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Formatting Thesis in MS Word

The instructions below provide a generated step-by-step guide for editing your thesis in order to generate a TOC, which is close to presentable. Generated to make it easy for beginners, I hope.

25 May 2026

Formatting a Thesis in Microsoft Word

A practical, step‑by‑step guide for headings, automatic Table of Contents, page numbers, lists of figures/tables, and more.

Table of Contents

  1. Before You Start
  2. Set Up Basic Page Layout
  3. Use Styles for All Headings
  4. Create an Automatic Table of Contents (TOC)
  5. Page Numbers and Section Breaks
  6. List of Figures and List of Tables
  7. Other Helpful Formatting Tips
  8. Recommended Workflow

1. Before You Start

  1. Make a backup copy of your thesis file before doing any major formatting. Save it with a different name (for example, Thesis_backup_before_formatting.docx).
  2. Turn on the Navigation Pane so you can see your document structure:
    • Go to the View tab.
    • Tick Navigation Pane.
    • A panel will appear on the left; it will show your headings as you format them.12
  3. Check your university’s thesis formatting requirements (margins, font, line spacing, page number style, etc.) so you know the target.3

2. Set Up Basic Page Layout

Do this once near the start.

  1. Go to the Layout (or Page Layout) tab.
  2. Click Margins → choose Normal or set Custom Margins according to your university rules.3
  3. Click the small arrow in the Page Setup group to open more options:
    • Orientation: usually Portrait.
    • Paper Size: typically A4.
    • Layout tab: check settings for headers/footers if needed.
  4. Set line spacing and paragraph spacing:
    • Go to the Home tab.
    • In the Paragraph group, click the small arrow in the bottom‑right.
    • Choose line spacing (often 1.5 or double) and spacing before/after paragraphs.3

3. Use Styles for All Headings

This is the most important principle: use Word’s built‑in styles for all headings, not manual formatting. The Table of Contents and Navigation Pane rely on this.213

Typical scheme:

  • Heading 1 → Chapter titles (e.g., “Chapter 1: Introduction”).
  • Heading 2 → Main sections inside chapters (e.g., “1.1 Background”).
  • Heading 3 → Subsections (e.g., “1.1.1 Research question 1”).

3.1 Apply Heading 1, 2, 3

For each heading in your document:

  1. Select the line of text you want to make a heading.
  2. Go to the Home tab → Styles group.
  3. Click Heading 1 for chapter titles.
  4. For section headings, click Heading 2; for subsections, Heading 3, and so on.12

As you do this, the Navigation Pane will start showing a structured outline of your thesis.1

3.2 Change How Heading Styles Look

If you don’t like the default look (blue, large, etc.), change the style once; Word will update all headings using that style.3

  1. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, right‑click Heading 1.
  2. Choose Modify….
  3. In the dialog, set:
    • Font family and size.
    • Bold/italic.
    • Alignment.
    • Line spacing and spacing before/after.
  4. At the bottom, if you want this to be reused in future documents, choose New documents based on this template.
  5. Click OK.

Repeat for Heading 2, Heading 3, etc., if needed.3

3.3 Optional: Automatic Chapter and Section Numbering

If you want Word to automatically number chapters and sections (e.g., 1, 1.1, 1.1.1):45

  1. Click a chapter title that uses Heading 1.
  2. Go to the Home tab → Paragraph group → click Multilevel List.
  3. Choose a list style that shows “1 Heading 1, 1.1 Heading 2, 1.1.1 Heading 3” or similar.4
  4. Word will now automatically number headings by level.

If you previously typed “Chapter 1” manually, delete the manual text and let Word’s numbering handle it, keeping only the chapter title text.4

4. Create an Automatic Table of Contents (TOC)

Once headings are correctly styled, creating a TOC is straightforward.621

4.1 Insert the TOC

Where the TOC usually goes:

  • After the title page and any abstract/acknowledgements, but before Chapter 1.78

Steps:

  1. Click where you want the Table of Contents.
  2. Go to the References tab.
  3. Click Table of Contents.
  4. Choose Custom Table of Contents….62
  5. In the dialog:
    • Set Show levels to how many heading levels you want (commonly 3).2
    • Choose a format (you can keep From template).
  6. Click OK.

