf file. This is to help ensure the quality of your pdf file. For more information about how to embed fonts, refer to the instructions provided here.

  • Font type – All elements of the disquisition (including body text, tables, and headings) must appear in the same font type. Exceptions include the font that is used within figures, illustrations, equations, or other special elements.
  • Font color – Use standard (black) font color throughout all body text. Exceptions may be allowed if a single word or phrase within a paragraph or table must use color for descriptive effect (and only if this practice is accepted by your academic discipline).

To ensure proper conversion to .pdf format, disquisitions must use one of the following fonts. The font size given is the baseline font size (used for most elements, including body text, subheadings, table/figure titles, and page numbers). Certain elements may be in a slightly larger font size (for example, major headings), and these exceptions are outlined in the individual sections of this guide. See our Document Accessibility page for more information on accessibility-compliant fonts.

  • Arial (size 10)
  • Century (size 11)
  • Courier New (size 10)
  • Garamond (size 12)
  • Georgia (size 11)
  • Lucida Bright (size 10)
  • Microsoft Sans Serif (size 10)
  • Tahoma (size 10)
  • Times New Roman (size 12)
  • Trebuchet MS (size 10)
  • Verdana (size 10)
  • Computer Modern Roman (size 11) (for disquisitions created using LaTeX)

In listings, one the following monospace fonts should be used, regardless of what font you've used for the rest of your document. Choose one font and apply it to all listings in your document.

  • Courier New (size 10)
  • Computer Modern Typewriter (size 11)

General Troubleshooting

Issues like font typeface or size being inconsistent are most easily solved by using styles in Word. If you are having technical issues with fonts, such as fonts appearing differently between Word and the printed PDF, you may have success using one of the methods below.

Clear Formatting

One of the quickest ways to fix formatting issues with fonts is to clear all formatting.

  1. Select the problematic text.
  2. Home > Clear All Formatting (the eraser icon) or press Ctrl+Spacebar.

Once cleared, you can attempt to reapply the appropriate style. Always check the printed PDF afterwards to ensure the formatting has been applied correctly.

Show/Hide Formatting Marks

Viewing formatting marks can help identify hidden formatting issues.

  • Click the paragraph symbol (¶) on the Home tab or press Ctrl+Shift+8.
  • Look for unexpected paragraph marks, section breaks, or spaces. Section breaks in particular can affect the way fonts are presented.

Issue: Inconsistent Font

Inconsistent font can become an problem when text has been copied from PDFs or other documents and styles have not been applied (or reapplied) afterwards.

  1. Select the affected text.
  2. On the Home tab, navigate to the style pane and select the NDSU Paragraph Double Space 0.5 First Line style.
  3. Repeat for all body paragraphs. You can select multiple paragraphs at once, but do not select other elements such as headings or non-text items like figures or captions.

While colored fonts may be used under certain conditions, all text in the document should generally be black. If you have copied content from elsewhere, be mindful of different colored fonts; grey font is a common side effect of copying from other documents or websites. Use the "Keep Only Text" option when copying text from other locations to strip it of formatting, or select your text and apply the black/automatic font color once you've finished copying text. In some cases, you may need to apply a style twice to apply the style's font settings in addition to its paragraph settings.

Note that selecting all of the text in your document and applying the same font may cause as many issues as it fixes, since pages like the Disquisition Approval page use different font settings.

Issue: Character Spacing

The spacing between words is called kerning. If the kerning in your document does not appear to be correct, causing text to be compressed or stretched, try the following.

  1. Select the affected text.
  2. Home > Font dialog box launcher (small arrow in bottom right corner).
  3. Click the "Advanced" tab.
  4. Adjust "Spacing" from "Expanded" or "Condensed" back to "Normal".

Resources

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Center for Writers