Table Of Contents



Lesson 15: How to Create a Table of Contents in Word

The table of contents (TOC) is the roadmap to each portion of your writing. Whether you're writing a large essay or a potential bestseller, the table of contents will allow readers to locate specific information or revisit their favorite parts within the text. Selecting Manual Table, you get a default Table of Contents that in no way reflects the content of your document. Whether you have 1 page or 100 pages in your document, the Manual Table will come pre-loaded with two level 1, level 2 and level 3 placeholders.

Definition of Table Of Contents in the Definitions.net dictionary. Meaning of Table Of Contents. What does Table Of Contents mean? Information and translations of Table Of Contents in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web.

Table Of Contents

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How to create a table of contents in Word

Table

Imagine you're working with a really long document in Microsoft Word, like an academic paper or a big report. Depending on the project, it might be dozens or even hundreds of pages long! When a document is this large, it can be difficult to remember which page has what information. Fortunately, Word allows you to insert a table of contents, making it easy to organize and navigate your document.

A table of contents is just like the list of chapters at the beginning of a book. It lists each section in the document and the page number where that section begins. A really basic table of contents might look like this:

Table Of Contents Template Pdf

You could create a table of contents manually—typing the section names and page numbers—but it would take a lot of work. And if you ever decide to rearrange your sections or add more information, you'll have to update everything all over again. However, with the right formatting, Word can create and update a table of contents automatically.

We'll use Word 2013 to show you how to create a table of contents, but you can use the exact same method in Word 2010 or Word 2007.

Step 1: Apply heading styles

If you've already read our Styles lesson, you know they're an easy way to add professional text formatting to different parts of your document. Styles also serve another important purpose: adding a hidden layer of organization and structure to your document.

If you apply a heading style, you're telling Word that you've started a new part of your document. When you insert the table of contents, it will create a section for each heading. In the table of contents above, each chapter uses a heading style, so there are four sections.

To apply a heading style, select the text you want to format, then choose the desired heading in the Styles group on the Home tab.

Step 2: Insert the table of contents

Now for the easy part! Once you've applied heading styles, you can insert your table of contents in just a few clicks. Navigate to the References tab on the Ribbon, then click the Table of Contents command. Select a built-in table from the menu that appears, and the table of contents will appear in your document.

As you can see in the image below, the table of contents uses the heading styles in your document to determine where each section begins. Sections that begin with a Heading 2 or Heading 3 style will be nested within a Heading 1 style, much like a multilevel list.

A table of contents also creates links for each section, allowing you to navigate to different parts of your document. Just hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard and click to go to any section.

Step 3: Update as needed

If you edit or add to your document, it's easy to update the table of contents. Just select the table of contents, click Update Table, and choose Update Entire Table in the dialog box that appears. The table of contents will then update to reflect any changes.

No matter how large your document may be, you can see there's nothing complicated about creating a table of contents. If you want even more control over how your table of contents appears, check out this tutorial from Microsoft on Taking a Table of Contents to the Next Level.

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The table of contents (TOC) is the roadmap to each portion of your writing. Whether you're writing a large essay or a potential bestseller, the table of contents will allow readers to locate specific information or revisit their favorite parts within the text. Depending on the nature of your writing, there are a few different formatting options for you to explore. Let's examine various table of contents examples.

Table of Contents Examples

TOC Examples

When might you be required to formulate a table of contents? The first is a formal essay for school, depending on the length of the work. For example, if you're writing an in-depth, multi-page essay or a master's thesis, a table of contents will add an air of professionalism to your writing. On the other hand, if this is a short, five-paragraph essay on the history of the Galapagos Islands, a table of contents will not be necessary.

Perhaps, when you graduate, you'll move on to write textbooks or novels. There, too, you'll want to include a table of contents at the start of your work. Think about it. How many times have we flipped open our textbooks and searched the table of contents for pertinent material? Likewise, when reading a fiction or non-fiction work, a table of contents allows readers to jump around to the sections that interest them the most.

Single Level TOC

If you're wondering how to write a table of contents, the first decision you have to make is a matter of depth. How detailed do you want (or need) to be? Will a broad chapter summation work? Or, will you want to offer various subsections, too?

Let's begin in the broadest sense. Here, we have a single level table of contents for individual sections of the work, or individual chapters. You'll want to include a series of dots to make it easier for the reader's eye to note the corresponding page number.


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Table of contents example

Subdivided TOC

Easy Table Of Contents Template

Given that the contents above covers an expansive array of information, you might want to break some of those sections into subsections. The formatting for that would be as follows:


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Multi-Level TOC

Of course, you can continue to include as many subheadings as you need. If you go in-depth into the various types of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, then you can include each type as its own subheading.

Just note that, while the table of contents is meant to direct the readers, you only want to highlight the most important sections. Too many levels can make things unnecessarily complex, voiding the purpose of the table of contents. A multi-level table of contents would look something like:


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Academic TOC

Let's look at a table of contents specific to academic writing. The above contents can work for academic writing or novel writing. Often, in academic writing, each heading is numbered and labeled. Of course, you'll want to check for samples based upon your instructor's preferred style of writing, like AP Style, MLA, or Chicago Manual of Style.

If you're submitting your paper electronically, you can even link each section to the appropriate page number, allowing readers to jump right to that section with a click of the mouse. As a rough estimation, a table of contents for an essay might look something like this:


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Table Of Contents Page

TOC Summary

A great table of contents comes in many shapes and sizes. While it depends on the length of the work (and the style guide you're bound to), there are a few common denominators to keep in mind. Here's a little checklist for you to run through when all is said and done.

  • Use title case for each heading. That is, capitalize every word, excluding articles, preposition, or conjunctions.
  • Include dots to allow the readers eye to scan from the section to the page number with ease.
  • If this is an academic paper, number each section and subsection.
  • Indent each subsection under its parent section.
  • If this is an electronic submission, link the title of each section to the corresponding page within the work.
  • Note that each section and subsection should align with the body of the essay. For example, in the body of the paper, if section 6.0 on 'paragraphs' uses 'Heading 2' in Microsoft Word and section 6.1 on 'descriptive paragraphs' uses 'Heading 3,' you'll know to include subheadings in your table of contents.
  • If this is a book or novel, you'll have to decide on clever titles for each of your chapters (or simply go by Chapter One, Chapter Two, and so forth). However, if this is an academic paper, your table of contents should only include actual sections and subsections from the work itself.

The table of contents is the roadmap to each portion of your writing. Whether you're writing a large essay or a potential bestseller, the table of contents will allow readers to locate specific information or revisit their favorite parts within the text. Depending on the nature of your writing, there are a few different formatting options for you to explore. Let's examine various table of contents examples.

Total Table Dominance

Creating a table of contents is a matter of organization and precision. Remember, you worked hard to create an in-depth study on a certain topic. Allow readers to pinpoint certain components of your information with a flip of the page or a click of the mouse. For more on the mastery of academic writing, enjoy this in-depth study on the topic. If you're writing a book, move on and explore the other parts of a book.

Table Of Contents Template

Table of contents apa style

Table Of Contents Google Docs

M.A. Education