writing dissertation in google docs

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6 Tips for Writing Your Thesis in Google Docs

The birds are singing, the bees are buzzing, which means it’s officially spring time. This is good news for just about everyone… except those with a looming thesis deadline.

If you’re pursuing a Bachelors, Masters, or PhD, you’re either feeling very good or very not-so-good right about now. For some of you, no words have yet made it onto the page. That’s okay! We’re not here to judge. We’re here to help.

One thing you may or may not have considered yet is where you’re going to be writing your thesis. Sure, Microsoft Word is the obvious choice. But is it the best one? There are a lot of problem with Words including feature bloat, incompatibilities between versions and operating systems and   plain old crashes . If you’ve ever considered Word to be the bane of your existence (and who hasn’t?), you may want to consider a simple cloud-based alternative like Google Docs. You’ll be able to work from anywhere, including offline, and barring circumstances of an apocalyptic proportion, you’ll never lose your work. Sounds like a win-win.

If you decide to make the Google Docs plunge for something as important as your thesis, arguably your magnum opus , here are a few tips for making the transition a success.

1. Enable Offline Access

If you chose Google Docs as your go-tool for your thesis you likely to belong to a generation who is online all time. But there are occasionally moments when you are cut off from the internet and want to work on your thesis. You can enable offline access to your Google Docs simply by checking a box in your Google Drive settings . To make all other files in your Google Drive available offline you can   set up desktop sync . Got a long flight coming up? Work on your thesis. Internet’s down at the local coffee shop? Work on your thesis. Commute by train? Work on your thesis. You get the drift. Don’t set up barriers to keep you from getting work done - take action to bring them down.

2. Decide on an Organizational Structure Ahead of Time

Lets face it: your thesis is going to be a big, unruly document. So big in fact, that it probably makes more sense to break it down in manageable chunks while you’re in the development phase. That means setting up different folders and documents based on how your thesis will be organized.

The way you do this can, and should, vary based on the needs of your project and the way that you like to write. One simple way to do it is to break up your document by section of your thesis, so that you have a Google Doc for each of the following: Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, and Conclusion. Alternatively, you may also choose to keep all of your sections in one document, and take advantage of Google Doc’s new outline feature to move from place to place.

Another way to organize your documents is by theme. If you have topics that cross over sections, this may be the most sensible option. You take the big ideas out of your thesis and write about them one by one. For example, for my thesis in Education, I cover topics like Community of Inquiry, Online Learning, Personality, etc., and I make a document for each of those. When the time comes to pull them all together, I know where to find each of my arguments.

Whatever you do, it’s important to make a decision ahead of time and stick to it . This allows you to keep the same organizational structure across all of your apps. Just like you have the same days of the week across all of your calendars, having your citation management system in the same format as your Google Docs makes life infinitely simpler. Which brings me to my next point…

3. Decide on a Citation Management System

Have you kept track of your sources manually up until now? It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee. Your thesis will be the biggest document you’ve ever managed, and quite possibly the biggest document you ever will manage. No sane person keeps track of hundreds of sources by hand . There’s no need to make more work for yourself, and it’s just plain ludicrous if you have a looming deadline.

You have a ton of options to choose from in this arena. Whatever system you decide to work with, whether it’s a simple add-on to Google Docs or a comprehensive PDF management system, make sure it integrates with your workflow . If it’s a pain to enter data, you won’t do it, and you’ll be left with glaring gaps of information at the end of your project. Keep it simple, and keep it smart.

4. Clean up Your Digital Workspace

One of the many benefits to using Google Docs to write a thesis is that you don’t have to constantly move between windows to get things done. Most of your research is done in-browser, and your writing belongs right next to it. But with great power comes great responsibility. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed and distracted by the magic of the Internet. This is why you should make every effort to keep your digital workspace as tidy as your physical one.

What does this mean? For starters, it means making an assessment of the apps and websites you regularly use to do your research, take notes, and write your thesis. Now jot down a list of these. Go into Chrome (or your preferred browser) and pin them . Pinning a tab keeps it open, neatly organized in the left of your browser window, and unclosable. So everything you need is always handy.

5. Make Use of Add-ons

A few years ago, Google Docs might have seemed like a poor-man’s Microsoft Word. But the platform has become increasingly sophisticated over the years, to the point that some now say it surpasses traditional desktop tools. What takes it to the next level? Add-ons, of course. The Google Docs add-on store is full of helpful apps for students, with more being added every day.

Some particular ones to take note of include AutoLaTeX for statistical equations and Thesaurus for when you’ve used the word “nuance” too many times. Paperpile also offers a free citation generator for Google Docs that makes it a breeze to find, cite, and style academic sources within your document.

6. Leave Time to Make it Pretty

One thing Google Docs cannot do is make a truly visually striking document. It suffers from the same limitations that all WYSIWYG editors do - it can’t be both easy to use and complicated to produce. Ever notice how the paper you converted into PDF from Microsoft Word looks nothing like the journal article you downloaded? The spacing, the balance, all the small details that go into putting together a visually appealing document are lost with WYSIWYG authoring. Google Docs is no different, and it isn’t intended to be. It’s an amazing collaborative and drafting tool. But when it comes to the final product, you can and should go the extra mile into making it look good. This is your magnum opus, remember?

There are many ways to go about this. Many scientists use the programming language LaTeX to create elegant research papers. If the idea of coding seems intimidating, look into a publishing program like Adobe InDesign . Whatever you choose, get comfortable with it before your project is done. And give yourself a solid week to turn the final product into one you’ll be proud of. Will it turn a satisfactory grade into an exemplary one? No. But will it be enough to push a “good” to a “very good”? Possibly. And that makes it worth the effort.

Are you currently writing a thesis in Google Docs? Tell us the good, the bad, and the ugly in the comments.

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Is Google Docs an appropriate tool to write a PhD thesis?

I am quite early in my PhD program, and am deciding on what tool to use to write my documentation, principally my thesis. My prefered tool would be markdown / latex, but my primary supervisor really does not like it, to the point that collaboration with this involves printing the document, hand writing notes on it and me transcribing these notes to the original. My supervisors prefered tool is microsoft word, but I use linux and running a virtual box just to do my writing is a significant drain on the resources of my computer, I am often writing while running computations.

We are currently preparing a paper on the initial work of my PhD, and this is being done successfully through google docs. Would this be an appropriate tool to use for my whole thesis?

• 3 I have used libreoffice to import powerpoint presentations, and it is no end of trouble to maintain the formatting. I can imagine trying to maintain formatting of a large document that is frequently being converted between word and libreoffice being hard work. –  Dave Commented Jun 1, 2019 at 12:00
• 1 Do you have a plan for handling references and citations? –  Patricia Shanahan Commented Jun 1, 2019 at 12:03
• 3 Actually, if you read a docx into LibreOffice the default save format is the same, so it isn't quite the same as maintaining two versions. Since you prefer latex I'd think you are already familiar with separating the writing and the formatting. Why bother to strictly maintain formatting until nearly the end? Your experience with powerpoint may not carry over to word, but I can't say for sure. –  Buffy Commented Jun 1, 2019 at 12:21
• 4 Does your supervisor use Adobe Acrobat and its ability to add comments/markups? That’s how I use LaTeX in collaborations. The PDF is returned to me, I make revisions, and we iterate. That said, a colleagues used Google Docs for the preparation and collaboration then converted everything to LaTeX just before submitting to the graduate school. –  Joel Kulesza Commented Jun 1, 2019 at 12:26
• 3 Have you tried writing markdown and then "compiling" either to word or Latext/PDF, as needed, with pandoc-citeproc? –  henning no longer feeds AI Commented Jun 1, 2019 at 14:16

6 Answers 6

My prefered tool would be markdown / latex, but my primary supervisor really does not like it, to the point that collaboration with this involves printing the document, hand writing notes on it and me transcribing these notes to the original.

This is an excellent way to collaborate!

Google Docs is as good as Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, etc. Personally I think they are all awful for academic writing.

Perhaps your supervisor can use Overleaf ? You can then use LaTeX/git in the usual way.

• 1 Primary supervisor doesn't like LaTeX, though. –  henning no longer feeds AI Commented Jun 1, 2019 at 14:13
• 1 @henning Which flavour of LaTeX does the supervisor dislike? Maybe they'll consider Overleaf, especially in rich text mode ( overleaf.com/blog/… ) –  user2768 Commented Jun 1, 2019 at 17:32
• 10 Having been a tool fanatic in the past, I have seen the light and understood that falling in love with a particular tool is almost certainly wrong and one should always choose the right tool for the task at hand. In that spirit, Word is an awful system for longer pieces of work (I have seen whole theses being mangled irrecoverably shortly before submission; most unpleasant, even with backup), so if you can get your superviser to use pdf annotation, that would make it easy for him and easy for you. He never sees LaTeX source and you do never have to fiddle with Word. –  Captain Emacs Commented Jun 1, 2019 at 19:31

I just successfully defended my Ph.D. thesis, which was written entirely in Google Docs.

But I was able to do that because it worked well for my particular situation. I'm in bioinformatics, and my thesis didn't include any complex equations. So LaTeX didn't offer much of an advantage. And honestly I've tried it in the past and found myself far less productive. I'd often spend more time fiddling with markup than writing. This is consistent with research that suggests LaTeX is less productive than a GUI word processor when you're not using LaTeX for its strength (complex equations). For a while I wanted to move to LaTeX so I could track changes with source control like git. But then I realized Google Docs' edit history takes care of that in an arguably better interface.

But perhaps the most important factor is that my thesis advisor uses Google Docs too . That's what really made it a good idea to use it to write manuscripts and my thesis. If your collaborators don't use the same platform, you'll spend a lot of time doing conversions back and forth, and lose out on a lot of the advantages your platform offers. So remember to weigh that in. Maybe your preferred platform offers so much that it's worth the cost, but if your coauthors don't use it, that'll really raise the bar.

• 6 The study actually says that LaTeX is less productive if you do not use it for its intended purpose. "LaTeX users in our study attained better performance in the typesetting of mathematical equations, and it is not surprising that LaTeX users are typically in disciplines where mathematical formulas are frequent" –  Anonymous Physicist Commented Aug 17, 2020 at 1:03
• 2 There are some issues with that research as well. When they work out the continuous text copy rate they don't appear to account for past experience transcribing text. For example it may turn out that what they broadly showed was that people who don't use mathematics in their scholarly work (and thus less likely to use latex) then people who use mathematics in their scholarly work (and thus probably use latex). I doubt my copy/error rate would change between latex and word, but (being a physicist) I won't be able to copy text as well as a lawyer, who needs to precisely copy options from book. –  N A McMahon Commented Aug 17, 2020 at 8:49

it's a very convenient tool. You might use it for most of your drafts, work, and review. There's many easy ways to get at the docs, and you can name revisions (so that you don't have a bazillion copies).