Word will insert the TOC with headings and page numbers automatically.62

4.2 Update the TOC

Every time you add new headings or change page numbers, you must update the TOC.92

  1. Click anywhere inside the Table of Contents.
  2. Right‑click and choose Update Field.
  3. In the dialog, choose Update entire table and click OK.92

Shortcut: to update all fields (TOC, list of figures, cross‑references, etc.), press Ctrl+A to select the whole document, then press F9.9

5. Page Numbers and Section Breaks

PhD theses often use Roman numerals (i, ii, iii) for front matter and Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) starting from Chapter 1. This requires section breaks, not just page breaks.1011

Basic approach:

  1. Insert a section break between front matter and main text:
    • Place the cursor at the end of the last front‑matter page (for example, after the Table of Contents).
    • Go to Layout → Breaks → under Section Breaks, choose Next Page.10
  2. Turn on formatting marks to see breaks clearly:
    • Go to Home → click ¶ (Show/Hide).10
  3. Insert page numbers:
    • Go to Insert → Page Number → choose Bottom of Page and a style you like.
  4. Unlink the sections so page numbering can differ:
    • Double‑click inside the footer (where the page number is) on the first page of your main text section.
    • On the Header & Footer tab, click Link to Previous to turn it off.10
  5. Set numbering format for each section:
    • With the cursor in the front‑matter section footer:
      • Go to Page Number → Format Page Numbers….
      • Choose Number format: Roman numerals (i, ii, iii).
      • Under Page numbering, choose Start at i.1110
    • With the cursor in the main text section footer:
      • Again Page Number → Format Page Numbers….
      • Choose Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3).
      • Choose Start at 1.1110
  6. If you don’t want a number on the title page, use Different First Page in the Header & Footer tab.10

6. List of Figures and List of Tables

These lists can be generated automatically if you use Word’s caption feature.127

6.1 Add Captions to Figures and Tables

Do this for every figure and table.

  1. Click on the figure or table.
  2. Go to the References tab.
  3. Click Insert Caption.712
  4. In the dialog:
    • Choose Label: select Figure for figures, Table for tables.
    • In the Caption box, type a short descriptive title.
  5. Click OK.

Word will number them automatically (Figure 1, Figure 2, Table 1, etc.).127

6.2 Insert List of Figures / Tables

Where they usually go:

  • After the Table of Contents, often in the order: List of Figures, then List of Tables.137

Steps:

  1. Click where you want the List of Figures.
  2. Go to the References tab.
  3. Click Insert Table of Figures.712
  4. In the dialog:
    • Set Caption label to Figure.
    • Choose a format if you wish.
  5. Click OK.

Repeat for List of Tables but set Caption label to Table.127

To update later, right‑click in the list and choose Update Field → Update entire table.712

7. Other Helpful Formatting Tips

  • Use consistent fonts: usually one main serif or sans‑serif font for body text; headings can be the same or a bolder version. Check your university guidelines.3
  • Avoid manual spacing with empty lines. Instead, control spacing via the Paragraph settings and Style definitions.3
  • Use the Navigation Pane to quickly jump between chapters and check that your heading structure makes sense.1
  • Use styles for everything repetitive (e.g., quotations, code blocks, example text) so you can change formatting globally later.3

Experienced thesis guides recommend setting up structure and styles early, then writing into that structure.53

  1. First
    • Set page layout (margins, orientation, line spacing).
    • Decide your heading levels and apply Heading 1/2/3 styles across the thesis.
    • Optional: set up automatic numbering for chapters/sections.
  2. Next
    • Insert section breaks and configure page numbering for front matter vs main text.1110
    • Insert an automatic Table of Contents.
    • Add captions to all figures and tables.
  3. Then
    • Insert List of Figures and List of Tables.
    • Regularly update fields (TOC, lists, cross‑references) with Ctrl+A, then F9.9
  4. Towards the end
    • Check that all headings appear correctly in the TOC.
    • Check that page numbers match your university’s requirements.
    • Make a final pass for consistency (fonts, spacing, heading capitalization).3

141516

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Footnotes

  1. https://guides.lib.uni.edu/c.php?g=1243498\&p=9207893 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  2. https://guides.lib.umich.edu/c.php?g=1114879\&p=8129000 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  3. https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/thesis/formatting_word ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11

  4. https://guides.lib.umich.edu/c.php?g=1114879\&p=8128994 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G7lr_7qqkc ↩ ↩2

  6. https://www.epic-essay.com/blogs/how-to-format-table-of-contents-in-word-for-thesis-step-by-step-academic-guide/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  7. https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/list-of-figures-tables/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  8. https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/contents-page/ ↩

  9. https://guides.lib.umich.edu/c.php?g=1114879\&p=8129000\&rut=cce63db8e1726e12159e4471012f3d911c8b1c727e98a5bcb873be0aa4d3d8eb ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  10. https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/customize-page-numbers-and-their-formats-in-different-word-document-sections-bb4da2bd-1597-4b0c-9e91-620615ed8c05 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  11. https://askalibrarian.csuohio.edu/faq/43427 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  12. https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/figure-and-table-lists-in-your-dissertation/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  13. https://www.discoverphds.com/blog/list-of-figures ↩

  14. https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/media/MyCumbria/Documents/Library/Quick-Guide-to-MS-Word-Styles-and-Headings-for-UoC-Theses-PDF-version.pdf ↩

  15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYdGlx8bFLI ↩

  16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNN0PB02Zco ↩