Table of Contents for Thesis Proposal
The table of contents for thesis proposal on the page that is dedicated to the chapters and their respective page numbers. The headings and subheadings are also mentioned on the page. The formatting for this page should be consistent and clear.
The table of contents is added after the introduction page and before the abstract. The table of contents should be of two pages, not more than that.
If you are planning on writing your thesis, do not skip this page and read further for the format and pattern of the table of contents.
In this post, you will learn:
What should you include in the table of contents?
Appendices and tables
The Do’s and Don’t’s
Examples of the table of contents
A checklist for the table of contents
Now that we have covered what the table of content is, you need to know what is included within the two pages of the list. If you feel like any portion of your dissertation is troubling you, you should get dissertation writing help by all means.
What should you include in the table of contents?
The table of content is an organized list that provides basic knowledge of what your thesis contains. The names of the chapters along with subheadings are added on the left side of the page. Whereas the number of the pages is written on the right side.
The table of contents is created for the sole purpose of locating a chapter and subheading by the reader. One should check with their universities and colleges if they have a specific format for the table of content.
Let us look into the general format of a table of content. The chapters (first level) and their second-level headings should be added to this. Remember, your motive behind creating this page is to make it easy for the reader to locate your chapters.
For example:
Level one heading – Chapter 2. Literature Review
Level two heading -2.1 Research Gap
Appendices and tables
The table of contents must include your appendices and table of figures. If you have more than three and four figures and tables, then they deserve their chapter. But if you dint get a lot of results from research, then those tables and figures can be shared in the list of contents.
Now the question arises, what does the appendices chapter include?
- The original interviews, surveys, and questionnaires that were used to collect data for the research
- Not more than two figures and tables should be added to the table of content.
- If did not use a lot of abbreviations then you should share them in the table of content. But if you have tons of abbreviations and technical terms, then they should be listed in their chapters.
What are the Do’s and Don’t’s of the table of contents
The table of content may seem like a simple two-page table but in actuality can badly affect your thesis if not composed correctly. Due to this reason, one should be extra careful while numbering the pages and creating the different level headings.
| Dos | Don’ts |
|---|---|
| To make the list of content accurate, it should be created at the end of your thesis. | No matter where the placement is. The list of content should not be made at the beginning of the thesis. |
| Create multiple drafts of the list of contents to avoid mistakes. | The list should not be finalized in the first go, it should be checked and rechecked for accuracy. |
| The Acknowledgement and Abstract are added before the table of contents. | Acknowledgment and Abstract of your thesis are not added to your table of content. Both of them are added before the table. |
| The heading number you add on top of each chapter should be the same as the one that is added on the right side of your table of content | Do not make the mistake of numbering the chapters wrong. The entire table of content will become futile. |
| The figures and abbrevations are added to the table of content | The list of figures and abbreviations should not be added to the table of content if the quantity increases by five. |
| The format of the table of content should be according to your university’s requirements. | Do not submit your table of content without proofreading it. |
Example of the table of contents
The page numbers assigned to the chapters in the table of contents should be the same as the number assigned at the beginning of each chapter. The example below demonstrates just that:
Checklist for the table of contents
To achieve perfection in the list of contents, you need a set of rules to follow. A starter’s checklist will guide you to do just that. Below is a checklist that will make sure your table of content is up to mark. And no matter what academic level of thesis you compose, this checklist can be used for all of them:
Collect the relevant information about the format according to your university and referencing style.
Start with the list of tables and bold the main chapters.
All the titles of the chapter should be level one heading and the subheading should be level two.
The numbers of the chapters and the page numbers given in the table should tally.
All pages should be numbered after the chapters are written.
Final words:
To create the table of contents for your thesis, use Microsoft word and customized it according to your thesis requirement. Apply the headings according to your style of preference. You can easily make the changes to the table itself at point of time with the help of the Microsoft Word table of contents.