You may find it doesn't have the layout features needed for your work, or expected of people in your field in order to look professional and similar to your peers and predecessors.

In all cases, you need to make backups in various places, and make those copies regularly. Set a calendar reminder. Google makes errors with google drive. I have lost files. No one will cut you slack. Google owes you nothing for a free service, and only marginally more if you pay them.

It is perfectly acceptable, if both of you agrees. My recommendation is to try to find a citation manager that can work with Google Docs, though. It makes life a lot easier.

On the other hand, you can also give online Microsoft Office (office 365) a try. Many universities provides free access, some Microsoft plans also. That could be a good trade-off as well.

If you do have a strong preference for Latex, you might have a look at Pandoc . It allows you to convert from Latex to Microsoft Word documents and back again.

It's not perfect (can get a bit tricky with bibliography etc), but I've found it pretty good for collaborators who refuse Latex. Best used if the conversions are infrequent (since it does require some troubleshooting), and if the person is commenting but not adding substantially new, formatted content. It sounds like this might match your use case though!

This really depends on your stakeholders: it is more a people problem than a technical problem. If your advisors / readers are set in their ways (MS-Word Client vs Web-Collaboration tools) then you are in all likeliness fighting an uphill battle that will prolong your tour in academia.

Only you know whether your advisor will support your bid to use Google-Docs or a particular tool. If your advisor has said "no", you would be well-advised to either use the prescribed tools or find another advisor.

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How to write academic documents with GoogleDocs

These past months I’ve been mostly working on one huge project which might be close to an end, hopefully! This project involves a massive manuscript with many supplementary figures and tables. Today we sent it out to other members in our team, and to celebrate, I’m now writing more 😅: though this is a blog post. I’m allowing myself to do so before I dive into the pile of tasks I haven’t completed 1 . So I’m going to share with you the tools I’ve been using since 2018 or so for writing academic documents shared via Google Docs . You can use these tools for manuscripts 2 , capstone projects 3 , and well, basically any document where you want to do any of the following:

• Automatic figure/table numbering
• Insert math equations
• Cite the literature

Yes, you can do both with LaTeX and you can collaborate with others using Overleaf , but it’s really hard to convince others to use LaTeX in my experience.

There are many tools out there for you to organize the literature items you are reading or keeping tabs on. Some of them are Zotero and Mendeley , which you might have heard about. The one that I highly recommend for writing documents with Google Docs is F1000Workspace .

Get an account

First, you need to make an account. Worried about paying? Don’t worry, the accounts are free 4 !

I strongly recommend that you use your academic email here if you have one, because I believe that it grants you access for an unlimited free account. Your university might also give you free access.

Start a project

Once you have your account set up, start a shared project . I mean, private ones also work, but shared ones allow you to collaborate with others so that your teammembers can also update the citations in your document. For example, we have one called brainseq phase2 .

Once you open your project page, at the top left you’ll see a big blue button called Import References . Click on it.

As you can see, F1000Workspace allows you to import references from many different sources. I typically import using identifiers, either a DOI or a PMID one. They also have a browser add-on that you can use to import references into your library when using websites such as PubMed .

Insert references into a Google Doc

On your Google Chrome browser, install the F1000Workspace Google Docs add-on available here . Next, open up your Google Doc and you’ll see that F1000 appears in your toolbar. If you click on it, the F1000 interface will open on the right sidebar.

That interface lets you link your Google Doc to a particular F1000Workspace project, which I recommend doing. You can then go to Insert citations and start searching your project citations. I typically search by name or by the identifier, which is particularly useful if I just added the reference to the project via the identifier on a separate browser tab.

Update your document’s bibliography

Lets say that you’ve added a few citations in your document and now want to format them appropriately. In your Google Doc, click on F1000 , then navigate to the Format citations and bibliography section.

Before you click the big blue button that says Update citations and bibliography you’ll notice a dropdown menu that lets you choose your favorite citation style (or whichever the journal you want to send your manuscript requires).

Well, not really. You’ll likely keep adding many citations as you keep working on your document. One thing that I’ve noticed is that the F1000Workspace add-on has a bit of trouble under “suggesting” mode or when the citation was inserted as a suggestion. So I recommend that you accept the suggestion first, then use “editing” mode for updating your bibliography file. It’s always good to keep an eye on what the add-on is doing so you can notice anything weird and undo it with ctrl + z (cmd + z in macOS).

And hey, did you know that F1000Workspace also works with Microsoft Word?

For more details, check the FAQs .

Automatic figure numbering

Now that we have figured out citations in Google Docs, lets learn how to cross reference figures, tables, equations, and whatever else you want. This is something that LaTeX users are familiar with but that you can’t do out of the box in Google Docs or Microsoft Word (as far as I know). Luckily others have made add-ons that solve this problem. The one I use, and so do other 11,197 people as of today, is Cross Reference available from the Google Chrome Store for free.

This add-on allows the user to label equations, figures and tables and refer to them within the text. It now also allows users to create labels for any element. These elements are numbered automatically and references are updated to match. If their order changes, references update to match. If one is removed, references to it are highlighted in red in the text. The text and style of references and labels can be customised. Insert labels and references as hyperlinks. Instead of a URL, add a code recognised by Cross Reference, then an underscore, then your choice of name.

Configuration

Once you install Cross Reference , you’ll see it listed under the Add-ons menu in your Google Doc.

You’ll see all the different types of elements that you have configured with Cross Reference . Some come out of the box, like Figures .

For every element you have to configure the following:

• The code you will use for the label, here #figur .
• The text that will be displayed before the number. In this case, Figure (yes, there’s a space there).
• The style of the label; bold here.

Then the same thing for the reference. In this case, the code for the reference is #fig . The codes have to be at least 3 characters long for the references and 5 characters long for the labels.

In my documents I typically add configurations for supplementary figures and tables using:

Now that you have configured Cross Reference you can start using it. Lets say that I want to write the text We did many things (Figure S1) where Figure S1 links to my overview figure whose description starts Figure S1. Overview of my project . Since we are talking about the overview figure, lets use _overview as the unique identifier for this figure. As this is a supplementary figure, the label code is #sfigu and the reference code is #sfi . Meaning that we must write the label code once in the figure description using #sfigu_overview and we can reference to it as many times as we want using #sfi_overview .

The last tricky part is that you can write whatever you want, lets say hello , and then you need to create a link (shortcut is cmd + k in macOS) with the correct code (either the reference or the label one). So the text that you would write would be We did many things ([hello](#sfi_overview)) and later on when you describe the overview figure you need [whatever you want](#sfi_overview). Overview of my project where here I’m using the Markdown syntax for links: [text](link) .

Once you’ve inserted the links both for the reference and the label, you can then go to Add-ons , navigate to Cross Reference and click Update document . Doing so will change the text you had initially filed in for the correct text. So it will look like this: We did many things ([Figure S1](#sfi_overview)) plus [Figure S1](#sfi_overview). Overview of my project . Here’s a real case example where my identifier for the first supplementary figure is _rna , thus the full reference code is #sfi_rna :

And you are done!

The number used for the item your reference depends on what order the reference codes are listed in the Google Doc. To check that the numbering order is correct (Table S1 appears in the text before Table S2, etc), I recommend opening your google document in two separate tabs. In one tab, you start reading your document from the top. If you encounter items out of order, then on tab two you can switch them around. That way you don’t have to scroll around and waste time, which is a more cumbersome problem as the document gets longer.

Overall, this process that takes a bit of time and can break due to a typo. So I highly recommend that you update your cross references as soon as you make a new one, so you can easily trace any typos and fix them easily. If you don’t, then it can become very hard to track down what went wrong.

Finally, lets say that you want to insert equations. You can insert some equations with Google Docs, but you might want more fine control. If you use LaTeX I recommend the Auto-LaTeX Equations add-on available from the Google Chrome Store for free.

This add-on lets you automatically convert every LaTeX equation in your document into beautiful images! Simply enclose your math equations within $$ … $$ and click the button in the sidebar, and all of your equations will be rendered in LaTeX!

It’s as simple as it sounds. What this add-on does is that it takes your LaTeX equation code, renders an image with the equation, and then inserts it back into your Google Doc. It also enables you to restore the LaTeX equation code so you can edit it if you find a typo.

Wrapping up

I hope that you’ll find this blog post / tutorial useful when writing your own academic documents. These tools have saved me so much time when writing academic documents in collaboration with others. I don’t want to imagine having to re-number all the references manually whenever we added each of the 48 supplementary figures, 17 supplementary tables, and 11 equations to the project we are about to complete 😱.

Acknowledgments

The authors of F1000Workspace, Cross Reference and Auto-LaTeX equations add-ons have made my life much easier. THANK YOU!!!

This blog post was made possible thanks to:

• BiocStyle ( Oleś, 2023 )
• blogdown ( Xie, Hill, and Thomas, 2017 )
• knitcitations ( Boettiger, 2021 )
• sessioninfo ( Wickham, Chang, Flight, Müller et al., 2021 )

\[1\] C. Boettiger. knitcitations: Citations for ‘Knitr’ Markdown Files . R package version 1.0.12. 2021. URL: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=knitcitations .

\[2\] A. Oleś. BiocStyle: Standard styles for vignettes and other Bioconductor documents . R package version 2.28.0. 2023. DOI: 10.18129/B9.bioc.BiocStyle . URL: https://bioconductor.org/packages/BiocStyle .

\[3\] H. Wickham, W. Chang, R. Flight, K. Müller, et al. sessioninfo: R Session Information . R package version 1.2.2. 2021. URL: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=sessioninfo .

\[4\] Y. Xie, A. P. Hill, and A. Thomas. blogdown: Creating Websites with R Markdown . Boca Raton, Florida: Chapman and Hall/CRC, 2017. ISBN: 978-0815363729. URL: https://bookdown.org/yihui/blogdown/ .

Reproducibility

Including answering some questions on the Bioconductor support forum , finishing another manuscript, etc.  ↩︎

Like this one or this other one .  ↩︎

Like my former student Amy Peterson did in 2018.  ↩︎

For up to 3 projects.  ↩︎

Leonardo Collado-Torres

Investigator @ libd, assistant professor, department of biostatistics @ jhbsph.

