How to format your dissertation - My LSBU

How to format your 

dissertation 

This help sheet is only a guideline on how to format a project or dissertation. The 

specifics contained here are examples only. In all cases you should confirm with your 

lecturer the exact formatting they require. This may include fonts and font size, 

margins, line spacing etc. 

Many lecturers will also require your work to be bound. There are a variety of binding 

types. Heat binding is available for purchase from the Learning Resources Centre 

Help desk on 1 South. Other types including spiral binding and hard cover binding are 

available from the TAB shop in the student union. Please check with your lecturer for 

their preferred binding type before submitting your work. 

Double space your work 

To double space text: 

1) Click on the Home Tab. In the 

Editing group on the ribbon click on 

the arrow next to Select and 

choose Select All. 

This will select all the text on 

screen; 

2) Click on the Page Layout tab. Click the arrow in the Paragraph group to bring 

up the Paragraph dialogue box. (E.g. bottom right) 

3) In the box labelled Line Spacing, select Double and click OK. (See page 2) 

You will see that all your text is now double spaced. 

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How to format your dissertation 

Exceptions 

The following should be changed to single spacing by selecting the relevant text and 

following the instructions above. 

1) Long quotations; 

2) Table and figure captions, 

descriptions and footnotes; 

3) List of references, literature 

cited, bibliography, etc. 

4) Some reference lists may be 

single-spaced, but a double 

space should be added 

between each reference. 

Setting your margins 

If you are binding your dissertation, it is a good idea to set a larger margin on the left 

hand side. However, some markers prefer that you set the margins equally. Check 

with your tutor/marker. 

1) Select the Page Layout tab; 

2) Click on Margins; 

3) Select required margin, from the list or choose Custom Margins… to create 

your own. 

Fonts 

It is recommended that you use a serif face, (one with additional detail on the strokes 

of the letters). Your faculty may have a recommended face, but the following is used 

as an example: 

Times New Roman 12pt 

This is a highly legible font which is installed on all machines. This should be the 

default typeface when you start typing. 

Changing your font 

1) Click on Home Tab. In the Editing group, click on Select Select All. 

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This will select all the text on screen;


2) Under the Home Tab in the Font group use the drop-down menu and select 

Times New Roman. 

In Word 2010 when you highlight a font type or size you will see a preview of 

how it looks on the screen. 

3) Select “12” from the font size drop-down menu. 

Page Numbers 

Page numbering is relatively simple if you are producing a document which runs from 

page 1 to page 50, but if you have a title page, introduction, or table of contents you 

don't want page numbers to appear. 

Creating sections 

The first step is to divide your paper into sections that 

your computer will recognise. The first one will be the 

title page. It is easier to do this after you have created 

your title page text. 

1) Go to the bottom of your title page and place 

your cursor after the very last word; 

2) On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup 

group, click Breaks. 

3) Select Next Page, as shown in the picture. You 

have created a section break! 

Now, in the mind of the computer, your title page is an 

individual element, separate from the rest of your 

paper. 

If you have a table of contents, separate that from your 

paper in the same manner: type up your contents, and then create a section break at 

the end. 

Creating page numbers 

We will create the page numbers in the footer of your document. In order for this to 

display properly, make sure you have set your Page Margins to their defaults. 

1) Place your cursor on the first page of your text, or the page where you want 

your page numbers to begin; 

2) Go to Insert click on Page Number and select Bottom of the Page and 

choose which kind you want from the selection. 

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You’re not finished yet! You will see that the page numbers appear on all pages, 

including your title page! This is because Word thinks you want each section to appear 

the same. You will need to format your page numbers for each section. 

Special Page Numbers 

Now you see that you can manipulate, delete, 

and change page numbers everywhere on your 

paper, but you must do this section by section. 

To create special page numbers for your 

introductory pages, such as your table of 

contents and list of illustrations: 

1) Make sure that you break the connection 

between the title page and the 

introduction pages, (see Creating 

Sections on page 3) 

2) Go to the first introduction page, and 

create special page numbers (i and ii are 

most common) by selecting the one you 

want from the Number format box. 

Creating a Table 

Tables are a great way of displaying information in a small space. Remember: Rows 

go across the page, Columns go down the page and cells are the intersection of the 

two. 

1) Place your cursor at the location you want your table; 

2) Select Insert Table Insert Table; 

3) Choose the size for your table in the Column and Row fields; 

4) Your table is now created. 

In Word 2010 when a table is created Table Tools will appear above the ribbon. 

There are two additional tabs underneath; the Design and Layout tabs which you can 

use to format your table. 

You can click on the table created to make this tab appear if it is not showing. 

Formatting your table 

After you have entered data into your table, you may wish to remove the border, for 

example when using it to keep your details aligned on screen. To remove this 

formatting: 

1) Click on the Design tab underneath Table Tools. 

