Formatting rules for CSULB graduate students covering front pages: title page, abstract, table of contents, etc.

1. A Guide for CSULB Master’s
Degree Candidates

2. Contact us any time! We’ll get back to you by the
next business day!

3. Get the Complete Picture
This PowerPoint slideshow only covers one segment
of the many University Guidelines Manual formatting
rules. To get the complete picture, you also need to
refer to these slideshows.
 Electronic Submission and Basic University Guidelines
Manual Formatting Rules
 University Guidelines Manual Formatting Rules: Chapters,
Appendices, and References Lists
These and other materials that can help you format your
manuscript are available on the Thesis and Dissertation Office
web pages.

4. Thesis Office Web Pages
 University Guidelines Manual
 Mini-Manuscript
 Templates for pages
 PowerPoints
 Go to http://csulb.libguides.com/thesisformat or click through
from University Library home page: http://www.csulb.edu/library

5. Big News! Signature Page Is Now Separate
from Manuscript
The procedure for electronic
submission requires that the
signature page be printed and
signed with all signatures and
then delivered to the Thesis and
Dissertation Office.
So, the signature page must be
created as a separate item from
the PDF manuscript that will be
uploaded online.
The information on the signature
page must match the information
on the abstract and title page.

6. Signature Page
 Fill page from top margin to
bottom margin
 Leave enough room for
professors to sign their names
 The person who signs the last
signature (College Designee)
varies by department. The
Thesis Office Format Guide
web page has a list with names
of college designees
 Title is centered and in all
uppercase letters and bold font
 Use inverted pyramid format
for title (longest line first
followed by progressively
shorter lines)
 Match wording and line breaks
of title on signature page with
title on abstract and title page
 Your name must match on
these three pages too
 NO page number
 Template online

7. University Guidelines Versus
Departmental Style Manuals
The formatting rules in the
CSULB University Guidelines
Manual ALWAYS take precedence
over the style guide (APA, MLA,
Chicago, etc.) or other citation
format styles (IEEE, GSA, etc.)
required by your department

8. What Are Front Pages?
Front pages, or front
matter, is a term used
for the part of a
manuscript that gives
information to the
reader about the
content of the
manuscript. Basically,
anything that comes
before the first page of
the first chapter can be
called front pages
Front Pages Used in CSULB
Manuscripts Arranged in Order
of Appearance
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT PAGE*
ABSTRACT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS*
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES**
LIST OF FIGURES**
LIST OF WORKS**
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS*
PREFACE*
*This section is not required.
**This section is only required if numbered items
(tables, figures, etc.) are part of manuscript.

9. Title Page
 Fill page from top margin to
bottom margin
 Use double line spacing within
five blocks of text
 EXCEPT use single line spacing
between names of committee
members
 Space blocks of text evenly on
the page. Reduce size of blank
areas if needed to fit information
on one page
 Title is centered and in all
uppercase letters and bold font
 Use inverted pyramid format for
title (longest line first followed by
progressively shorter lines)
 Match wording and line breaks of
title on abstract and title page
 Your name must match on these
pages too
 NO page number
 Template online

10. Copyright Page
 This page is not required
 Text is positioned just
above bottom margin
 Use double line spacing
 First line: The word
“Copyright” followed by
current year
 Second line: Your name
 Third line: All uppercase
letters—ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
 As the author of your
manuscript, you own the
copyright to your work
even if you do not include
this page and even if you
do not register your work
with the Copyright Office
 NO page number. This
page is not numbered or
counted
 Template online

11. Abstract
 One inch for all margins
 Uniform double line spacing in title
area and text area
 Title is centered and in all
uppercase letters and bold font
 Use inverted pyramid format for
title (longest line first followed by
progressively shorter lines)
 Match wording and line breaks of
title on abstract and title page
 Your name must match on these
pages too
 Page numbering begins with
abstract. Use lowercase Roman
numeral (ii) for first page of
abstract and use lowercase Roman
numerals for all pages that follow
up to the first page of Chapter 1
 Match font style of page number
with font style of text
 No citations or direct quotations
 Use paragraph format
 Template online

12. Acknowledgements Page
 This page is not required
 Use lowercase Roman numeral
for page number
 Title can be spelled
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS or
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. Be sure
to match spelling in text and
table of contents
 Title is centered and in all
uppercase letters and bold
font
 A dedication can be included
in the acknowledgements, but
a separate dedication page is
not allowed
 Use uniform double line
spacing and paragraph format
 If you received funding for
your research, you can
mention the funder on this
page