#rstats @Bioconductor /🧠 genomics @LieberInstitute / @lcgunam @jhubiostat @jtleek @andrewejaffe alumni/ @LIBDrstats @CDSBMexico co-founder

Graduate College Formatting Guide

• Page Numbers (Microsoft Word)
• Page Numbers (Google Docs)
• Page Breaks and Section Breaks
• Headings, Subheadings, and Table of Contents (Microsoft Word)
• Headings, Subheadings, and Table of Contents (Google Docs)
• Inserting Tables and Figures
• Comments and Track Changes
• References, Bibliography, Works Cited
• Landscape Pages & Special Materials

Setting the Normal Style

Set the "normal" style of font.

Before we can set up headings, we'll need to define the format of the text that  isn't  a heading. The "styles" in Docs set some default formatting for text. Setting up the "Normal" style will create a default font setting to keep the text uniform throughout the document. You will need to start by modifying the font to match the style you will use throughout the paper. This includes changing the font to Times New Roman or a similarly professional font, the font size to 12-pt, and double spacing the text. Set those items up and then type some placeholder text.

Once you've done this, locate the styles options and click the drop down to select "Normal text > Update normal text to match"

Adding Headings & Subheadings

Inserting headings and subheadings.

Using the same technique we can create a standard for the various types of headings and subheadings used across the thesis. The Thesis & Dissertation Manual generally follows APA style for heading levels. In order to keep headings consistently correct and link the Table of Contents, the Styles function in Docs is used. This is going to show you some examples of the formatting required for the headings and how to use the various heading levels. We'll also see how to use styles and update your Table of Contents. 

Modifying Heading Levels to Match Required Formatting

Level 1 headings.

Chapters will be linked to Heading Level 1. If you choose not to have chapters, you will use level 1 for your major headings (typically: Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, etc.). They should be typed in title case, center aligned, and bold. The number of the chapter can be in Arabic or Roman numerals or spelled out so long as it is consistently done throughout the document. The heading should be on one line, so if you are using chapters, it should look something like this:

Chapter 1: Introduction

Once you have formatted a chapter heading, select the text of the chapter heading then click on the styles drop down menu, find heading 1, select "Update 'heading 1' to match"

Adding More Level 1 Headings

Once you have formatted the first heading and updated the style, you simply need to type the new level 1 heading in title case and then select heading 1 from the dropdown list. It will format it (centered and bold) and link it so it appears in the table of contents.

Level 2 Headings

Subsections of your major headings should be the next level down. Level 2 headings will be left aligned, bold, and title case. They should look like this:

Level 2 Heading

Once you have formatted a level 2 heading, select the text of the heading then click on the styles drop down menu, find heading 2, select "Update 'heading 2' to match"

Adding More Level 2 Headings

Once you have formatted the first heading and updated the style, you simply need to type the new level 2 heading in title case and then, with your cursor in line with the heading, click on the heading 2 button in the styles pane to format it and link it for your table of contents. Make sure to use this feature every time to ensure all headings are properly linked to your table of contents.

Level 3 Headings

If you wish to further subsection your paper, you will use level 3 headings. Level 3 headings will be bold italic, left aligned, and title case. They should look like this:

Level Three Heading

Once you have formatted a level 3 heading, select the text of the heading then hover your cursor over Heading 3 in the Styles dropdown and select "Update Heading 3 to Match." 

Adding More Level 3 Headings

Once you have formatted the first heading and updated the style, you simply need to type the new level 3 heading in title case and then, with your cursor in line with the heading, click on the heading 3 button in the styles dropdown to format it and link it for your table of contents. Make sure to use this feature every time to ensure all headings are properly linked to your table of contents.

Level 4 & 5 Headings (and beyond)

It is common to find the first 3 heading levels in papers that are as long as a thesis or dissertation. Occasionally, you may find the need to go beyond those levels. It is important to note that for the thesis and dissertation, only the first 3 headings should be included in the table of contents. It is also recommended that you only use the styles function for the first 3 headings because they stand alone on their own line of text. The next heading levels will begin on the same line as the paragraph that starts that section which means that the style function will not work properly. If you were to link the heading, the entire paragraph will appear in your table of contents.

This means that you will need to, carefully, ensure you are formatting the headings manually. Each level should be consistently formatted the same way. APA has standards for levels 4 & 5 which are described here. For heading levels beyond level 5, you should pick a consistent formatting that clearly indicates they are a subsection of the level 5 heading. It is also recommended that you carefully evaluate if this level of heading is truly necessary for your writing.

Level 4 Heading

Level 4 headings will begin on the same line of the paragraph that makes up the section. It will be indented 0.5", much like a normal paragraph indent. The heading will be in title case and bold font with a period at the end of the heading:

            Level Four Heading Here.  Start the first sentence of the paragraph that follows the heading on the same line and continue typing. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc at pellentesque massa. Sed nec urna nec est efficitur iaculis. Etiam efficitur velit id dignissim eleifend. Duis euismod, nisi sed cursus sodales, sem nisi porttitor ante, eu dignissim justo tortor nec mauris.

Level 5 Heading

Level 5 headings will begin on the same line of the paragraph that makes up the section. It will be indented 0.5", much like a normal paragraph indent. The heading will be in title case and bold italic font with a period at the end of the heading:

            Level Five Heading Here.   Start the first sentence of the paragraph that follows the heading on the same line and continue typing. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc at pellentesque massa. Sed nec urna nec est efficitur iaculis. Etiam efficitur velit id dignissim eleifend. Duis euismod, nisi sed cursus sodales, sem nisi porttitor ante, eu dignissim justo tortor nec mauris.

Table of Contents

Once you have added headings and used the styles feature, you will be able to use the word function to "generate" a table of contents. You will need to type "Table of Contents" in bold font, centered at the top of the page you will be inserting your table of contents onto. Then, place your cursor on the next line

Click on Insert, hover over Table of Contents and select the first option, which should say "Plain text" as your cursor hovers over it. 

This will populate your table of contents.

From here, you will need to ensure that you double space the new table. Highlight the table of contents, then click the line spacing button in the toolbar and select double. Keep in mind that you may need to repeat this for each time you update the table of contents. 

If set up correctly, your table of contents should look like the image below.

• << Previous: Headings, Subheadings, and Table of Contents (Microsoft Word)
• Next: Inserting Tables and Figures >>
• Last Updated: Apr 19, 2024 2:45 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uni.edu/grad-college-format

Best Tools For Thesis Writing: Dissertation and Academic Writing Tools

In the quest to master the art of thesis writing, selecting the right tools is crucial. This comprehensive guide introduces the best tools available for thesis writing, each tailored to enhance different aspects of the writing process.

From advanced language proofing to efficient reference management, these tools are designed to streamline your workflow, ensure academic integrity, and elevate the quality of your thesis. Discover how each tool can transform your thesis writing experience, making it more efficient and effective. 

Best Tools For Thesis Writing

Grammarly – Language Proof Your Thesis

Grammarly is not just a grammar checker; it also cater to various aspects of academic writing, from ensuring the originality of content to assisting with the intricacies of formatting and citation.

Grammarly integrates with word processing software like Microsoft Word and Google Docs. It facilitates real-time editing and proofreading, allowing students to refine their thesis statements and arguments as they write. 

The tool’s compatibility with online sources is a boon for literature reviews, streamlining the process of integrating various studies and reports into a cohesive narrative.

It works with many reference management software, ensuring that all bibliographical entries are error-free and consistently formatted. These includes: 

One of the lesser-known features of Grammarly is its ability to suggest rephrases for overused or unclear phrases, a common issue in lengthy academic pieces like dissertations or theses. This aids immensely in maintaining a clear and engaging narrative throughout the writing process.

Additionally, for students working with LaTeX for technical writing or complex document formatting, Grammarly’s ability to check the clarity and readability of text, when used in conjunction with a LaTeX editor, is invaluable.

Grammarly’s free version is robust enough to handle the basics of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. However, for a more in-depth analysis like vocabulary enhancement and advanced grammar checks, the premium version steps in.

Turnitin – Remove Plagiarism From Your Academic Writing

Turnitin is far more than just a plagiarism checker; Turnitin offers a suite of features that profoundly enhance the writing and research process.

One of Turnitin’s standout features is its ability to compare submitted work against an extensive database of academic papers, offering peace of mind to those concerned about inadvertent plagiarism in their dissertation writing.

This comparison includes a thorough check against online sources, making it a robust tool for literature reviews.

Turnitin’s integrates with word processing software like Microsoft Word and Google Docs. This way, you get real-time plagiarism detection, ensuring that all citations and references are accurately credited, a crucial aspect in academic integrity.

The software is also invaluable in managing the format and citation style of a thesis.

Whether it’s APA, MLA, or Chicago style, Turnitin helps ensure that your bibliography and in-text citations are correctly structured, thus avoiding common errors in academic writing.

Additionally, Turnitin’s feedback and grading tools are a boon for educators and students. They allow for detailed comments and suggestions, which can be crucial in refining a thesis statement or rephrasing sections for clarity and impact.

This feature is particularly beneficial in the revision phase of thesis writing.

Suppose you use reference management software like:

In this case, Turnitin’s compatibility ensures a seamless integration, making the management of bibliographies and citations more efficient.

This integration is especially helpful in disciplines requiring extensive reference management, such as in technical writing or legal studies.

Microsoft Word – Base For Your Thesis Writing 

Microsoft Word, offers a plethora of features tailored for the rigorous demands of thesis writing and dissertation crafting. It’s more than just a word processor; it’s a comprehensive tool designed to streamline the writing process for students and researchers.

Microsoft Word’s template feature can be a game-changer for academic writing. You can set up a standard format for your thesis, including predefined styled for:

• Subheadings, and

This not only saves time but also helps in maintaining a professional look required for academic submissions.

One of the lesser-known yet incredibly handy features is the ability to create and manage citations and bibliographies.

Compatible with reference management software like Mendeley, Zotero, and EndNote, Word simplifies the process of citation, crucial in avoiding plagiarism and ensuring proper acknowledgment of sources.

For those dealing with extensive research papers, Word’s navigation pane is a boon. It allows easy mapping and reorganization of sections, crucial in maintaining a coherent structure in your thesis. 

Word’s Review feature is invaluable for collaborative writing. It allows for tracking changes, inserting comments, and even comparing different versions of a document. This is particularly useful when multiple revisions are involved in the thesis writing process.

Freemind – Outline Your Dissertation

FreeMind, a mind mapping software, is an innovative tool that’s increasingly being utilized in the realm of academic writing, particularly for thesis and dissertation preparation.

This free, open-source software offers a dynamic way to organise:

• Research, and

At the heart of FreeMind’s utility is its ability to help students and researchers create visual outlines for their academic projects. This is particularly advantageous during the initial stages of thesis writing, where organizing a vast amount of information and ideas can be overwhelming.