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2) Click on Borders then select Borders and Shading dialog box 

3) In the Borders and Shading dialog box, select None to turn off all borders. 

You can also use this dialog box to change the appearance of your table 

borders and shade the table body. 

4) When you are ready, click OK. 

Copying a table from Excel to Word 

The easiest way is as follows: 

1) Open your Excel workbook; 

2) Drag the mouse over the area you want to copy; 

3) Select Copy from the Home tab; 

4) Open your Word document; 

5) Select Paste from the Home tab. 

This will paste your table at the current cursor insertion point. However, you will 

probably find that it is too wide for your Word document. As a rule of thumb, it is best 

to make your table no more than seven cells across, as this will go over the Word 

document’s printable area. 

Creating a Table of Contents 

If you want to insert a Table of Contents into your document, follow these instructions 

remembering to leave a blank page for the Table of Contents to be inserted. It is 

strongly recommended that you create a dummy Table of Contents to practise with, 

before inserting one into your document. 

1) Before creating a 

table of contents 

make sure all of 

the headings you 

want to include 

have been given 

a Heading style. 

a) Highlight the text 

b) Select one of the built-in 

Heading styles from this list. 

Heading 1 – Main headings 

Heading 2 – Sub-headings 

Etc. 

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2) Place the cursor on the page where the Table of Contents is to go. 

3) The following dialogue box will open 

a) Tick boxes here for 

your table of contents to 

Show page numbers 

and . to Right align page 

numbers. 

b) Select a Format 

for your Table of 

Contents. 

c) Select the correct number 

of Levels for your table of 

contents, depending on the 

number of Heading Styles 

you used in your document. 

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a. Click onto the 

References tab 

located on the 

ribbon 

b. Select Table 

of Contents 

c. Select Insert Table 

of Contents 

d) Select Use 

hyperlinks 

instead of 

page numbers. 

This option will 

allow you to 

have hyperlink 

headings


5) When you have made the appropriate changes click on the OK button. 

6) To view your Table of Contents in the document click on the File menu and 

select Print and you will see it on the left of the screen. 

Dissertation Chapter Headings 

Follow these instructions to include different headings in your MS Word Document 

without dividing the document into individual chapters. 

1) Select Header from the Insert tab. 

Choose which kind you want from 

the dropdown list e.g. Blank 

2) Double click inside the Header section and then type your Chapter heading, 

e.g. Introduction. (See below) 

3) Click on the Close Header and Footer to return to the document. (See below) 

4) To create a new chapter, e.g. Methodology, place your cursor at the beginning 

of the next chapter in the main document. Next, select the Page Layout tab 

and click on Breaks 

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5) When the Break dialogue box appears, 

select Next page under the Section break 

types. 

6) To change the Header of the next chapter so that it is not repeated from the 

previous chapter, i.e. from Introduction into Methodology, double click on the 

header. In the Header section you will see the following: 

7) Before the next Chapter heading is changed, ensure that the Link to 

Previous button has been deselected. Click this button once to deselect. (See 

below) 

8) Delete the current chapter heading in section 2 and type in the new 

heading, Methodology. The Header section should now look like this: 

9) Click on the Close button. 

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NOTE: The ‘Same as 

Previous’ message is 

missing from the 

bottom rt-hand corner


10) Repeat these steps to add more chapter headings within your document. 

Inserting images correctly 

When you insert a picture into word, you place a copy of that file in Word. Copying and 

pasting, inserting a hyperlink and so on often require that the original image is in the 

same place as it was when you created the document. If Word cannot find the file, it 

will display a grey box with a red X in the corner. 

Therefore, it is safest to insert your picture directly. In order to do this: 

1) Place your cursor where you want to insert the picture; 

2) Select Insert Picture; 

3) Navigate to the image you wish to insert. If it is on the internet, you will need to 

save the image from there, first by right-clicking in your browser and selecting 

Save Image As… You will then be able to insert it; 

4) Click OK. The image will appear onscreen. 

If you need to manipulate the image, right-click on it and select Size and position.... 

You will then be able to set the position relative to the text, and align it. If you want to 

align it yourself, select Other for Alignment. 

Further information 

Visit the Communication skills development page 

https://my.lsbu.ac.uk/page/communication-skills-development 

How to do your Referencing Using the Harvard System (HS 30) 

https://my.lsbu.ac.uk/assets/documents/library/h2g-library-30.pdf 

How to do your Referencing: the OSCOLA System (Law Resources) (HS 29) 


How to do your Referencing: Numeric Style (Faculty of Engineering) (HS 28) 


Database of LSBU dissertations which have been granted a dissertation (searchable) 

http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/library/search/SearchMain.shtml 

Tel: 020 7815 6678/6679 

Email: llr-itsupport@lsbu.ac.uk 

Produced by LLR 09/2012 

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How to format your dissertation - My LSBU

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