Thesis Formatting Checklist Before Submission

Formatting errors make good research look careless. Go through this checklist before you print or upload your thesis. Always follow your own university’s template first — it overrides general rules.

Page setup

• ☐ Margins as required (many universities ask for 1.5 inch on the binding side, 1 inch elsewhere).
• ☐ Font and size consistent (often Times New Roman 12 pt).
• ☐ Line spacing as required (1.5 or double).
• ☐ Text justified or left-aligned as per template.

Headings and table of contents

• ☐ Use Word’s Heading 1 / Heading 2 / Heading 3 styles for every heading.
• ☐ Numbering consistent (1, 1.1, 1.1.1).
• ☐ Table of contents inserted automatically (References → Table of Contents) and updated at the end.
• ☐ Separate list of tables and list of figures (References → Insert Table of Figures).

Tables and figures

• ☐ Every table and figure numbered and captioned (Insert Caption).
• ☐ Table titles above tables; figure captions as your style requires.
• ☐ Each table/figure mentioned in the text before it appears.
• ☐ Tables do not break awkwardly across pages.

Page numbers

• ☐ Preliminary pages (abstract, acknowledgements, contents) in Roman numerals (i, ii, iii).
• ☐ Chapter 1 starts at Arabic numeral 1 (use Section Breaks, not page breaks).

Front and back matter

• ☐ Title page exactly as the template.
• ☐ Declaration / certificate pages signed if required.
• ☐ Abstract within the word limit (often 250–300 words).
• ☐ Appendices labelled (Appendix A, B…) and referred to in the text.

References

• ☐ Every in-text citation is in the reference list, and vice versa.
• ☐ One style used consistently (see our APA 7 guide).
• ☐ Hanging indent and alphabetical order.

Final checks

• ☐ Spell-check run, and no tracked changes or comments left.
• ☐ Converted to PDF and checked page by page (PDF conversion can move tables).

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