Formatting
Overall, it is important to submit an ETD that has a consistent and readable appearance. Here you will find useful information about ETD format and style, including templates for Word and LaTeX.
Styles & Templates
Technical Requirements
Production Requirements
PDF Creation
File Management
File Naming Convention
Consistency in style and formatting of a thesis is essential. Tools for creating styles, footnotes, a table of contents, and other features, including the recommended order of the sections of a thesis, have been formatted into an SGS thesis template available in WORD and LaTeX formats.
We strongly recommended that authors use an SGS thesis template. The template can be applied at any stage of the writing process, but using one early on will simplify writing and later PDF conversion. These templates are meant to assist you with the formatting and production of your thesis, but you must ensure that your thesis meets SGS formatting requirements. If you prefer not to use an SGS template you may use the tools provided for indexing, page numbering and so on provided by your word processing software.
Technical Requirements
The thesis must be in PDF format and may also include supplementary files for multimedia, sound, video or HTML pages with embedded files. Please note that the following guidelines are the minimum technical requirements. Differing disciplines may have their own conventions, so please check with your supervisor for discipline-specific formatting.
The following guidelines apply to the main text-based thesis file:
Font size: must be a minimum of 10 points. You may use a smaller font size for graphs, formulas, and appendices Avoid italics.
Line spacing: must be at least one-and-a-half spaces, except for the thesis abstract, which should be double-spaced. Single spacing may be used for long quoted passages and footnotes.
Footnotes and references: Decisions as to the form and location of footnotes and the presentation of references and bibliography are to be made by the student and the supervisor. The preferred location for footnotes is either at the bottom of the page or at the end of the chapters to which they refer. Style manuals may be consulted, but students are urged to use their discretion and to maintain a consistent style.
Page and margin sizes: The size of the pages should be 8 1/2" x 11" (21.5 cm x 28 cm), the text reading across the 8 1/2" (21.5 cm) dimension. The left-hand margin should be at least 1 1/4" (32 mm), and the remaining three margins should be at least 3/4" (20 mm) to the main text.
Production Requirements
Language of Doctoral Theses
In Division I, the humanities, permission may be given for a thesis to be written in a language other than English or French when the language has been approved for use in theses by the graduate unit concerned. Before such permission can be granted, the graduate unit chair must certify in writing to the School that the candidate has passed a supervised essay-type examination, written in English, that demonstrates his or her proficiency in writing correct and idiomatic English prose. A supplementary abstract of about 5,000 words in English or French must form part of a thesis that is written in a language other than English or French, and no language other than English or French may be used for the conduct of final doctoral examinations.
Page Numbering
Each and every page in the thesis, except the title page, must be numbered. The preliminary portion of the thesis should be numbered with small Roman numerals placed in the centre of the page, about half an inch from the bottom. Numbering begins with the Abstract as ii (the Title Page counts as i, but the number does not appear). The remainder of the thesis, starting with the first page of the Introduction or Chapter One, should be numbered with Arabic numerals, beginning with the number 1. Preferred placement of the Arabic numerals is in the upper right-hand corner (about 2.5 cm. from each edge) with the exception of the first page of every chapter, including the first page of the references or bibliography and appendices. For these, the page numbers should be placed in the centre, half an inch from the bottom edge of the page. Appendices included in the thesis must be numbered consecutively with the main body of the thesis.
Page Order
The accepted order of pages within the preliminary section of the thesis is as follows:
Title Page (see Title Page)
Abstract (see Abstract)
Acknowledgments (where applicable)
Table of Contents
List of Tables (where applicable)
List of Plates (where applicable)
List of Figures
List of Appendices (where applicable)
Title Page
See the "Sample of Title Page" below. On the title page should appear the words "A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of (state full name of degree), Graduate Department of (state name of graduate department), in the University of Toronto", along with the thesis title (capitalize the content words), student's name, and the universal copyright notice (the date will be the year the degree will be conferred). The universal copyright notice must appear on one line, as indicated in the "Sample of Title Page" below.
Sample of Title Page
|
(2" or 5 cm from top of page) This Area is Recommended for the Thesis Title Only
by (1 1/2" or approx 4cm) Jane Ann Doe (2"or approx 5cm) A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of (state degree) Graduate Department of (state department) University of Toronto (1 1/4"or approx 3cm) © Copyright by Jane Ann Doe (state year of graduation) (1 1/4"or approx 3cm from Bottom of page) |
Abstract
All theses must have an abstract included. Most importantly, the following technical guidelines must be followed for the production of the abstract by Proquest/UMI, the National Library of Canada's production and sales agent, and then reproduced in Dissertation Abstracts International and Master's Abstracts International at University Microfilms Inc. (UMI):
Font size must be a minimum of 10 points and the lines of text must be double-spaced. The abstract must not exceed 350 words for a doctoral thesis or 150 words for a master's thesis. The left-hand margin should be at least 1 1/4" (32 mm), and the remaining three margins at least 3/4" (20 mm) to the main text.
The student's thesis title, degree and year of convocation, full name, name of graduate department, and name of university must appear on the top of the first page of the abstract (this information is not included in the 350/150-word count).
Symbols, as well as foreign words and phrases, must be clearly and accurately displayed.
Do not include graphs, charts, tables, or illustrations in the abstract.
PDF Creation
To create the PDF version of your thesis you will require Adobe Acrobat or other PDF-creation software. Computers equipped with this software are available in the Information Commons at Robarts Library if needed.
File Management
The main thesis text based file must be in PDF format. Multiple file formats are an option when attaching supplementary file submissions for multimedia, sound, video, including HTML pages with embedded files.If the system does not automatically recognize the format of the file you have uploaded, you will be asked to select the appropriate format from the list offered. If the format is not in the list, click on 'Format Not in List' and describe the format in the text box lower down on the page. Be sure to give the name of the application you used to create the file and the version of that application, e.g. 'Autodesk AutoCAD R20 for UNIX'.
File Naming Convention
Use the file naming convention when saving your thesis text based file and any supplementary files you plan to submit:
lastname_firstname_middleinitial(s)_graduationyearmonth_degreedesignator_thesis.pdf
eg. Smith_Lorie_L_200711_PhD_thesis.pdf
supplementary files should follow the same naming convention
eg. Smith_Lorie_L_200711_PhD_datatables.exl