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Last Updated on: 7th June 2024, 05:08 am
In your dissertation, you will need to have a table of contents. The table of contents should contain all the headings, subheadings, preliminary pages, and supplementary pages in the body of your paper. APA does not specify the guidelines for a table of contents. However, it does provide general guidelines that you can follow. 
APA Dissertation Table of Contents Format Guidelines
- The table of contents should be double spaced with one-inch margins on all sides.
- It should be written in the same font and size as the rest of your dissertation.
- At the top of the page, write Table of Contents, centered and in bold.
- Although in the body of the paper you can use up to five levels of headings, up to three levels are usually provided in the Table of Contents. Including lower-level headings is optional.
- Indent each subheading five spaces.
- Write all text in title case. In title case, the first letter of major words is capitalized.
- Provide the page number where the main headings and subheadings begin, and provide dotted lines between the heading and the page number.
- Page numbers for the Dedication, Acknowledgements, and Preface should be in lower case Roman Numbers (i, v, x, l, c, d and m.). The page numbers for the rest of the text should be in Arabic numerals (1,2, 3, 4, etc.).
How to Write a Dissertation Table of Contents in APA Using Microsoft Word
Step 1. Instead of manually trying to write and format the table of contents, you can create a generated one using Microsoft Word. To do this, first go to the Home tab. This is where you will choose the styles for the table of contents.
Step 2. The top-level headings will be your chapter titles, so on the right side of the tab, apply the Heading 1 style.
Step 3. The second-level headings will be your subheadings, so apply the Heading 2 style. This will place your subheadings underneath your main headings.
Step 4. You will now produce page links to your document. In the top ribbon, click on the References tab and select Table of Contents.
Get Your Dissertation Accepted On Your Next Submission
Step 5. If the style does not indicate APA, such as the one below, use the drop down arrow to select APA.
Step 6. Next, choose the number of levels that you want. In this case, you want to be able to have up to three levels, so choose Automatic Table 2, which has the appropriate heading for a dissertation.
Step 7. Click ok, and you are all set. Microsoft word will automatically generate your dissertation’s table of contents as you write it.
List of Tables and Figures
Your list of tables and figures will be written at the end of the list of information in the body of your paper. You will create these lists the same way that you created the main table of contents.
However, the headings will be different.
Instead of the heading “Table of Contents,” the headings will be “List of Tables” and “List of Figures.” (An example is provided in the table of contents example below.)
Sample of a Dissertation Table of Contents
In the example below, there are three level headings. The list of tables and figures are provided at the bottom of the other contents. The sections in your table of contents may be different depending on your college’s requirements.
Updating the Dissertation Table of Contents
As you continue working on your dissertation, you will need to update the page numbers because they may change.
To update the page numbers, right-click on the table of contents in your document and select the Update field. Then, the Update Table of Contents box will appear.
You can choose to Update page numbers only or all the information in the table of contents by clicking on Update entire table.
Note: For more information, refer to the APA Manual 7th edition, sections 2.2-2.27.
