Formatting "How To" Guide

ETD Approval Deadlines

Summer 1 Credit Extension 2026: Friday, June 11, 2026 at 5:00PM
Graduating Summer 2026: Friday, July 31, 2026, at 5:00PM
Fall 1 Credit Extension 2026: Friday, September 11, 2026 at 5:00PM
Graduating Fall 2026: Friday, December 11, 2026 at 5:00PM

General Formatting

Tech Access

• Download a recent version of Word
• Access Adobe Creative Cloud

Front Matter

• Format the Table of Contents (TOC)
  • Use dot leaders
  • Create your own custom, automatic TOC
• Format different page numbers
• Restart the numbering in a list 

Body, References, and Appendices

• Use double space versus triple spacing (includes video tutorial)
• Format a third-level heading
• Format a block quote
• Justify text
• Turn pages to landscape view (Includes video tutorial)
• Format tables that span multiple pages

Accessibility Requirements

• Use accessibility styles for headings (Includes video tutorial)
• Add alt text to images, figures, and tables
• Convert a Word document to a PDF with bookmarks
• Edit document properties

Manuscript Option

• Combine multiple PDFs or a PDF into a Word doc (Includes video tutorial)