FreeMind allows users to create nodes for each main idea or chapter of their thesis, to which they can add sub-nodes for more detailed points or references. This hierarchical structure makes it easier to map out the entire thesis, providing a clear overview of the project.

For graduate students embarking on extensive literature reviews, FreeMind can serve as a tool to categorize and link various sources and theories.

This not only aids in avoiding plagiarism by keeping track of citations but also helps in synthesising information from different sources cohesively.

Additionally, FreeMind’s compatibility with various word processing tools, like Microsoft Word and LaTeX, ensures that the transition from mind mapping to actual writing is seamless.

Its ability to export maps in multiple formats allows for easy integration into other software used in the writing process.

FreeMind’s real-time collaboration feature is a boon for those working on joint research papers or dissertations, facilitating brainstorming and idea-sharing among team members.

This feature, along with its intuitive interface, makes FreeMind a valuable asset in the toolkit of academic writing tools, enhancing both the efficiency and quality of academic writing projects.

ChatGPT – Best AI Writing Assistant

ChatGPT is based on advanced AI technology, and can be used to assist in various aspects of academic writing. This makes it a valuable asset for students and researchers.

In the context of thesis writing, ChatGPT can be utilized for brainstorming ideas, generating outlines, and even providing suggestions for thesis statements.

Its ability to process and generate text based on user prompts makes it an excellent tool for drafting initial versions of academic documents.

For those engaged in the laborious process of writing a dissertation, ChatGPT offers real-time assistance in:

• Rephrasing sentences,
• Enhancing clarity, and
• Suggesting alternative ways to present complex ideas.

For researchers conducting literature reviews, ChatGPT can help summarize articles, providing quick insights into their content. This is particularly useful when dealing with a large volume of literature.

However, it’s important to note that while ChatGPT is a powerful tool, it should be used to complement traditional research methods, ensuring accuracy and credibility in academic work.

ChatGPT’s versatility extends to its compatibility with various software tools used in academic writing, such as Microsoft Word, LaTeX, and softwares like Mendeley, Zotero, and EndNote. This compatibility streamlines the writing process, from initial research to the final draft.

Canva – Software Tools For Graphics

Canva, primarily known for its graphic design capabilities, is increasingly finding its way into the realm of academic writing, particularly in the visual presentation of complex data and information.

This tool, with its user-friendly interface, offers a fresh approach to creating visually appealing elements for theses, dissertations, and research papers.

In the process of thesis writing, Canva can be used to design compelling graphics, such as infographics and charts, which are essential in representing data in a more digestible format.

This is especially beneficial in fields where visual data presentation can significantly enhance the understanding of complex topics.

Canva’s vast library of templates and design elements allows for the creation of professional-looking graphics without the need for advanced design skills.

For graduate students working on dissertations, Canva provides an array of options to create layouts for posters or presentations, often required for thesis defenses or academic conferences.

The tool’s drag-and-drop feature simplifies the process of designing these materials, making it accessible even for those with limited graphic design experience.

For those concerned about plagiarism and citation, Canva can aid in creating original graphics, ensuring that your academic work remains unique and authentic.

While it doesn’t replace traditional writing software, Canva complements them by adding a visual dimension to academic writing, enhancing the overall impact and readability of scholarly work.

Zotero – Citation Tools For Writing

Zotero has become a cornerstone tool for academic writing, especially in the fields of thesis and dissertation writing.

As a comprehensive tool designed for students, researchers, and academic writers, Zotero simplifies the process of managing research materials, such as: 

• Organizing, and

One of the standout features of Zotero is its ability to seamlessly integrate with browsers. This allows users to easily add sources from the web to their Zotero library with just a click.

For thesis writers who rely heavily on online sources for their literature review, this feature is a significant time-saver.

Zotero’s ability to automatically extract citation information and store it in an organized library simplifies the management of research sources.

Zotero offers robust support for various citation formats. Whether it’s:

• Chicago, or

Zotero can generate bibliographies and in-text citations in the chosen format, directly integrating with word processors like Microsoft Word and Google Docs. This integration is particularly beneficial for maintaining consistency in citations throughout a lengthy academic document.

Furthermore, Zotero stands out for its collaboration features. It allows users to share libraries with others, making it a useful tool for co-authored research papers or group projects.

The real-time syncing feature ensures that all members of a research group have access to the latest resources and references.

Zotero’s compatibility with PDF management tools and its ability to index the content of PDFs for easy searching adds another layer of efficiency. For graduate students and thesis writers, this means quick retrieval of information from a vast collection of saved research papers.

Wrapping Up: Best Academic Writing Apps And Tools

In conclusion, the journey of thesis writing is made significantly smoother with the aid of these versatile tools. From Grammarly’s meticulous language polishing to Zotero’s efficient citation management, each tool offers unique capabilities to enhance your academic writing.

By integrating these resources into your workflow, you can focus more on the content and quality of your thesis, ensuring a well-crafted, professionally presented final document. Embrace these tools to unlock your full potential in academic writing and research.

Dr Andrew Stapleton has a Masters and PhD in Chemistry from the UK and Australia. He has many years of research experience and has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate at a number of Universities. Although having secured funding for his own research, he left academia to help others with his YouTube channel all about the inner workings of academia and how to make it work for you.

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• Knowledge Base
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• Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates

Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates

Published on 8 June 2022 by Tegan George .

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical early steps in your writing process . It helps you to lay out and organise your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation, such as:

• Your anticipated title
• Your abstract
• Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review, research methods, avenues for future research, etc.)

In the final product, you can also provide a chapter outline for your readers. This is a short paragraph at the end of your introduction to inform readers about the organisational structure of your thesis or dissertation . This chapter outline is also known as a reading guide or summary outline.

Table of contents

How to outline your thesis or dissertation, dissertation and thesis outline templates, chapter outline example, sample sentences for your chapter outline, sample verbs for variation in your chapter outline, frequently asked questions about outlines.

While there are some inter-institutional differences, many outlines proceed in a fairly similar fashion.

• Working Title
• ‘Elevator pitch’ of your work (often written last).
• Introduce your area of study, sharing details about your research question, problem statement , and hypotheses . Situate your research within an existing paradigm or conceptual or theoretical framework .
• Subdivide as you see fit into main topics and sub-topics.
• Describe your research methods (e.g., your scope, population , and data collection ).
• Present your research findings and share about your data analysis methods.
• Answer the research question in a concise way.
• Interpret your findings, discuss potential limitations of your own research and speculate about future implications or related opportunities.

To help you get started, we’ve created a full thesis or dissertation template in Word or Google Docs format. It’s easy adapt it to your own requirements.

 Download Word template    Download Google Docs template

It can be easy to fall into a pattern of overusing the same words or sentence constructions, which can make your work monotonous and repetitive for your readers. Consider utilising some of the alternative constructions presented below.

Example 1: Passive construction

The passive voice is a common choice for outlines and overviews because the context makes it clear who is carrying out the action (e.g., you are conducting the research ). However, overuse of the passive voice can make your text vague and imprecise.

Example 2: IS-AV construction

You can also present your information using the ‘IS-AV’ (inanimate subject with an active verb) construction.

A chapter is an inanimate object, so it is not capable of taking an action itself (e.g., presenting or discussing). However, the meaning of the sentence is still easily understandable, so the IS-AV construction can be a good way to add variety to your text.

Example 3: The I construction

Another option is to use the ‘I’ construction, which is often recommended by style manuals (e.g., APA Style and Chicago style ). However, depending on your field of study, this construction is not always considered professional or academic. Ask your supervisor if you’re not sure.

Example 4: Mix-and-match

To truly make the most of these options, consider mixing and matching the passive voice , IS-AV construction , and ‘I’ construction .This can help the flow of your argument and improve the readability of your text.

As you draft the chapter outline, you may also find yourself frequently repeating the same words, such as ‘discuss’, ‘present’, ‘prove’, or ‘show’. Consider branching out to add richness and nuance to your writing. Here are some examples of synonyms you can use.

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organise your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

When you mention different chapters within your text, it’s considered best to use Roman numerals for most citation styles. However, the most important thing here is to remain consistent whenever using numbers in your dissertation .

All level 1 and 2 headings should be included in your table of contents . That means the titles of your chapters and the main sections within them.

The contents should also include all appendices and the lists of tables and figures, if applicable, as well as your reference list .

Do not include the acknowledgements or abstract   in the table of contents.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

George, T. (2022, June 08). Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved 18 June 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/outline-thesis-dissertation/

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Thesis and Dissertation Guide

• Starting your Dissertation/Thesis
• Dissertation/Thesis Resources
• Books That May Help
• Literature Reviews
• Annotated Bibliography
• We Don't Have It? / Interlibrary Loan
• Online Learning Study Tips
• Search Strategy
• Advanced Search Techniques
• Kemp Library Video Tutorials
• Find Articles / Journals / Databases
• What are...
• Database Video Tutorials
• Peer Reviewed
• How to confirm and cite peer review
• Primary/Secondary Sources
• Other Types of Sources (i.e. Newspapers)
• Legal Research Resources
• Evidence Based Practice/Appraisal Resources

Google Scholar

• Website Evaluation
• Internet Searching
• Apps You Didn't Know You Needed
• Who is citing me?
• Questions After Hours
• ESU Thesis Submission
• ESU Dissertation Submission
• How to Integrate
• How to Use It

What is Google Scholar and Why Should You Care?

Google Scholar is a special division of Google that searches for academic content. It is not as robust as Google, and as such it can be harder to search. However, if you are looking for a specific article it is a fantastic resource for finding out if you can access it through your library or if it's available for free.

Below are a few videos on how to use Google Scholar (you can skip the intros if you want) that will show you tips and tricks on how to best use Google Scholar.

Did you know that you can use Google Scholar in addition to Primo to help search Kemp library materials? You just have to add us to your Google Scholar and our results will show up in your searches showing you what you have access to as an ESU community member!

• Go to  Google Scholar 
• Make sure you're logged into your Google Account -  you'll see your initials or your icon in the top right hand corner of the screen if you're logged in. 
• Click on  Settings  (either from the top of the Scholar home page, or from the drop-down on the right hand side of the results page).

Choose  Library Links .

Type ‘East Stroudsburg University’ into the search box.

Click the boxes next to “ESU” and "Kemp Library"

Click  Save .

If you have other institutions you're affilitated with, or ResearchGate, you can add them too!

Getting to Google Scholar Settings:

The Library Link Screen: Search, Select and Save!

What your search results will look like: 

 Add / Reorder  

Databases have more sophisticated search features than Google Scholar , but if you have a one or two word topic Google Scholar can be useful.  You can also try using the Advanced Search in Google Scholar (see the first video below). 