13. Table of Contents
 Use lowercase Roman numeral for
page number
 Use all uppercase letters and bold
font for title
 List all major sections of front
matter (except the table of
contents itself), all chapter titles,
all appendix titles and the
references list
 Match the wording of listings in
table of contents with the wording
of titles in text
 Double check that page numbers
match too
 Leave a blank line before and after
each listing
 If there is only one appendix, use
only one line to list the word
APPENDIX, then a colon and then the
appendix title

14. Table of Contents—Continued
 If there is more than one
appendix, use a line with the word
APPENDICES and the page number
of the APPENDICES title page.
Then list the title of each
appendix beginning with the
appendix letter.
 If a listing is longer than one line,
use single line spacing and indent
lines that follow the first line
 Dot leaders extend from the last
word of each listing to page
number
 Page numbers are right aligned
along the right margin
 Indent numbered and lettered
items (indented by default in most
programs)
 Add a listing for ABSTRACT but do
NOT use a listing for TABLE OF
CONTENTS
 Do not list subheads in table of
contents
 Template online

15. List of Tables
 Use lowercase Roman numerals for page
number
 Use all uppercase letters and bold font for
title
 List all numbered tables that appear in text
and appendices
 Match the wording of listings in list of tables
with the wording of table titles in text
 Match page number location in text and page
numbers listed in list of tables
 Use headline style capitalization for table
titles—Capitalize the First Word and All
Significant Words
 For each listing, indent 3-4 spaces (indented
by default in most programs)
 List table number and period, then list table
title
 Leave blank line between table titles
 If a listing is longer than one line, use single
line spacing and use extra indentation for
lines that follow the first line
 Dot leaders extend from the last word of
each listing to page number
 Page numbers are right aligned along the
right margin

16. List of Figures
 Use lowercase Roman numerals for page number
 Use all uppercase letters and bold font for title
 List all numbered figures that appear in text and
appendices
 Match the wording of listings in list of figures with
the wording of figure captions in text
 In the list of figures, include all words up to the
first period in figure caption used in the text
 Begin captions with short descriptive phrase and
end with a period in the text. This keeps listings in
list of figures short—one or two lines
 Match page numbers in list of figures and text
 Sentence style capitalization for figure captions—
Capitalize first word and any word that would be
capitalized in a sentence such as California
 For each listing, indent 3-4 spaces (indented by
default in most programs)
 List figure number and period, then list figure
caption
 Leave blank line between figure captions
 If a listing is longer than one line, use single line
spacing and indent lines that follow the first line
 Dot leaders extend from the last word of each
listing to page number
 Page numbers are right aligned along the right
margin

17. List of Works
 Use lowercase Roman numeral page
number
 Use all uppercase letters and bold font
for title
 List all works that are referred to by
number in text or appendices
 For each listing, indent 3-4 spaces
(indented by default in most programs)
 List number of work and period, then
list title or brief description of work
 Leave blank line between items
 If a listing is longer than one line, use
single line spacing and indent lines that
follow the first line
 Add a two inch divider line and then a
footnote at bottom of first page
 Footnote is indented and single line
spaced
 Text for footnote: DVD images of these
works are available as supplemental files
to this PDF. (The acronym CD can be
used instead of DVD if needed)
 Template online

18. List of Abbreviations
 This page is not required
 Use lowercase Roman numeral for
page
 Use all uppercase letters and bold
font for title
 The column of abbreviations or
acronyms is aligned along the left
margin
 The column of terms is aligned under
the word LIST in the title (LIST OF
ABBREVIATIONS)
 Use one blank line between each
item
 Use single line spacing for items that
continue beyond one line
 Template online

19. Preface
 This page is not required
 Use lowercase Roman numeral
page number
 Use all caps and bold font for
title
 The title PREFACE is usually
used for a section that precedes
the numbered chapters, but the
title INTRODUCTION can be
used if there is no numbered
chapter with that title
 There can be only one
unnumbered section that
precedes the numbered
chapters
 Use the same formatting for the
text in a preface that is used for
the text in the chapters

20. Much, Much More!
This is only one part of a three-part series
of slideshows covering the major
University Guidelines Manual formatting
rules. There are specific rules for every
section of the document and fundamental
formatting rules that affect the entire
document.
Be sure to go online and check out the
other PowerPoint slideshows with
formatting rules. Don’t forget the Mini-
Manuscript, templates and the University
Guidelines Manual itself. All of them can
be accessed from:
http://csulb.libguides.com/thesisformat

21. (562) 985-4013
lib-thesis@csulb.edu