Formatting Guidelines

Work with your committee to conduct your research and write your thesis or dissertation. Examples of ETDs from most programs are available online at the OhioLINK ETD Collection.

While specific formatting requirements are determined by your committee and/or department, the following information provides "best practice" guidelines:

General Formatting

You and your committee should agree on formatting requirements for the ETD.

Spacing

Double-space all text. Long quotations and footnotes may be single-spaced.

Font

An 11-point or larger font is recommended for readability. All fonts must be embedded in your final PDF.

Margins

Approximately one inch of white space should be included at the top, bottom and sides of each page.

Page Numbers

Except for the title page, you should number all pages in your ETD.

• Number the pages preceding the body of the text with small roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.), placed at the bottom center of the page. The page number for the Title Page (i) should not be visible.
  
• Number all pages through the body, bibliography, appendices and index with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). All numbering should be in the bottom-center of the page.
• See this walkthrough for help with setting up different numbering systems for different sections of the ETD.

Footnotes

You should place your footnotes at the bottom of the appropriate pages instead of at the ends of chapters, where they are difficult to consult. Please consult with your committee to determine the appropriate style for your field.

Illustrations

Illustrations can include line drawings, graphs, maps, photographs, chemical formulas and musical scores or passages. All illustrations should be inserted into the PDF document (not linked to external sources).

Title

Do not use all capital letters for your title. Capital letters are still appropriate for acronyms, proper nouns, first letter, etc.