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Comment: Updated DMIN Guidelines

This page will hopefully serve as a hub of information for those writing their theses or dissertations at Drew.  

Drew Technology compiled these instructions for Drew Graduate and Theological School students as help for formatting theses and dissertations. The instructions here do not replace nor supersede any requirements or instructions provided by the Graduate or Theological Schools or by individual faculty members. Graduate and Theological students are encouraged to use these instructions, and the provided templates, as a tool that will teach you how to do your own formatting. We cannot offer support for following these instructions. 

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To return to this page or share it with a friend, use this link: tinyurl.com/DrewFormatting

Step 1: Make a Back Up Plan

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You've decided to write an honors thesis or dissertation. Congratulations!

 

Many people are intimidated by the process of writing, editing, and defending a long paper. We in University Technology are here to make the formatting part of the process as stress-free as possible!

 

You will find links to documentation we find useful below, as well as a few suggestions. Please contact the University Technology Service Center at 973-408-4357 with additional questions, or to schedule an appointment with the Student Lab for more assistance.

Table of Contents

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The most important habit of all is backing up your thesis or dissertation (and supporting materials) as you write.

Back up your files

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 in multiple places

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- the standard recommendation is three places. This means, for example, storing a copy on the hard drive of your computer, on your Drew Network F: drive, on a "cloud" drive, and

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 on an external piece of hardware such as a USB Flash drive or external hard drive. When you have saved changes to your thesis, save the changed document to all of the backup locations with the same name. It is extra work to create the backups, but it will save you a great deal of time should one file get lost or corrupted!

Directions for accessing the F: Drive

Directions for

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adding files to Google Drive

An additional non-Drew method for backing up your documents and accessing them anywhere is the website Dropbox. Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, documents, and videos anywhere and share them easily.  This is done by syncing work to the site's cloud drive allowing for easy access across multiple devices (mobile, web, and desktop). 

We recommend having at least 3 copies of your work. Use the storage solutions that you are most comfortable with, and remember to update the file(s) in each location at the end of each day's work.

Starting to Write

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Step 2: Download a Drew Dissertation Template

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titleGet a template with Drew styles and instructions built in.

We recommend that you use one of our templates, which come with many of these formatting styles programmed and ready to use

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. Please see the Drew Dissertation Templates

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 page for more information and the templates themselves.

  • Keep in mind that copying and pasting text from one file (or web page) to another can cause interesting, and sometimes complicated, formatting issues.
  • Pay attention to the notes in the templates. You may also want to come back to these instructions for more information. 

Step 3: Write - Guidelines and Resources

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This is the most important step! Focus on the content of your work - the research, the creative elements, your unique perspective.

Guidelines for Dissertations

These documents are current to the best of our knowledge. Always confer with the director of your program to be certain you are following the most recent guidelines.

Order of Materials

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Please confirm this order with your reading committee. Also keep in mind that not all of these elements are necessary for your paper.

Theological School

Front Matter

Title page; Copyright; Abstract; Dedication (no page numbers)

Table of Contents; Figure List; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Glossary* (lower case Roman numerals)

Main Matter

Your material chapters

Back Matter

Appendix/ces; Glossary*; Bibliography (Arabic numerals)

Graduate School

Front Matter

Title page; Copyright; Abstract; Dedication (no page numbers)

Table of Contents; Acknowledgements; Other (figure list, abbreviations, preface) (lower case Roman numerals)

Main Matter

Your material chapters

Back Matter

Appendix/ces; Glossary*; Bibliography (Arabic numerals)

CV (no page number)

* The Glossary can be placed with the front matter or back matter

Helpful Drew Resources

A Note about Google Docs

Google Docs is a wonderful place to work for a wide variety of reasons. Unfortunately, those reasons do not cover some of the basic formatting required of a thesis or a dissertation (most importantly, the page numbering). Google has made recent strides in offering some of the formatting required, but not all of it. If you work primarily in Google Docs, we recommend that you plan time to move your work into Microsoft Word (either by downloading the Doc as a Word file, by copying and using Paste > Keep Text Only - which will require formatting adjustments, or by doing both to see what method requires the least amount of adjusting work for your particular document). 

Step 4: Format (Margins, Page Numbers, Headings, Etc)

Keep formatting in mind throughout your writing, and leave yourself time to work on any formatting concerns.

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titleClick here for more information about formatting.


Note

These instructions speak to making Word do what we want it to do so that your paper looks a certain way. Questions about formatting, for example, the content of your citations should be directed to your reading committee.

The easiest way to format your paper is to use a Drew Dissertation Template from as early in the process as possible.

You can copy and paste existing text into the template, but will need to be conscious of what formatting is being carried over; most often, pasting text into the template with the Paste Special > Keep Text Only option will be the best choice, but you can try the Merge Formatting option if you are trying to retain, for example, hyperlinks.

If you want instructions for formatting a specific type of content within your document (such as the table of contents or bibliography), see our Specific Formatting Instructions.