However, if you're having trouble finding something specific, i.e. a specific article, try Google Scholar. For example you want " Game of Thrones and Graffiti" and you don't see it in a database, search the title of the article in Google Scholar (here you'd search "Game of Thrones and Graffiti"). You may find it freely available OR discover it is available through the library, but in a database you didn't look at. 

If we don't have it and you can't access it on Google Scholar, you can always request it via interlibrary loan .

"If Google Scholar isn’t turning up what you need, try an open Google search with the article title in quotes, and type the added filter “filetype:pdf”. This scours the open web for papers hosted somewhere, by someone, in PDF format. Google Books provides limited preview access to many copyrighted books. Other alternate services include  SemanticScholar ,  Microsoft Academic ,  Dimensions , or  GetTheResearch . Here too there are subject-specific portals like  EconBiz  or the  Virtual Health Library , some of which offer multilingual search options." -  Paragraph taken from A Wikipedia Librarian. 

The other services like Microsoft Academic mentioned above are also useful when looking for freely available journal article and research! Don't forget to cite everything you use in your paper/project/presentation/etc. 

Google Scholar Videos

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• Next: Website Evaluation >>
• Last Updated: Apr 29, 2024 12:07 PM
• URL: https://esu.libguides.com/thesis

Graduate Student Success Center

Thesis and dissertation template.

The Graduate College offers a thesis/dissertation template that contains all required content and formatting. You can either write your document from within the template or apply the template’s formatting to your previously created work.

Need help working in the template? Schedule an appointment today.

Before You Begin

The first time you download the template, save the template file to your computer before you begin work on your document. This is important if you are composing your thesis/dissertation within the template or if you are copying and pasting your content into the template. You may need the original template file in the future.

Please note: We offer the Google Doc template for initial drafts of your thesis/dissertation to share easily with your committee chair. We do not accept Google Documents as the final document of your thesis/dissertation. Google Docs does not have the functionality we require for our final theses/dissertations. Please use the Google Doc template while keeping in mind that you will need to convert your document to Microsoft Word later.

Download Thesis and Dissertation Template (Word Doc) Download Thesis and Dissertation Template (LATEX) Download Thesis and Dissertation Template (Google Doc)

Word Template Last Updated: February 2021

Word Document Template Information

Download instructions.

• Download the Boise State Template from the orange callout ribbon above.
• Show the downloaded file in the Downloads folder.
• Right click and select Open
• Enable Content
• Click File > Save As and name the file, for instance, Boise_State_Template.dotm (note the extension is “.dotm”) and  Save as type:  Word Macro-Enabled Template (*.dotm) .  It is recommended locating this file on your desktop – it may come in handy if you need to reattach the template to your document in the future (see below).
• Close this file.

Working Within the Template

To work within the template, styles are applied throughout the document. These styles can be found by clicking the arrow in the lower right hand corner of the Styles section in the Home tab. To apply a style, simply highlight the text that you wish to format and click the appropriate name from the styles list.

When entering your own work into the template, be sure to apply the following styles to the appropriate parts of your document. Failure to do so will mean that your Table of Contents, List of Figures, and List of Tables will be incorrect.

• Format a Heading 1 in all caps, and centered
• Format a Heading 2 in title-caps, bold, and centered
• Format a Heading 3 in title-caps, underlined, and aligned left
• Format a Heading 4 in title-caps, underlined, and indented once
• Format a Heading 5 in title-caps, underlined and indented twice
• Figure Captions are bolded and centered in the template. They may also be justified.
• Table Captions are bolded and aligned left in the template. They may also be justified.
• Appendix Heading 2
• Appendix Heading 3

Formatting Landscape Pages

When setting pages of your document to landscape orientation to accommodate large figures or tables, you must reformat their page numbers so that they will still be visible after binding.

• Open the landscape page’s header by double-clicking within the header.
• Deselect Link to Previous, located in the Navigation section of the Design tab. Repeat this step for the page following the landscape page.
• Delete the landscape page’s current page number.
• Click Insert → Page Number (in the Header & Footer section)→Page Margins.
• Select Landscape Page Numbers.

Note: If your other pages’ pagination disappears after inserting landscape page numbers, you likely did not turn off Link to Previous. Undo your changes to the page numbers and restart the instructions.

Replacing Table of Contents, List of Figures, and List of Tables

After your writing and editing is complete, you will need to replace the Table of Contents, List of Figures, and List of Tables.

• Right click the existing TOC, LOF, or LOT.
• Click Update Field.
• Select Update entire table and click Ok.

Note: All other lists (such as a List of Abbreviations or List of Graphs) are not updated automatically. Instead, the template includes examples of manually-created lists that can be altered to fit your needs.

Attaching the Template to a Preexisting Document. If your document is at or near completion, it may be easier for you to attach the template to your existing file than to paste your document into a new template.

Formatting Styles and Applying Styles

Before attaching the Thesis/Dissertation template to your document, you must first apply the following styles to the appropriate sections of your work. It does not matter how these styles look – when you first apply them they will not look right – only that the names of the styles match those in the following list exactly. After you have applied all the styles and attach the template the document will be formatted correctly.

These styles can be found by clicking the arrow in the lower right hand corner of the Styles section in the Home tab. Leave this menu open while you work through the document. To apply a style, simply highlight the text that you wish to format and click the appropriate name from the styles list.

Attaching Styles

• Access the Styles menu by clicking the lower-right corner of the Styles box on the Home tab in Windows. Keep this menu open on the side of your screen and apply the styles to your document as you work.
• Highlight the text you wish to format (it is often only necessary to “click in” the section you wish to format)
• Click the appropriate style from the Styles menu

Note: If the style you are looking for is not included in the list you may need to create the style (see next).

Creating Styles

Some required styles will not be listed in the premade styles, thus you will need to create them yourself.

• Highlight the text that you wish to format
• Right click the text and select Styles → Save Selection as a New Quick Style.
• Enter the appropriate style name and click OK.

Note: Remember, it does not matter how these styles look at this time, only that the style names match the names listed in the table above.

Attaching the Template

After applying styles to your document, you can attach the template, which will fix most of your document’s formatting issues.

• Download the Boise State Thesis and Dissertation Template and save it to your computer. See instructions above under “Before you Begin.”
• Open the Word document containing your thesis/dissertation, click file, click options, click add-ins, and select templates from the Manage drop down menu at the bottom of the page. Click go.
• In the Document Template section, click Attach.
• Navigate to the folder in which you saved the template and select it.
• Important: Check the box labeled “Automatically update document styles.”

Adjusting Margins

• Click Ctrl+A to select the entire document.
• In the Home ribbon, click layout, click margins and select the mirror margin option that contains inside margin 1.5″, top and bottom margins 1.”

Setting Page Numbers

Be careful that you set section breaks between front matter and body text and also between portrait and landscape-oriented pages (see Manually Formatting Your Document for instructions on setting page breaks). Each has a different way of formatting their pagination.

Front Matter

•  Set a continuous section break immediately before the Heading 1 on the first page that follows your approval pages.
• Set a continuous section break immediately before the title of Chapter 1.
• Open the footer on the first page following your approval page by clicking the Footer button in the Header & Footer section of the Insert tab and selecting Edit Footer.
• Deselect Link to Previous, located in the Navigation section of the Design tab. This step is only necessary for the first numbered page in the front matter.
• Insert page numbers. Front matter page numbers should be in lowercase Roman numerals and should be centered at the bottom of each page.
• Double-click inside the footer of the first page in Chapter 1.
• Deselect Link to Previous, located in the Navigation section of the Design tab. This step is only necessary for the first page in the body text.
• Delete the page numbers from the footer.
• Open the header on the same page by double-clicking inside the header.
• Deselect Link to Previous, located in the Navigation section of the Design tab.
• Insert alpha-numeric page numbers, starting with 1, into the upper right-hand corner of the pages.

Landscape Pages

• Repeat step 3 on the page following the landscape page.
• Click Insert → Page Number (in the Header & Footer section) → Page Margins.

Inserting Table of Contents and Lists of Figures or Tables

Finally, after your document’s content is complete, you will need to create the Table of Contents, List of Figures, and List of Tables.

• In the Home ribbon, select References , then select Table of Contents and choose the first option.
• To build your list of tables or figures do the following: on the Home ribbon, select references, select Insert List of Table of Figures, on the options drop down select either table captions or figure captions depending on which you are creating. You will then have to manually insert the heading.

Note: The template does not include macros for automatically generating other lists such as a List of Abbreviations or List of Graphs. However, it does include example lists that can be copied, pasted, and altered to meet your needs.

Helpful Tips

• Access the Styles menu by clicking the lower-right corner of the styles box on the Home tab in Windows. Keep this menu open on the side of your screen, or on a second screen, and apply the styles to your document as you work. To make the document styles behave, use the styles in the template. For example, for all Heading 1s, use the Heading 1 style, which will automatically insert a break and a 2 inch margin, etc. As long as the styles are used, the document should behave appropriately, and the table of contents will include the headings once updated. To modify the Table of Contents, click once to highlight the table in gray, right-click and select “Update Entire Field.”
• Show formatting marks as you work in your document.  Click on the File tab, then Options, Display, and click on the box “Show all formatting marks” and OK.

25+ Dissertation & Thesis Writing Apps

Everything You Need To Optimise Your Research Journey

Contributors: Derek J ansen (MBA),   Kerryn Warren (PhD) &  David Phair (PhD) | May 2024

Completing your dissertation   or thesis requires a hearty investment of time, effort and hard work. There’s no shortcut on the road to research success, but as with anything, there are   ways to optimise the process   and work smarter.

Here, we’ll share with you a wide range of apps, software and services that will   make your life a little easier   throughout the research process. While these apps can save you a lot of time, remember that your dissertation or thesis needs to be your own work – no tool should be doing the writing on your behalf. Also, be sure to check your university’s policy regarding AI-based tools and support before using any apps, tools or software. 

Overview: Dissertation & Thesis Apps

• Literature review
• Data collection
• Qualitative data analysis
• Quantitative data analysis
• Writing & Plagiarism
• Project management
• Reference management
• Honourable mentions

Literature Review & Search Apps

The following apps and tools can help you discover, analyse, and synthesise scholarly materials, significantly streamlining the literature review process.

Scite AI – Find & evaluate sources

The Scite AI app uses ‘Smart Citations’ to show how academic papers are discussed—i.e.,  supported, contradicted, or mentioned. This can help you fast-track the literature review process and source highly relevant papers quickly. 

Petal – Chat with your literature

Petal is an AI-driven tool that revolutionises your interaction with documents by enabling direct, context-aware conversations. Upload an article and it will swiftly summarise its contents and allow you to ask questions about the specific study (or studies).

