University Guidelines Manual Formatting

Rules: Chapters, Appendices, and References Lists

A Guide for CSULB Master’s Degree Candidates

Thesis and Dissertation OfficeCalifornia State University, Long Beach

University Library, Room 501email: lib-thesis@csulb.edu

phone: (562) 985-4013web:

http://www.csulb.edu/library/guide/serv9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday

Contact us any time! We’ll get back to you by the next business day!

Get the Complete Picture

This PowerPoint slideshow only covers one segment of the many University Guidelines Manual formatting rules. To get the complete picture, you also need to refer to these slideshows.

Electronic Submission and Basic University Guidelines Manual Formatting Rules

University Guidelines Manual Formatting Rules: Front Pages

These and other materials that can help you format your manuscript are available on the Thesis and Dissertation Office web pages.

Thesis Office Web Pages

University Guidelines Manual Mini-Manuscript Templates PowerPoints Go to http://csulb.libguides.com/thesisformat or click through

from University Library home page: http://www.csulb.edu/library

University Guidelines Versus Departmental Style Manuals

The formatting rules in the CSULB University Guidelines Manual ALWAYS take precedence over the style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) or other citation format styles (IEEE, GSA, etc.) required by your department

Chapters—General Rules One inch top margin for all pages Chapter 1 begins with page 1 (Arabic

numerals) and all pages that follow have page numbers, numbered in sequence, to the end of the document

Paragraph format throughout chapters Uniform double line spacing in text,

chapter titles and subheads All uppercase letters for lines indicating

chapter number and chapter title Use “Left align” only for all text If URLs are used within text, break URLs

to fill line with text before continuing to a new line (depending on style guide being used, hyperlink may also need to be removed)

Be consistent with capitalization and use of hyphens within words or phrases

Block quotes can use single line spacing or double line spacing with line spacing consistent for all block quotes

Chapters—SubheadsSubheads are not required, but they are often used to create divisions and then subdivisions within chapters. They help the reader keep track of the topic being covered in each division and subdivisionFIRST LEVEL SUBHEAD Bold font Headline Style of Capitalization On a line by itself Centered

SECOND LEVEL SUBHEAD Bold font Headline Style of Capitalization On a line by itself Begins at left margin

THIRD LEVEL SUBHEAD Bold font Sentence style of capitalization Paragraph indentation On the same line as text Ends with a period

SPACING For first or second level subheads,

subheads of two or more lines are single line spaced

Chapters—Numbered Items1. The format that is embedded in most

Microsoft word programs can be used for numbered items. The numbered items on this slide illustrate the format.

2. The first line of each item (the line with the number) uses a quarter inch indent and the other lines use a “hanging indent” of one half inch.

3. In this type of indentation, the numbers of the items stand out from the text.

4. A line of text that introduces a numbered list should use half inch indent; that is, it should use the same indent as the first line of a paragraph even if it is only one line long.

5. The first line of text that follows a numbered list uses a half inch indent; that is, a new paragraph begins after the last item of a numbered list.

Chapters—Big No-NosNo bold font in text (italics

may be used in text for emphasis

No font color other than black

No highlighting or shadingNo outlines (that is, no extra

indentation to show hierarchy of items)

No right justification

Chapters—Other Common Mistakes

Use 12 point font size for text, page numbers, footnotes, table titles and table notes, and figure captions

Periods and “commas,” inside “quotation marks.”

The first time each acronym (or abbreviation) is used in text, write out the complete term followed by the acronym in parentheses; after that, the acronym can be used in all text that follows without the term being written out

Tables Table titles are placed ABOVE the

table Use bold font for table titles. Each line of the table title begins at

the left margin. The table title begins with the header TABLE (all uppercase letters) then the number of the table, a period and a space

The wording of the table title uses Headline Style of Capitalization (first word and all significant words capitalized). Multi-line table titles are single line spaced

Do NOT use a period at the end of table title

Material within tables can be single line-spaced or double line-spaced

Use the same font style as is used in the text and 12 point font size for the table title and any notes to the tables

Font size for material within table can be no smaller than 10 point font

Tables—Continued to a Second Page Notes are placed underneath

tables. Each line of a note begins at the left margin. Use single line spacing for table notes

Use lines that span the width of the table at beginning of table (above row with column headings), and below row with column headings, and under the last row of the table. Other lines within the table are optional

Tables must fill a complete page before continuing to another page. For subsequent pages of a table, include the column headers used on the first page of the table and use the title:

TABLE [# of table]. Continued Use spanner line only at the end

of a table. Omit spanner line at bottom of page if table continues to another page

Figures Figure captions are placed

BELOW the figure Use bold font for figure captions Each line of the figure caption

begins at the left margin. The caption begins with the header FIGURE (all uppercase letters) then the number of the figure, a period and a space

