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My Formatting Service

Below you will find a description of how I format. Please inform me if you need any specific help when sending me your dissertation.

Common Dissertation and Thesis Formatting Problems

I will take care of all formatting issues required by your school. Some of the most common issues that need addressing are

  • preliminary pages, including a copyright page, abstract, acknowledgments page, table of contents, list of tables, and list of figures, etc.;
  • ensuring that the page numbers and headings in the table of contents match the page numbers and headings in the text;
  • page numbers for preliminary pages (usually but not always in roman numerals) and main pages (usually in Arabic numerals);
  • proper use and formatting of headings in the text;
  • correct margin widths;
  • landscaping pages as necessary;
  • correct line spacing between chapter titles, headers, within tables, and in all other parts of the document;
  • correct spacing after punctuation;
  • proper formatting of items in a series within sentences and between paragraphs;
  • proper formatting of tables and figures;
  • proper formatting of end pages, including appendixes, CV, and Vita;
  • inserting your PDFs and other content into the appendices if necessary; and
  • proper style formatting of your list of sources (i.e., in the References, Bibliography, or Works Cited list at the end of the document).

In addition to these common concerns, I will help you fix all other formatting issues as needed to make sure the dissertation or thesis passes the formatting review.

Dissertation or Thesis Style Guidelines

Most schools follow a combination of their own dissertation or thesis guidelines and another style guide (APA, Chicago or Turabian, MLA, etc.). You can either send me your school's guidelines or let me know if you need assistance locating them. I will of course follow your school's preferences. In many cases guidelines are unclear, but I am usually able to infer what a school wants but doesn't state based on my experience and from indirect clues within the guidelines.

How the Formatting Works

The process is straightforward.

  1. First, submit your dissertation and I will format it completely. I will not be changing the content in your document unless you ask for editorial assistance as well (in which case I track my suggestions for your review; please see my editing page for details).
  2. When I send it back to you, there will be very little work for you to do, except maybe adding in some missing information in the preliminary pages or references list or other minor issues. I try to do as much as possible for you to minimize the work on your end.
  3. After you submit your dissertation for format review, you will receive some feedback. If there are any final changes to make, I will help you make them at no extra charge. You do not have to pay until your dissertation or thesis passes format review.

New! Reformat Your Dissertation to Look Like a Book

After passing through the school review process, some students wish to have their dissertation reformatted so that it looks like a book (e.g., alternating margins and page numbers, running heads in the chapters, justified text, nicer heading styles throughout the document, and other tweaks). This service is certainly not necessary, but some students have begun to ask me for it because it looks much nicer.

Here is an example of one dissertation that I reformatted (the original was in a style similar to what your document probably looks like).

I can do this for a reasonable cost (much less than the rate for the original formatting). If you are interested in this service, just let me know and I can send you a quote based on your document.