Consensus – ChatGPT for academia

The Consensus app uses a powerful AI engine to connect you to over 200 million scientific papers. It allows precise searches and efficiently summarises key research findings . PS – Get 40% off Consensus Premium by using the coupon code GRADCOACH40.

Litmaps – Visualise related papers

This app is great for quickly identifying relevant research. For any given keyword or resource, it will provide you with a visual citation network, showing how studies are interconnected. This reveals both direct and tangential connections to other research, highlighting gaps and key discussions within your field.

Connected Papers – An alternative

Similar to Litmaps, Connected Papers visually maps academic research, simplifying how you explore related studies. Just input a paper, and it charts connections, helping identify key literature and gaps. It’s ideal for staying updated on emerging research.

Elicit – An “AI research assistant”

Another AI-powered tool, Elicit automates the discovery, screening, and data extraction from academic papers efficiently. This makes it useful for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, as it allows you to focus on deeper analysis across various fields​.

Data Collection & Preparation

These apps and tools can assist you in terms of collecting and organising both qualitative and quantitative data for your dissertation or thesis.

SurveyMonkey – Simple surveys

SurveyMonkey is a versatile tool for creating and distributing surveys. It simplifies collecting and analysing data, helping you craft surveys that generate reliable results. Well suited for the vast majority of postgraduate research projects.

Qualtrics – An alternative

Qualtrics is a comprehensive survey tool with advanced creation, distribution, and analysis capabilities. It supports complex survey designs and robust data analysis, making it ideal for gathering detailed insights and conducting high-quality research.

Otter – Easy draft transcription

Otter is an AI-powered transcription tool that converts spoken words into text. It captures and transcribes lectures, interviews, and meetings in real time. Naturally, it’s not 100% accurate (you’ll need to verify), but it can certainly save you some time.

Qualitative Data Analysis

These software packages can help you organise and analyse qualitative data for your dissertation, thesis or research project.

NVivo – All-in-one qual platform

NVivo is a powerful qualitative data analysis software that facilitates data organisation, coding, and analysis. It supports a wide range of data types and methodologies, enabling detailed analysis and helping you extract rich insights from your data.

MaxQDA – QDA simplified

MAXQDA is a robust qualitative data analysis software that helps you systematically organise, evaluate, and interpret complex datasets. A little easier to get started with than NVivo, it’s ideal for first-time dissertation and thesis writers.

ATLAS.ti – For large datasets

ATLAS.ti offers robust tools for organising, coding, and examining diverse materials such as text, graphics, and multimedia. It’s well-suited for researchers aiming to weave detailed, data-driven narratives as it streamlines complex analysis tasks efficiently.

Delve – An intuitive interface

Delve is an intuitive qualitative data analysis tool designed to streamline the qualitative analysis process. Ideal for dissertations, Delve simplifies the process from initial data organisation to in-depth analysis, helping you efficiently manage and interpret complex datasets for clearer insights.

Quantitative (Statistical) Data Analysis

These software packages can help you organise and analyse quantitative (statistical) data for your dissertation, thesis or research project.

Julius – Your “AI data analyst”

Julius is an AI-powered data analysis tool that simplifies the process of analysing and visualising data for academic research. It allows you to “chat” with your data, create graphs, build forecasting models, and generate comprehensive analyses.

IBM SPSS – The “old faithful”

The OG of statistical analysis software, SPSS is ideal for students handling quantitative data in their dissertations and theses. It simplifies complex statistical testing, data management, and graphical representation, helping you derive robust insights.

R Studio – For the data wizards

While admittedly a little intimidating at first, R is a versatile software for statistical computing. It’s well-suited for quantitative dissertations and theses, offering a wide range of packages and robust community support to streamline your work.

STATA – For the data scientists

Stata is yet another comprehensive statistical software widely used for data management, statistical analysis, and graphical representation. It can efficiently handle large datasets and perform advanced statistical analyses.

Writing Improvement & Plagiarism Tools

These apps and tools can help enhance your writing and proactively identify potential plagiarism issues.

Grammarly – Improve your writing

Grammarly is a writing assistant that can help enhance academic writing by checking for errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation in real time. It also features a plagiarism detection system , helping you to proactively avoid academic misconduct.

Jenni – An AI “writing assistant”

Jenni AI helps you draft, cite, and edit with ease, streamlining the writing process and tackling writer’s block. Well suited for ESL students and researchers, Jenni helps ensure that your work is both precise, clear and grammatically sound.

Quillbot – Paraphrasing simplified

Quillbot is yet another AI-powered writing tool that can help streamline the writing process. Specifically, it can assist with paraphrasing , correcting grammar, and improving clarity and flow. It also features a citation generator and plagiarism checker .

Quetext – Solid plagiarism checking

Quetext is a plagiarism detection tool that helps ensure the originality of your academic work. It cross-references your documents against extensive online databases to highlight potential plagiarism and generate detailed reports.

Project & Time Management

These apps can help you plan your research project and manage your time, so that you can work as efficiently as possible.

GanttPro – PM simplified

An intuitive project management tool, GanttPro simplifies planning and tracking for dissertations or theses. It offers detailed Gantt charts to visualise task timelines, dependencies, and progress, helping you ensure timely completion of each section.

Trello – Drag-and-drop PM

Trello is a versatile project management tool that helps you organise your dissertation or thesis process effectively. By creating boards for each chapter or section, you can track progress, set deadlines, and coordinate tasks efficiently.

Toggl – Make every minute count

A user-friendly time-tracking app that helps you manage your research project effectively. With Toggl, you can precisely track how much time you spend on specific tasks. This will help you avoid distractions and stay on track throughout your journey.

Reference Management

These apps and tools will help you keep your academic resources well organised and ensure that your citations and references are perfectly formatted, every time.

Mendeley – Your citations, sorted

Mendeley is your go-to reference management tool that simplifies academic writing by keeping your sources neatly organised. Perfect for dissertations and theses, it lets you easily store, search, and cite your resources directly in MS Word.

Zotero – Great for Google Docs

Zotero is a free-to-use reference manager that ensures your sources are well-organised and flawlessly cited. It helps you collect, organise, and cite your research sources seamlessly. A great alternative to Mendeley if you’re using Google Docs.

Endnote – A paid option

Yet another reference management option, Endnote is sometimes specifically required by universities. It efficiently organises and stores research materials, making citation and bibliography creation (largely) effortless.

Honourable Mentions

Now that we’ve covered the more “exciting” dissertation apps and tools, it’s worth quickly making one or two mundane but essential mentions before we wrap up.

You’ll need a reliable word processor.

In terms of word processors, Microsoft Word will likely be your go-to, but it’s not the only option. If you don’t have a license for Word, you can certainly consider using Google Docs, which is completely free. Zotero offers a direct integration with Google Docs, making it easy to manage your citations and references. If you want to go to the other extreme, you can consider LaTeX, a professional typesetting software often used in academic documents.

You’ll need cloud storage.

The number of times we’ve seen students lose hours, days or even weeks’ worth of hard work (and even miss the submission deadline) due to corrupted flash drives or hard drives, coffee-soaked laptops, or stolen computers is truly saddening. If you’re not using cloud storage to save your work, you’re running a major risk. Go sign up for any of the following cloud services (most offer a free version) and save your work there:

• Google Drive
• iCloud Drive

Not only will this ensure your work is always safely stored (remember to hit the Save button, though!), but it will make working on multiple devices easier, as your files will be automatically synchronised. No need to have multiple versions between your desktop, laptop, tablet, etc. Everything stays in one place. Safe, secure, happy files.

Need a helping hand?

Key Takeaways: Dissertation & Thesis Apps

And there you have it – a hearty selection of apps, software and services that will undoubtedly make your life easier come dissertation time.

To recap, we’ve covered tools across a range of categories:

Remember, while these apps can help optimise your dissertation or thesis writing journey, you still need to put in the work . Be sure to carefully review your university’s rules and regulations regarding what apps and tools you can use – especially anything AI-related.

Have a suggestion? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Simply leave a comment below and we’ll consider adding your suggested app to the list.

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15 Comments

It seems some of the apps mentioned are not android capable. It would be nice if you mentioned items that everyone could use.

Thanks for the feedback, Gale!

Yet to explore some of your recommended apps. I am glad to commend on one app that I have started using, Mendeley. When it comes to referencing it really helps a lot.

Great to hear that, Maggie 🙂

I have got Mendeley and it is fantastic. I have equally downloaded Freemind but I am yet to really understand how to navigate through it.

Based on your YouTube lessons,my literature review and the entire research has been simplified and I am enjoying the flow now,more than ever before.

Thank you so much for your recommendations and guide.It’s working a great deal for me.

Remain blessed!

Thank you for all the amazing help and tutorials. I am in the dissertation research proposal stage having already defended the qualifying paper. I am going to implement some of your advice as I revise chapters 1 & 2 and expand chapter 3 for my research proposal. My question is about the writing– or specifically which software would you recommend. I know MS Word can get glitchy with larger documents. Do the “reference” apps you recommend work with other options such as LaTeX? I understand that for some programs the citations won’t be integrated or automated such as cite while you write etc.. I have a paid version of endnote, and free versions of mendeley and zotero. I have really only used endnote with any fidelity but I’m willing to adapt. What would you advise at this point?

Thanks for your comment and for the kind words – glad to hear that the info is useful.

Generally, Word works reasonably well for most research projects and is our first recommendation. As long as one keeps the document clean (i.e. doesn’t paste in loads of different styles, ultra high-res images, etc), it works fine. But I understand that it’s not perfect for absolutely huge projects.

Regarding referencing with Latex, this article covers how to use Mendeley with Latex – https://blog.mendeley.com/2011/10/25/howto-use-mendeley-to-create-citations-using-latex-and-bibtex/ . Perhaps it will be useful. I hesitate to tell you to adopt software X or Y, or to move from Endnote, as each software has its strengths and weaknesses, and performs better in certain contexts. I’m not familiar with your context, so it’s not possible for me to advise responsibly. Mendeley works well for the vast majority of our students, but if there’s a very specific bit of functionality that draws you to Endnote, then it may be best to stick with it. My generic advice would be to give Mendeley a try with some sample references and see if it has the functionality you need.

I hope this helps! Best of luck with your research 🙂

Thank you for your amazing articles and tips. I have MAC laptop, so would Zotero be as good as Mendeley? Thank you

Derek would you share with me your email please, I need to talk to you urgently.

I need a free Turnitin tool for checking plagiarism as for the tools above

I have been going crazy trying to keep my work polished and thesis or dissertation friendly. My mind said there had to be a better way to do literature reviews. Thank God for these applications. Look out world I am on my way.