The wording of the caption uses Sentence style of capitalization (First word capitalized plus any word that would be capitalized in a sentence such as California). Multi-line figure captions are single line spaced

A figure must be complete on one page

Figures—Landscape Orientation Different font styles and font sizes

and can be used in figures as long as text is legible

Color and shading can be used in figures

Figure captions end with a period but do not have to be grammatically correct sentences

To simplify the list of figures, begin captions with a short descriptive phrase ending with a period and then add as much information as needed. In the list of figures, you only need to include the words of each caption up to the first period

Landscape orientation can be used for figures or tables. A text box is used to insert a page number to match location of page number on other pages

Use text box to insert page number here

Omit page number here

Placement of Tables and FiguresOPTIONSTables and figures can be placed in an appendix OR on pages by themselves (one, two, or three on a page) OR on pages with text OR any combination of these options

IN APPENDIXPlacement of tables or figures in sequence with no text simplifies formatting of tables and figures and makes them easy for readers to locate

ON PAGE WITHOUT TEXTIf a table or figure appears on a page without text, center the table or figure on the page; that is, use the same amount of blank space above and below the table or figure

ON PAGE WITH TEXTIf a table or figure appears on a page with text, there should be spacing—1 to 3 blank single line-spaced lines (from ¼ to ½ inch of blank space)—between the text and the table or figure. Add extra spacing above if text appears above the table or figure, add extra spacing below if text appears below the table or figure, and add extra spacing above and below if text appears above and below the table or figure

Mind the Gap Extra blank space cannot be left at the bottom of a page of text to

accommodate placement of a table or figure Figures cannot be split onto two pages and tables can only continue

to another page if the table is long enough to fill more than one page If more text remains in the chapter following a table or figure, that

text should be moved forward to fill blank space at the bottom of a page that has text on it

Text should be moved forward even if that means separating a table or figure from text that describes it or even if that text includes a new subhead

Include the required blank space (¼ to ½ inch or 1-3 blank single line-spaced lines) below a table or figure

If only one line of text or a subhead and one line of text can fit below the space below the table or figure, then that text can be moved to the next page

As a rule of thumb, there should not be more than 2 inches of blank space on a page below the text or below a table or figure on a page with text

WRONG PLACEMENT

OPTION ONE—Page filled with text and figure placed on next page with text

OPTION TWO—Page filled with text and figure placed on next page with no text

Single Appendix Use appendices for material that

cannot be formatted with paragraph structure such as flyers, computer code, or instruction manuals

Title pages are used to introduce appendices. Titles use all uppercase letters, bold font, and double line spacing and are centered on the page

For appendix titles, fill line with text before continuing to another line

If there is only one appendix, use the word APPENDIX as the first line and then the title of the appendix on the next line

In the table of contents, refer to the page number of the title page; for a single appendix, there is only one listing in the table of contents

APPENDIX: TITLE OF APPENDIX and then dot leaders and page number

Multiple Appendices For more than one appendix, begin

with a separate APPENDICES title page followed by the title page for the first appendix which contains the words APPENDIX A then the appendix title

In the table of contents, refer to the page number of the title pages

APPENDICES...............................45

A. TITLE OF APPENDIX...........46 Each page of the material within

appendices (as well as all title pages) must have page numbers in sequence following the last page of the text

All material within appendices must maintain the 1 inch top, right, left and bottom margins

Consider blocking out or omitting personal email addresses and phone numbers if included on flyers or forms

References List Each department has designated a style

guide to use for formatting the citations in the references list (style guides listed on the Thesis Office web page)

A separate title page comes before the references list with a title like REFERENCES or BIBLIOGRAPHY (in all uppercase and bold font) centered on the page. The page number of this title page is the page number listed in the table of contents

Begin the first page of citations with a title (such as REFERENCES or BIBLIOGRAPHY) in all uppercase letters, in bold font and centered on the first line

Format each citation with a hanging indent. The first line begins at the left margin with subsequent lines indented; both numbered and unnumbered citations use hanging indent

References List Use single line spacing within

the citations and leave a blank line between citations

Do not break up a citation onto two pages. Move a “broken” citation to the top of the next page if needed

All sources cited in your manuscript must be included in the references list

Be consistent with spacing within citations: single spacing following periods and use one space or zero space consistently between initials

Much, Much More!This is only one part of a three-part series of slideshows covering the major University Guidelines Manual formatting rules. There are specific rules for every section of the document and fundamental formatting rules that affect the entire document. Be sure to go online and check out the other PowerPoint slideshows with formatting rules. Don’t forget the Mini-Manuscript, templates and the University Guidelines Manual itself. All of them can be accessed from: http://csulb.libguides.com/thesisformat

We love questions!

(562) 985-4013lib-thesis@csulb.edu