The Library does not require a prescribed format for your honors project. Please consult with your advisor or department/program for their recommended formatting styles.
For examples of formatting please take a look at projects submitted by others in your department in previous years
Page numbering
Although there there is no prescribed page numbering style, we ask that you do not print the page number on the title page. The easiest way to format page numbers for different sections, for example using roman and arabic numbers, is to create section breaks in your document. Instructions for Word users. If you have difficulty with the page numbering appearing as would like, please do not hesitate to contact us for help.
Citation style
You may use the formatting style recommended by your discipline's style manual, or whatever style is acceptable to your advisor and department. (For a list of print & online style manuals, see Style and Citation Guides, by Title or Subject.)
Table of contents
Instructions for creating and formatting a table of contents can be found on the Microsoft Office site.
Below is an example of the order of pages, and the Roman or Arabic page numbering, as recommended in one of the style guides, Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers, 8th ed.
Not every thesis will contain all the parts listed below:
1. Front Matter (preliminary pages): use lower-case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.) in this order:
Title Page (required): counts as page i, but the number is not printed on the page. Title Page is not listed in the Table of Contents.
Dedication; Epigraph (both optional): these count in sequence of Roman numerals, but the number is not printed on the page. These are not listed in the Table of Contents.
Table of Contents (required for all papers divided into chapters; recommended for all) Your Table of Contents would list all items shown below, IF your thesis includes them. (See Chicago Manual of Style for more about Tables of Content)
List of Figures, Tables, or Illustrations (optional, but recommended if appropriate): should be listed in Table of Contents
Preface; Acknowledgments; List of Abbreviations or Glossary; Abstract (all optional): should be listed in Table of Contents
2. Text: includes everything between the front matter and the back matter; begins a new numbering sequence, using
Arabic numerals. (Introduction, chapters and/or major sections typically are listed in the Table of Contents.)
Introduction (optional): if included, this is page 1.
Chapters or Sections: if no Introduction, Chapter 1 would be page 1. Begin each new chapter on a new page. Continue sequence of Arabic numbering.
3. Back Matter: continues numbering with Arabic numerals. (List these parts in the Table of Contents.)
Illustrations (optional)
Appendixes (optional): this is where you could put black & white copies of color images from the body of the text.
Endnotes, Bibliography, or Reference List (required in most papers): One of these lists will be the final section of the paper.