Wow Thanks for this write-up i find it hard to track down extremely good guidance out there when it comes to this material appreciate for the publish site

Sir I have chosen topic substance abuse and psychological makeup a study on secondary school students but my supervisor told me to see some variable on this on which u work plz Need ur help

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Prepare Your ETD

Formatting your etd.

In order to graduate, your thesis or dissertation must conform to the formatting standards set out by the university before we accept it in the WVU Research Repository.  Except for the following specifications, any discipline-specific style manual may be used at the Committee Chair’s discretion.

   1. Title Page

• The first page of your thesis or dissertation must be a title page. Your title page must include all of the information and formatting structure contained within the title page template . 
• Suppress the page number on the title page. This is considered page i, but it will not appear on the page.

   2. Abstract Page 

• The second page of your thesis or dissertation must contain your abstract. Your abstract page must contain all of the information within the  abstract page template .
• Abstract page must have a heading with the word “Abstract”, the document title, and the author’s name. 
• Suppress the page number on the abstract page. This is considered page ii, but it will not appear on the page.
• Single space the abstract.

   3. Front Matter 

• Front matter (preliminary pages like Table of Contents and Acknowledgments) must be numbered in lower case Roman numerals (iii, iv, v...). 
• Page numbers on the Title Page and Abstract are suppressed, so while they still count as pages i and ii of the preliminary pages, their page numbers will not be displayed. For example, if your first 3 pages are Title, Abstract, and a Dedication, the Dedication will be the first page to have a page number and it will be iii.
• Page numbers i and ii should not appear anywhere on your ETD. 
• For help with formatting, we have instructions for formatting your page numbers with  Microsoft Word , and  Google Docs.

   4. Table of Contents

• Your document must include a Table of Contents. It should be included with any other front matter and will have a lower case Roman numeral as its page number.

   5. Body 

• The body of your document (Chapter 1 or Introduction, for example, through end of document) must restart the page numbering at "1" and be numbered as Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4...). 

   Committee Signature Form - Required for All Submissions

All ETD submissions must include a WVU Libraries committee signature form . The student and all members of the committee who attend the defense in person should sign the Signature Form.  This form is specific to the libraries and is not the same as the oral defense form or shuttle sheet. Electronic signatures are accepted.

If the student or any members attend the defense remotely, they may either email to the student or committee chair a scanned copy of the Signature Form containing only their own signature (physical or electronic) or email to the chair of the committee an email message expressing their approval. If possible, the forms and messages should be combined into one PDF file.

   Survey of Earned Doctorates - Required for PhD, EdD, and DMA Graduates Only

All doctoral students completing a PhD, EdD, or DMA, must take the Survey of Earned Doctorates and upload the Certificate of Completion with your other ETD materials to the Research Repository. During the survey, you are free to skip any questions by simply moving to the next question.

   Embargo Form - Only Required if You are Requesting an Embargo 

When a student submits an embargo request form, the embargo restricts the full-text copy of your thesis or dissertation from public view.

There are two types of embargoes: one year embargoes and permanent embargoes . One year embargoes start at the date of submission, and may be renewed annually by contacting the WVU Libraries. They are typically granted to authors who have a pending publication or patent based on their work.

Permanent embargoes may only be selected for individuals completing an MFA-Creative Writing program or for projects that contain sensitive Export Controlled information. The full text of the ETD will not be available for download or access without permission from the original author, and the WVU Export Control Office when applicable.

You are the owner of the copyright for your ETD, except for work that you have re-used, within the bounds of the WVU Copyright Policy.  What does this mean? As Kenneth Crews writes in his informative handbook on copyright and dissertations:

"Y our dissertation is protectable.  Copyright law protects “original” works that are “fixed” in some medium—for example, written on paper, stored on a computer drive, sculpted in clay, or recorded on tape or other media. You wrote your dissertation, using your original words or other expression. You probably have “fixed” it in various ways. \ Your dissertation in fact is protected.  It would be a rare and unusual dissertation that is not protected. A work that is “original” and “fixed” is protected automatically under copyright law. You do not need to register it with the U.S. Copyright Office or even put a copyright notice on the dissertation. It is copyrighted upon creation. Those procedures and formalities may be a good idea, but they are not required for copyright protection. You can decide how to publish your work.  Students should consult with their advisors and other officials about local university policies related to depositing dissertations with university repositories and possible “embargoes” or postponements on public release of your dissertation. To be clear, when you deposit your work with ProQuest, the company does not ask for a transfer of the copyright. Your rights in your work do not change. As long as you hold the copyright, you are in general able to decide how your dissertation may be made available, reworked into a book, or divided into a few journal articles. As the copyright owner, you get to make those decisions. But if you give away your copyright—as some publication agreements require—you can lose all of those opportunities and privileges.  You can decide to enforce your rights or share them.  As the copyright owner, you have the legal right to enforce claims against infringers. At the same time, you also have the privilege of allowing uses. You can grant permission on request, or you can attach a Creative Commons license to your work that permits broad public use." Read more discussion of these ideas in Kenneth Crews's  " Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis: Ownership, Fair Use, and Your Rights and Responsibilities" . Copyright Permissions You generally need to gain permission for wholesale re-use of any material that is copyrighted by someone else. This includes maps, drawings, tables, figures, photographs, sound files, and video clips, among others. You do not have to have permission to quote from another published work, as long as you attribute your source properly. For scholarly works such as articles or books that are not published Open Access. You will have to ask the publisher for permission to re-use materials. We advise that you ask for permission  as soon as you put it into your ETD . Obtaining copyright permission can take weeks (sometimes months) so start early. For items that are in the public domain or licensed for re-use (Open Access) you do not have to obtain permission.

• University of Michigan Library
• Research Guides

Microsoft Word for Dissertations

• Introduction, Template, & Resources
• Formatting for All Readers
• Applying a Style
• Modifying a Style
• Setting up a Heading 1 Example
• Images, Charts, Other Objects
• Footnotes, Endnotes, & Citations
• Cross-References
• Appendix Figures & Tables
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures/Tables
• Chapter and Section Numbering
• Page Numbers
• Landscape Pages
• Combining Chapter Files
• Commenting and Reviewing
• Tips & Tricks
• The Two-inch Top Margin
• Troubleshooting
• Finalizing Without Styles
• Preparing Your Final Document

Help with Microsoft Word

Members of the University of Michigan community can get dissertation & thesis formatting assistance from the experts at ScholarSpace:

Please  visit this link to make an appointment , or send an email to [email protected].

We're here to solve any formatting problems you've run into, and can give you guidance about captioning figures, solving numbering issues, creating a List of Tables/Figures/Appendices, and more.

Contact Information

Introduction to Word for Dissertations

Formatting your dissertation (or thesis) will likely take more time than you expect. But using the special features described in this Guide will save you a great deal of work , particularly if you use our template (available in the box below). The earlier you begin to use these tools, the more time you'll save and the less stress you'll have as your submission deadline approaches. Students at the University of Michigan are also encouraged to contact the experts at the Library's ScholarSpace anytime you run into a problem or have a question.

To meet  Rackham’s Dissertation Formatting Guidelines  you will need to modify the standard settings that Microsoft Word uses. This guide will show you how to use the tools to make the necessary modifications.  While we do follow the requirements from Rackham’s formatting guidelines to demonstrate the tools, in the end, you are responsible for verifying that your document meets the requirements that Rackham sets.

To save yourself time and effort , please consider using our Dissertation Template (link available in the box below). Many of the settings discussed in this Guide are already included in that document.

Please note that, as a University of Michigan student, you have free access to the Microsoft Office suite of tools -- including Microsoft Word. Visit this link to learn more and to download Office to your own computer.

Dissertation Template and other Resources

• ScholarSpace Template for Dissertations This Microsoft Word document comes with many of the Rackham formatting guidelines built in, and can be used for dissertations and theses. Please note that this template doesn't follow the formatting direction of any particular Style Guide. It is your responsibility to make sure you are following the Style Guide predominant in your field, and to make any relevant formatting changes to heading styles, numbering, captions, etc... How to make many of those changes is described throughout this Guide.
• Rackham Dissertation Handbook Rackham's Dissertation Guidelines and Handbook
• Dissertation Formatting Checklist Rackham's list of formatting issues to watch out for in your dissertation.
• Using Microsoft Word for Large Documents (non-dissertation specific) Handout (This document was written for an older -- much older -- version of Word, but nearly all of the information is still accurate and useful)
• Guide to Copyright for Dissertations

A word about LaTeX

LaTeX is a markup language (sometimes accessed through the Overleaf editor) that is often used in science and engineering documents because it allows for great control in creating complex equations and formulas. ScholarSpace does not maintain a template for dissertations created with LaTeX, and we can only provide very limited support for it. That said, there is a community of U-M folks who actively maintain  this LaTeX template to keep it in line with Rackham's guidelines .

Here are some other very useful resources:

• Video recording of a  UM Library Workshop on Dissertation Formatting with LaTeX
• Documentation for LaTeX and Overleaf
• Bibiliography Management with LaTeX
• How to Write a Thesis in LaTeX
• A huge collection of LaTeX resources

Can I use Google Docs for my dissertation?

No. Google Docs can get you pretty far down the road to something that looks like what Rackham requires, however, it's going to take a lot more work to get that far, and as you approach the finish line you will collide with obstacles that Google Docs just won't be able to get around. The issue is that Google Docs was not designed for complicated documents like a thesis or dissertation. To get it to do many of the special things that Rackham requires, you'll have to do a great deal of work that Word will just do for you . A few examples:

• Rackham requires 1" margin on all pages, but a 2" margin at the top of each new section. You'll have to manually adjust every relevant page yourself in Docs to get this, but Word will just do it automatically.
• Docs gives you three choices for how your Table of Contents will look, none of which are suitable by Rackham's standards. While you can adjust the format, many aspects of it (such as spacing) will revert to the original every time you update it.  With Word, you're in charge of what your ToC looks like.
• In Docs, you'll have to manually type in your figure numbers ("Figure 3.6") and change them every time you add or move them. But Word will manage numbering and caption placement for you, it will renumber figures or tables as you add or move them, and it will create your List of Figures/Tables automatically – correct page numbers and all. 
• With Word's figure/table numbering, you can also insert cross-references, so when you refer to "(see Figure 4.2)" but then you add some new figures before that, not only will Figure 4.2 renumber itself automatically, but anywhere you've referred to it will be updated, too. No more anxiety about whether you've updated everything accurately.
• Page numbers: Rackham wants the first two pages to have no page numbers, the rest of the frontmatter to have small roman numerals, and the body of the document to have arabic numerals.  Docs just plain can't do that.

