Table of Contents

• Location – The Table of Contents appears after the Abstract (and Acknowledgments, Dedication, and Preface, if used), and before the List of Tables, List of Figures, etc. It must use the same font type, size, and margins as the rest of the disquisition. The Table of Contents is part of the prefatory material and must have lower-case Roman numeral page numbers.
• Bold and italics – In general, bold and italic fonts should not be used in the Table of Contents as a reflection of the style used in the main document headings and subheadings (in other words if your headings are set to use bold you should not also use bold in the Table of Contents entries). However, if a particular word in a heading is in italics (such as a scientific term) then you may set this word to also be in italics in the corresponding entry.
• Font – The font of the entries must be the same size and type as the text used in the body paragraphs, even if you used a larger font size for major headings.
• Entries – All major headings that appear in the disquisition must be included in the Table of Contents, except for the major heading “TABLE OF CONTENTS.” Do not include an entry for the Title page or the Disquisition Approval page, which do not have major headings.
  • Subheadings – You are not required to list subheadings in the Table of Contents; however, if you include a subheading of a particular level, then you must include all subheadings of that level and those superior to it. For example, if your Table of Contents includes any second-level subheadings, then it must include all the first-level subheadings and second-level subheadings in the entire disquisition.
  • Entries must match contents – The headings that are included in the Table of Contents must be identical to the headings that appear in the text. This includes wording, punctuation, and capitalization. If you use numbered headings in the text, the headings must also be numbered in the Table of Contents.
• Alignment and indentation – Entries for major headings must be aligned flush against the left margin and in ALL CAPS. Entries for subheadings must be indented according to their outline level; we recommend a 0.25" indentation per outline level.
• Consistency – Alignment and indentation must be consistent for all headings of the same level.
• Justification – To avoid gaps (kerning) between words, entries should be left-aligned. Do not fully-justify the text.
• Long entries – Headings should not extend into the page number column, which is 0.5" from the right 1" page margin.
• Spacing – Set entries to be single spaced, with one line of space (roughly 12 pts) between each entry.
• Dot leaders – Use dot leaders to connect the last word of each heading with the page number where that heading appears.
• Automated Table of Contents – Microsoft Word can create an automated Table of Contents, and they are used within the NDSU disquisition templates. If you use an automated Table of Contents, you must still follow the guidelines that are listed here.

When an automatically generated table of contents cannot find text that was it was previously linked to, it will generate an error. This might mean the corresponding heading was deleted or that the formatting of the heading was changed. Check the heading in question and apply the correct formatting or style, then update your Table of Contents.

If this does not resolve the error, you can recreate your Table of Contents from scratch. First, place your cursor within your existing Table of Contents. Next, navigate to the References tab, click the Table of Contents button and select Custom Table of Contents. In the Table of Contents dialog box, ensure that "Use hyperlinks instead of page numbers" is checked. Additionally, click the Options button in the Table of Contents creation dialog box, and remove the number "1" from the field next to the "NDSU X" style listing. Click OK in the Table of Contents Options dialog box and OK in the Table of Contents dialog box to create your new Table of Contents. Word may ask if you'd like to replace your existing Table of Contents; click yes.

Alternatively, you can delete the error text and manually enter the page number for the entry. However, if you ever update your Table of Contents, you will need to re-edit the page number manually.

Delete your old Table of Contents (TOC), and insert a custom TOC in its place the from the Reference tab -> Table of Contents button -> Custom Table of Contents. In the custom TOC dialog box that appears, enable the option for hyperlinks, then click the Options button to open the crustiest dialog box you'll see in your life.

In the Options dialog box, make sure there are numbers only in the entries you want showing up in your TOC. The numbers correspond to level of heading--for example, major headings should have a "1" next to them, first-level subheadings should have a "2", and so on. Your TOC is required to have entries for major headings only; you may elect to have entries for other subheadings at your discretion. Your document may have several types of major headings, and the default templates include a type of major heading that should not be included in the TOC called "NDSU X: UNLISTED MAJOR HEADING". Make sure to remove the number next to this entry, if present. (This type of heading is necessary to make sure the title of your document and the major heading for the TOC get tagged correctly as part of the document structure but not show up in the TOC itself.)

Once you have verified everything is good in the dialog box, click OK, then click OK in the TOC creation dialog box to make the TOC. You may be asked if you want to replace your TOC--only click "Yes" if you haven't deleted your old one yet, otherwise click "No". After the new list appears, it should be pre-formatted. If not, download a template from our website and try again.