Tip
titleAre you saving each chapter as its own Word file?
  • It is important to know that you must start working from this template before typing any text.
  • When you open a template, it will be blank. You will be providing the text!

Specific Formatting Challenges

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Warning

The following formatting instructions identify specific requirements for papers submitted for the Drew DMIN program. Please consult your advisor for the specific formatting requirements that apply to your paper and adjust the directions where needed.

These instructions are also written using Word 2013. If you use a different version of Word - especially Word 2011 for Mac - your options may be found in a different place, though they will go by the same name. Visit support.office.com to learn more about any setting you cannot find.

Paragraph Marks

Paragraph marks can be helpful to see when something is not responding to formatting the way you expect it to. These can be turned on and off by clicking the paragraph marks symbol, Image Removed, in the Paragraph group on the Home tab of the ribbon.

Text

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Your entire document has the same font, so apply these settings before you write.

Your text should be set to Times New Roman, size 12.Image Removed
Spacing should be double (2.0).Image Removed

 

Page Margins

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Your entire document should have the same page margins, so set the page margins before you write.

 

 

Go to Page Layout > Margins > Custom margins….Image Removed
Set the margins as follows: 1” margins top, bottom, right; 1.5” leftImage Removed

 

Title Page

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  1. Click the Center alignment button in the Paragraph group on the Home tab of the ribbon (Image Removed).

  2. Type out your title, entirely caps (use Caps Lock)

  3. Type the other information, matching the sample provided to you (not all caps)

  4. Right click on first line of title

    1. Choose "Paragraph…." from the menu

    2. Make sure "Special" is set to "(none)".

    3. Set "Line spacing, Before" to 108 pt. (This creates a 2.5” space at the top of the page)

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    4. Click OK.

  5. Add blank space between each section of text by hitting Enter until your date is at the bottom

    1. Hit Delete or Backspace once if the date goes on to the next page

 

Body Paragraphs

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  1. Type out your first sentence (even if you plan to change it later!)

  2. Right click on the sentence and select "Paragraph…." from the menu.

  3. Set "Special" to "First Line"

    1. It should default to 0.5”, but set it to that if not

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  4. Click OK

 

Chapter Titles

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  1. Chapter titles should be in all caps, centered

    1. If naming chapters "CHAPTER 1: CHAPTER TITLE", type CHAPTER 1, hit Enter, then type CHAPTER TITLE

  2. 2” from top of page: Right click on (first line of) chapter title and select "Paragraph…." from the menu

  3. "Special" should be set to "(none)"

  4. Spacing > "Before:" should be set to 72 pt (to begin the title 2" from the top of the page)

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  5. If it doesn’t look like your title moved, turn on paragraph marks and make sure there is a section break at the end of the chapter before

 

Adding Section Breaks (for page numbering and footnotes)

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Create sections to handle page numbering and restarting footnote numbers at 1 in each chapter.

 

  • The title page and any un-numbered pages in the front matter should be a section
  • The Table of Contents and any numbered pages in the front matter should be a section
  • Each chapter should be its own section
  • Each appendix, if you have any, should be its own section
  • The Bibliography should be its own section

To add a section break:

  1. Put your cursor at the end of the first section (for example, after your abstract)

  2. On the Page Layout tab, select Breaks > Next Page (under Section Breaks)

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  3. If you get an extra line before the next page’s title, hit (forward) Delete

  4. Word will remember the formatting you create in a section for page numbers and footnotes, so you can set up the formatting for the first few sections, then add sections for additional chapters as you write without needing to manually adjust the page number and footnote settings in each chapter

 

Footnotes

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  1. To insert, put cursor where footnote number should be

  2. On the References tab, choose "Insert Footnote"

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  3. Formatting your footnotes:

    1. Right click in footnote text and select "Paragraph…." from the menu

    2. Adjust the following settings:

      1. Alighnment: Left

      2. Indentation, Left and Right: 0”

      3. Indentation, Special: First Line, 0.5”

      4. Spacing, Before: 0 pt

      5. Spacing, After: 12 pt

      6. Line spacing: Single

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    3. Click OK

  4. To restart footnote numbers for each chapter:

    1. Right click on a footnote and select “Note options”

    2. In Numbering, select “Restart each section”

    3. In Apply changes to, select “Whole Document”

    4. Click Apply.
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Page Numbering

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Front Matter page numbers

 

  1. In the second section (after your title page, etc), double click in the Footer (at the bottom of the page, beneath your text).

  2. In the Header & Footer Tools Design tab, if “Link to Previous” is highlighted, click on it to turn the link off

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  3. To insert the page number bottom center on the Table of Contents, select Page Number > Bottom of Page > Plain Number 2

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  4. To change the format, select Page Number > Format Page Numbers…

  5. Change Number format to lowercase Roman numerals

  6. Leave Page Numbering at “Continue from previous section” (as you want to count the title page, etc, in your numbering but do not want numbers to appear on the pages before the table of contents)

  7. Click OK

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  8. Close Header and Footer to return to editing your text, or continue from step ii below

 

Main Text page numbers

 

  1. Double click in the footer on the first page of your main body of text

  2. In the first section (your introduction, for example), if “Link to Previous” is highlighted, click on it to turn the link off

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    In following sections, the Link can remain on.