If you're concerned about the learning curve of using Word, please know that this Guide goes over how to do everything, AND the Word template found here has nearly everything already set up for you. We also regularly offer a workshop that serves as an introduction to the most useful features, and you can set up a meeting with a ScholarSpace expert anytime you run into something that you can't figure out. 

Writing Assistance

This Guide is all about how to properly format your dissertation -- how to make it look the way Rackham wants it to look. But what if you need help with the actual composition  of your content? Our friends at the Sweetland Writing Center offer such assistance, through their Writing Workshop program. From their website:

These are just a few quick but especially important tips to help you get started. See our more expansive Tips & Troubleshooting section for suggestions that are a little more complex.

• Save early , save often, and create backup versions as you go along. Consider setting up Microsoft OneDrive (you have free access with your umich login credentials). With this, you can turn on "Autosave" in Word to automatically save your document at regular intervals, and have access to previous versions.

• Use our template (available above), it will save you lots of time. Nearly all of the difficult formatting stuff we discuss in this Guide is already built into the template. Consider doing all of your writing in it -- even if you're working in separate files for each chapter, you can use a copy of the template for each one of those chapters.
• Set the margins including the two-inch margin for chapters titles  ( Setting Margins ) .
• Define styles for Headings 1-3, Normal, Captions, and Quotes – these are most common; you may need others ( Working with Styles ).
• If headings need to be numbered (for example, 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, etc.), define a multi-level list ( Automatic Numbering ).
• If captions need to include the chapter number, define a multi-level list ( Automatic Numbering ).
• Share your file(s) with your advisors using Track Changes ( Commenting and Reviewing ) .
• If you use EndNote to manage your citations and create your bibliography, use only one EndNote library for your entire dissertation (see our EndNote Basics guide).
• Did we mention that you really ought to try out our template (available above)?

Notes from the Apotheke

A Blog about being BIPOC in Classics

Scrivener vs Word vs Google Docs: Which is Best for Thesis Writing?

Given the choice between Scrivener, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs, which would you choose?

Institutions are pretty strict about the format in which a thesis should be submitted. However, there are no rules about what word processing application you can use during the writing process.

How you decide which application to use depends primarily on your budget, your writing style, and what features you need.

In this post, we’ll compare Scrivener, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs. We’ll go over the strengths and weaknesses of each, so that you can make the best choice for you. After that, your thesis writing process will (hopefully) be smooth sailing.

Why you should use Microsoft Word

1. availability.

Microsoft Office can be found in most workplaces and is a skill that is valued by most employers. Microsoft Word is perhaps the most familiar word processing application out there.

2. Abundance of features

Microsoft Word has been adding features since its inception in 1989.

As one website noted, “it’s the most reliable word processor for long documents or manuscripts that have several chapters, a dynamic table of contents, and indexing.” As such, it should come as no surprise that it is frequently the preferred choice for composing dissertations.

3. Microsoft Office Integration

This can be particularly useful for research projects that involve lots of data.

If you want to embed charts from Excel into your Word document, it’s totally possible to do so. Once embedded, any updates you make to the charts in Excel will be reflected in you Word document.

Why you should use Google Docs

1. accessibility.

Google Docs is the most accessible of the three programs considered here. This is because it is completely online. Don’t worry about those times when you don’t have access to WiFi – Google Docs works offline , too.

You don’t need to install it on your computer, but you do need a Google or Gmail account to use it.

2. Ease of Collaboration

As others have noted, “while you can download your Word doc and email to others for collaboration, you can invite collaborators directly from your Google doc or send them a link to access your document.”

When accessing a document you’ve shared with a collaborator (or multiple), you can see who is currently in the document and where they are in the doc in real time.

3. Auto-save and backups

Google Docs automatically saves your work as you’re working. It also backs up your saved files to Google Drive instead of your local hard drive.

Why you should use Scrivener

1. auto-save and backups.

Like Google Docs, Scrivener automatically saves while you work and can automatically back up your projects.

2. Saves your place

When you open a Google Doc or Word document that you were working on the previous day, the cursor is usually placed at the beginning of the document.

Each time I reopen my project in Scrivener, it opens not just in the document I was working on last, but in the very place where I was last writing . This makes it that much easier to pick up where you left off, no matter how much time you spend away from the project.

3. Side-by-side view

This capability makes Scrivener unique as a word-processing program. It’s true that you could just as easily arrange the window’s on your computer or set up a second monitor to achieve the same end.

But you can’t do that with a single chapter .

Scrivener makes it easy to switch between editing a manuscript – like a thesis – one section at a time and together as a whole. Each section of, say, a chapter, is written in a separate document. When I get stuck or want to reference something from another section, I can open up another section and see what I’ve already written as I’m working on a different section .

This could only be achieved in Google Docs or Microsoft Word if you were writing sections of a chapter in different documents from the beginning. But I never thought that way before.

It honestly seems like more of a hassle than just writing a chapter continuously in a single document.

4. Project targets

Another Scrivener feature I love is the ability to set word or character targets. This can be done for either: 1) the entire project; 2) sections within the project; or 3) the current writing session.

I’ve set up a daily target of 500 words and it really has improved my progress over the last few months.

Which program is best?

Google Docs is completely free to use.

Microsoft Word is free for students and educators, but for everyone else, it is $159.99/year or $6.99/month. That’s a steep price to pay for a word processor if you don’t have institutional affiliation.

Scrivener clocks in at $49/year. Compared with free , this can also be a significant financial burden for the chronically underpaid grad student. But I will say that it has been worth every penny.

If you want to try out Scrivener, there is a free trial available. It’s for 30 days and only counts the days you actually use it!

2. Formatting capabilities

Scrivener files can be compiled into Word documents and PDF files. Page numbers are added to the document, and footnotes and comments are included where they were input in the Scrivener file.

In Word documents created by compiling several sections in Scrivener, a hashtag (#) will appear at the breaks between sections.

The name of the project in Scrivener (in my case, this was ‘Dissertation’) appears in the header next to the page number.

Finally, the font and font size in the Word document default to those used in Scrivener.

All of these things are easily fixed.

A little more onerous is the opposite process – that of importing or copying-and-pasting work that was created in a Word document. To illustrate: I imported an entire chapter I had written and realized that all of my existing footnotes were gone. Vanished. Poof.

I’ll be honest – this was not enough to deter me from continuing to use the program. I have the original Word document (and Google Doc) version. All is not lost.

Google Docs can also be converted into Word documents and vice versa. These transfers tend to be more straightforward and faithful to the original, although occasional formatting errors may occur.

3. Citation manager integration

There are a lot of citation managers out there. Endnote . Mendeley . Zotero .

Everyone who swears by them has their favorite one .

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I’m not particularly fond of citation managers. I’ve tried them. They just didn’t stick.

Honestly, the learning curve was just too steep for me.

I honestly have never gotten into citation managers and maybe it will be my downfall but I don't think I ever will be able to use one consistently https://t.co/oTM1xdUnw3 — ✨Dr✨ Nadhira Hill (@nadhirawho) August 17, 2020

Every time I’ve voiced this opinion, there’s always been at least ten people who have tried to convince me otherwise. All I’ll say here is that this point may or may not be important to you, depending on your own feelings towards citation managers.

If you care about them and are willing to invest the time and energy into learning how to use them, then this is my recommendation:

Microsoft Word is the only word processing program considered here that is able to play nicely with citation manager software.

If you wouldn’t touch a citation manager with a ten foot pole, then you can ignore this point in your decision-making process.

4. Collaboration

Whether you like it or not, collaboration is integral to the thesis-writing process. There will come a time when you have to share your work with your committee members, and they will give you feedback on it.

Scrivener doesn’t have collaboration capabilities (at least not yet ).

For now, you have to export your file and send it as a Word document or PDF. Once you receive comments on your work-in-progress, you then have to integrate the feedback as you go along. Alternatively, you could make the changes in a Word document and then upload an updated file into Scrivener once you’re done.

Google Docs reigns supreme here. It is very easy to collaborate with others on a single document. This can happen at separate times or in real time, with multiple collaborators working on a document at one time.

Moreover, if collaborators respond to others’ comments, they receive a notification and can follow up promptly.

However, learn from my mistake and turn off notifications before sharing the document with a potential reader. I can tell you that it does not feel good to receive an email notification every time they leave a comment on your work.

A potential happy medium might be found in restricting your writing and editing to Microsoft Word.

Here’s a scenario: You write your chapter in Word. When it’s ready, you send it off for comments. Your reader returns feedback in the form of comments right in the Word document. Those comments can be integrated as you go through them in the document. Easy peasy.

The only hiccup regards having questions about a particular comment. Rather than the sort of instantaneous response you’d get from responding to a comment on a Google Doc, you’d have to compose an email. Then you’d have to wait for a response via email. Maybe the reader has an answer for you. Or maybe it would be better to schedule a meeting so you can both look at the document together.

Once again, there are more steps involved than you might want.

Final thoughts

I am 100% a Scrivener convert. It’s the word processing application I open (almost) every day. Acknowledging some of the reservations people have about using this application, I have a few final thoughts.

My recommendation of Scrivener is primarily for people early on in the writing process . The word targets feature was especially helpful for getting me into a writing routine.

I also recommend this for people just getting started because of the formatting issues that can arise when trying to import work you’ve done in other programs. Learn from my mistakes.

Or, if you’re going to do it, keep a backup version elsewhere.

Trust me. It’ll save you later headaches.

The most fail-safe way to avoid this major problem is to use Scrivener from the start, rather than picking it up in the middle of your writing journey. It’s way easier to convert Scrivener files into Word documents than it is to do the opposite.

You might hear from some people that there’s a steep learning curve to using Scrivener for academic work. Compared with my experience trying to use citation managers, I’d say this doesn’t have to be the case.

My biggest tip here: watch some Youtube videos. Seriously. There are obviously people out there who are using Scrivener to write their dissertations. Take a few minutes and see how they’ve been successful.

Relatedly, my final tip is only to use the features that you want to use.

Scrivener does have a ton of features, but do I use them all on a daily basis? Absolutely not. I only use the things that I need.

Obviously, there are few more hoops to jump through in order to share your work with others and make revisions. But I think they’re worth it.

What software do you use to write your dissertation/thesis?

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What WP did you use to write your dissertation?

I love Google Docs, and I use Zotero as a citation manager. I'm writing my first lengthy (30+ pg, single spaced) piece, and Zotero is starting to get a little fussy about it.

I'm in the social sciences, so no real need for LaTeX or anything like that. Do I need to just bite the bullet and switch over to Word?

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