Writing Doctoral Dissertation: A Basic Formatting Guide

When a student reaches the level of producing a doctoral dissertation, it is considered the apex of academic achievement in their field. Since this accomplishment is not completed by a large number of the general population, the formatting of this project may be unknown. The general guidelines that need to be followed are not hard to understand and are quite easy to follow. The focus is on the development of a thesis statement that is proven and is published by the university the student attends.

An outline of the Document

Below you will see a possible outline of a doctoral dissertation. Each university and college will have its own unique standards that students have to follow. The purpose of this outline is to give a general understanding of what to expect.

• Title Page- Contains name, date and pertinent information.
• Copyright Page- The page which states your own copyrights to your work.
• Abstract- A short descriptive writing about the contents of your paper.
• Preface- Serves as an introduction to inform the reader of what is coming.
• List of abbreviations- this will inform readers about abbreviations used.
• Glossary – Identifies all words
• Dedication – Often authors dedicate their work to loved ones or inspirational people.
• Table of Contents - The exact page numbers where information is found.
• Lists of Tables, Illustrations, Figures, or Graphs. These items should be incorporated into the research where applicable.
• Text body (chapters separated and following logical sequence)
• Tables, Illustrations, Figures, Graphs:
• References – Citations of research sources used in production of the document.

Formatting Requirements

Again all universities are going to have their own specific requirements that students need to follow, but these general standards can work to supply a student with a great idea of what is expected to complete the doctorate dissertation appropriately.

Since it is the end goal to publish the paper then it should be produced and completed in PDF format which makes for easy publishing.

• Pages should be 8.5 x 11 which is the standard US letter size.
• Margins should be 1 inch on all sides.
• Page numbers should be located one inch from the right hand side of the page at the top.
• Table of content must be single spaced
• The body of the paper should be double spaced except when certain style guides allow for the single spacing of quotations.
• References can be single spaced but there should be a double space between them.
• All pages of the doctoral dissertation should be numbered starting with the second page. (After the title page)

All of these basic formatting guidelines for writing a doctoral dissertation will allow a potential doctoral candidate to see the breadth of the work that is required to produce this difficult requirement.

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