Formatting Your Dissertation

1. Formatting Your Dissertation Dissertation Seminar Class Carol-Ann Hendricks, Student Affairs Coordinator

2. Tools Needed • MSU SGS Dissertation Handbook • SCHP Dissertation Handbook • APA Manual • Knowledge of Software (Word, Excel, Reference Manager)

3. MSU SGS Dissertation Handbook

4. MSU SGS Dissertation Handbook • Download, save, and read the document http://www.morgan.edu/Documents/ACADEMICS/SGS/DissThesisHand.pdf • It lays out the University’s expectations for preparing your document and discusses how you are expected to conduct yourself when conducting your disseration research . • It also gives clear directions of all sections of the document and includes samples of specific pages like the abstract and title page.

5. MSU SGS Dissertation Handbook • Front Matter • Abstract • Title Page • Approval Page • Dedication • Acknowledgements • Table of Contents • List of Tables, Figures, Illustrations, Abbreviations • Basic Requirements • Font • Margins • Justification • Line Spacing • Page Numbers • Windows and Orphans • Chapters • Back Matter • References • Appendices

6. MSU PHP Dissertation Handbook

7. MSU PHP Dissertation Handbook • Download document from Goggle Drive, save, and read the document • This handbook will gives you specific details on: • The PHP Dissertation Policies (Phases) • Dissertation Activity Process • Dissertation Material Submission Process • Dissertation Document Contents

8. APA MANUAL

9. APA Manual • Purchase the Manual (6th Ed.) or download excerpts of it from www.owl.english.purdue.edu • This book tells you all that you need to know about formatting your document and is considered your discipline's style manual.

10. Common Formatting Issues • Incorrect formatting of front matter • Incorrect page number placement and format • Table of Contents construction and formatting (etc. tab placement) • Incorrect heading format and alignment • Incorrect table format and placement • Incorrect Figure title placement • Incorrect Citations/Reference list format

11. Formatting Tips • Read and understand all manuals • Know all the features of Word • Knowing how to set tabs for Table of Contents, Headings, block quotations • Page Number and Section formatting • Basic formatting feature • Construct your tables from Excel • Use reference manual or some other type of process to keep track of all citations. • If you don’t know how to do something, seek help. • Do a little everyday.

12. THANK YOU! ANY QUESTIONS??