Your Title Goes Here at the Top of the Front PageYour Name, Department of Your Major, Iowa State University

Put a very brief overview of your paper in italics before your main text. This overview should be very short - two sentences or so.

The first paragraph or two of your fact sheet should be a general introduction to your topic. It should set the stage for the more specific information in the body of your text.

It's best to keep your sentences and paragraphs fairly short. Long sentences and paragraphs can be an invitation to use needless words. Make every word of your fact sheet count!

First subheading

Use subheadings to introduce more specific information. Put subheadings in bold type to set them off from the text. Each shift in emphasis should be indicated with a new subheading that serves as a guidepost for the reader.

Make your subtopics flow in a logical order from one to the next. Don't jump back and forth between topics.

Of course, use more meaningful subheading titles than "First subheading" and "Second subheading" as shown here.

Second subheading

You have some freedom to format your fact sheet so as to best suit your material and create a visually attractive design. There are just a few requirements that cannot be changed.

Keep the style used at the top of the first page here, with single column width for the title and your identification followed by two columns for the body of your material. Use 10 point Arial font for all text including figure captions. Set paragraph styles to have 6 points of space between each paragraph (including subheadings and items in bulleted lists).

If you have any questions about formatting of your fact sheet please bring them up in class or come to my office for a chat.

Third subheading

Be sure to select the "Keep with Next" option for each subheading so that the subheading does not become detached from the following text as has happened here.

Fourth subheading

Bulleted lists can be an effective way to present information that does not lend itself to running narrative. As an example consider the instructions for using figures in your fact sheets.

Use figures judiciously. Figures can add visual appeal to your fact sheet and can be an efficient way to convey information. An example is Figure 1, which is much more effective than a long verbal description of the location of Iowa. Keep in mind that space given to figures is space that is not available for your text.

Every figure that you include – and every part of every figure that you include – must be clear. Figure 2 in this template is a typical example of a figure that does not adhere to this requirement. Consider making figures yourself or using a drawing program to retouch figures you find elsewhere. If a figure isn't important

AGRON 406

World Climates

Figure 1. This figure shows our study region within a geographical context. It has a caption that is set off with some space from the surrounding text. From US DOT [2011].

enough for you to go to the effort of making it completely legible then leave it out!

Number your figures consecutively (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.) in the order in which you first mention them. Always refer to figures solely by their number, not by "the figure below" or the like. Never use figures that are not discussed in your text.

Every figure must have a caption that fully explains the meaning of lines, symbols, etc. so that the reader can understand the figure without referring to the text. Do not repeat this material in the text of your fact sheet.

Support your figures with literature citations just as with any other data or concept that you obtain from another source. For example, you could say something like "Figure adapted from Smith and Jones [2015]" or "Plotted data are from Lennon and McCartney [1969]." (Put these

citations in the figure caption, not in the body text.)

The last subheading

Your final section should very briefly summarize the contents of your fact sheet.

It's not necessary to use all the space available on the front and back sides of your fact sheet. Try to format your fact sheet so that the unused space does not stand out. If you want, you can fill in some of your unused space with an attractive image that is relevant to the topic of your fact sheet.

When submitting your fact sheet use your last name and first name as part of the file name.

References

US DOT, 2011: Freight Analysis Framework, Version 3.1.2. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Freight Management and Operations. Accessed on February 26, 2017.

Figure 2. This is an example of a bad figure. At full size the figure looks fine, but when reduced to fit the column width of the fact sheet the labels are not legible.