  3. Check the box next to “Different First Page”

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  4. To insert the page number bottom center on the first page, select Page Number > Bottom of Page > Plain Number 2

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  5. To start the number at 1, select Page Number > Format Page Numbers…

    1. Make sure Number format is set to Arabic numerals

    2. Change Page Numbering to “Start at” and enter 1.

    3. Click OK

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      The sections after your introduction or first chapter should be set to "Continue from previous section", as the numbering will keep going rather than starting again at 1.

  6. Click in the Header on your next page

  7. If “Link to Previous” is highlighted, click on it to turn the link off

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    In following sections, the Link can remain on.

  8. To insert the page number on the top right of the page, select Page Number > Top of Page > Plain Number 3

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  9. Close Header and Footer

  10. On the first page of your next chapter, double click in the header or footer

  11. Make sure “Different first page” is checked

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  12. Link to previous should remain highlighted

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  13. The page numbering should continue automatically, with the first page of the chapter bottom center and the other pages top right, for each section. Double check that the Different first page is checked for each section and the page numbers are correct, adjusting if needed.

 

Table of Contents

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Save the Table of Contents (TOC) for last, as you should have your paper mostly written before completing your TOC.

Make sure your TOC chapter titles match the titles in your text.

 

 

Dot leaders are the dots between your chapter title and the page number that chapter starts on. The page numbers will be flush right after adjusting these settings.

 

  1. Type all of the chapter titles, one per line

  2. Highlight all of the titles

  3. Right click and select “Paragraph….”

  4. Choose Tabs…

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  5. In “Tab stop position”, type 6”

  6. Set the Alignment Right

  7. Choose Leader 2 (the dots)

  8. Click Set, then OK

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  9. Put your cursor at the end of the first title and hit the Tab on your keyboard

  10. Dots will be inserted all the way to the right margin. Type your page number here.

  11. Repeat the Tab and page number for each title

 

Microsoft Office Support

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Page numbers
Table of Contents

Word has a feature which will use heading styles from your document to automatically create a Table of Contents.

Self-paced courses:

Articles:

Footnotes

You can watch videos or download entire courses about working with footnotes in Word here:

Articles with instructions can be found at the following links:

Section Breaks

If you are saving your entire thesis or dissertation as one document, you will need to use section breaks to allow you to format the first page of each chapter properly. Information about this feature can be found at the following links:

Note: You will want to use "Next Page" section breaks between chapters.

You can follow the instructions at Number pages differently in different sections to number the pages for each section of the document. Remember to use the "different first page" option!

Bibliography

The following information may be helpful when you are ready to create your bibliography:

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PDF-XChange Editor is a software that allows you to work with PDF files. For your purposes here, you can use it to pull certain pages out of a larger PDF file to share with your adviser, or you can use it to merge multiple PDF files into one file for submission.

Please note: If your entire document is saved in one Word file, you can simply save that file as a PDF in Word. No need to use an extra piece of software!


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Excerpt Include
PDF-XChange Editor
PDF-XChange Editor
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Miscellaneous Tips

  • Use the template provided, with built-in styles
  • Be cautious copying and pasting text in Word, even from one Word document to another
  • Watch your white space: What you see as empty Word may see as information
    • To start a new page, use the Insert>Blank Page option (or CTRL+ENTER on the keyboard) rather than hitting Enter until you reach the page you want
  • Remember to save constantly as you work, and to save copies of the updated file(s) to all of your backup locations after each time of working on your document
  • Don't worry about page numbers until you are mostly finished writing
  • You can use PDF-XChange Editor, found in CloudPC, to combine multiple PDF files into one PDF document (see "Using PDF-XChange Editor", above)
  • If you feel more comfortable hiring someone to do the formatting for you, consider hiring a professional editor. A Google search for "professional editor" and your location should yield a few options.

Helpful Links and Pages

Note

If you are having trouble with installation of the Endnote software, please call the UT Service Center at 973-408-4357 or bring your laptop to the UT Helpdesk in the Academic Commons.

If you are having trouble managing citations, please visit the Research Help Desk in the Academic Commons.


Step 5: Defend

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Your reading committee and adviser, as well as the program directors, will work with you to make sure you know the deadlines for scheduling your dissertation defense.

We hope to include additional information for you here as we collect it!

Step 6: Submit Your Approved

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Paper

You can submit your completed, approved paper at httphttps://walterdigitalcollections.drew.edu/etdUniversityArchives/ThesesAndDissertations/#how2publish. You can will find instructions on that page.

Step 7: Celebrate!

We knew you could do it!


Reviewed 9/18/23