what is the best font for dissertation

• Color Palettes
• Baseball Team Colors
• NHL Team Colors
• Superhero Fonts
• Gaming Fonts
• Brand Fonts
• Fonts from Movies
• Similar Fonts
• What’s That Font
• Photoshop Resources
• Slide Templates
• Fast Food Logos
• Superhero logos
• Tech company logos
• Shoe Brand Logos
• Motorcycle Logos
• Grocery Store Logos
• Pharmaceutical Logos
• Graphic Design Basics
• Beer Brand Ads
• Car Brand Ads
• Fashion Brand Ads
• Fast Food Brand Ads
• Shoe Brand Ads
• Tech Company Ads
• Motion graphics
• Infographics
• Design Roles
• Tools and apps
• CSS & HTML
• Program interfaces
• Drawing tutorials

The Sevilla Logo History, Colors, Font,

What Font Do Lawyers Use? Legal

Cleveland Indians Colors – Hex, RGB,

The Valencia Logo History, Colors, Font,

Design Your Way is a brand owned by SBC Design Net SRL Str. Caminului 30, Bl D3, Sc A Bucharest, Romania Registration number RO32743054 But you’ll also find us on Blvd. Ion Mihalache 15-17 at Mindspace Victoriei

[email protected]

Academic Appeal: The 11 Best Fonts for Academic Papers

• BY Bogdan Sandu
• 26 February 2024

Imagine settling into the rhythm of crafting your academic magnum opus—the words flow, ideas chime, yet it all hinges on how your prose meets the reader’s eye. You’re well aware that  the best fonts for academic papers  don’t just whisper to the intellect; they shout to the discerning critic in each evaluator. Here unfolds a narrative, not merely of  typography  but your academic saga’s silent ambassador.

In forging this guide, I’ve honed focus on one pivotal, often underestimated player in the academic arena:  font selection .

Navigate through this roadmap and emerge with a treasure trove of  legible typefaces  and format tips that ensure your paper stands hallmark to clarity and professionalism.

Absorb insights—from the revered  Times New Roman  to the understated elegance of  Arial —paired with indispensable  formatting nuggets  that transcend mere compliance with  university guidelines .

Dive deep, and by article’s end, unlock a dossier of sage advice, setting your documents a class apart in the scrutinous world of academic scrutiny. Here’s to  typography  serving not just as a vessel but as your ally in the scholarly discourse.

The Best Fonts for Academic Papers

Traditional Choices and Their Limitations

Times new roman : ubiquity and readability vs. overuse.

The Pittsburgh Penguins Logo History, Colors, Font, And Meaning

The dallas stars logo history, colors, font, and meaning.

You may also like

Ad Impact: The 19 Best Fonts for Advertising

• Bogdan Sandu
• 20 December 2023

T-Shirt Typography: 30 Best Fonts for T-Shirts

• 21 December 2023

• How it works

What Is The Best Font For A Dissertation?

Published by Alvin Nicolas at April 9th, 2024 , Revised On April 9, 2024

For many students, embarking on a dissertation is a daunting task. Beyond the research, writing, and analysis , a seemingly insignificant detail can cause unexpected stress: font selection. While it might seem like a minor concern, the right font can significantly impact the readability, professionalism, and overall look of your dissertation and can highly influence the decision of the readers. 

This blog will help you in choosing the right font for your dissertation. Let’s explore!

Why Does Font Choice Matter?

While the content of your dissertation is paramount, the presentation also plays a crucial role. The chosen font can influence how easily your reader absorbs the information. A poorly chosen font can lead to eye strain, reduced comprehension, and even a negative first impression.

Here are some specific reasons why font choice matters:

• Readability: The primary function of your dissertation is to communicate your research effectively. A clear and readable font is essential for ensuring your reader can easily grasp the information presented.
• Professionalism: Certain fonts convey a sense of seriousness and formality, aligning with the academic tone of your dissertation.
• Consistency: Maintaining a consistent font throughout your dissertation creates a sense of unity and professionalism.

Key Factors To Consider When Choosing A Font

Before discussing the specific font recommendations, let’s explore some key factors to consider when making your decision:

University Guidelines

Many universities have specific guidelines regarding font choices for dissertations. Always refer to your university’s style guide or handbook to ensure you adhere to any established requirements.

Readability

Opt for fonts with clear letterforms, adequate spacing, and sufficient contrast between the font and background colour. Avoid decorative or script fonts that can be challenging to read.

Serif Vs Sans-Serif

Serif fonts, characterised by small lines extending from the ends of characters (e.g., Times New Roman), are generally considered more readable for extended reading, making them ideal for the body text of your dissertation. Sans-serif fonts lacking these serifs (e.g., Arial) can be suitable for headings or short text snippets.

Font Size & Line Spacing

Maintain a comfortable reading experience with an appropriate font size (typically 10-12 points) and line spacing (usually 1.15 or 1.5 lines).

Hire an Expert Writer

Proposal and dissertation orders completed by our expert writers are

• Formally drafted in academic style
• Plagiarism free
• 100% Confidential
• Never Resold
• Include unlimited free revisions
• Completed to match exact client requirements

Popular Font Choices For Dissertations

Now, let’s explore some popular font options that meet the criteria for dissertation writing:

Times New Roman

The classic academic font, Times New Roman, remains a widely accepted and safe choice for dissertations due to its readability and formal appearance.

Similar to Times New Roman, Georgia offers good readability with a slightly wider design, making it suitable for screen-based reading.

This elegant serif font adds a touch of sophistication while maintaining excellent readability.

A modern serif font, Cambria provides a clean and professional look often favoured for on-screen reading.

While not ideal for the body text due to its lack of serifs, Arial can be a good choice for headings and subheadings due to its clarity and clean lines.

Additional Tips for Font Selection

Here are some additional tips to ensure your font choice shines:

• Consistency is key: Maintain the same font throughout your dissertation, including body text, headings, subheadings, and captions.
• Avoid excessive font variations: Stick to one or two fonts, with variations reserved for specific purposes (e.g., different fonts for headings).
• Consider the overall design: Ensure your chosen font complements the overall visual style of your dissertation, including layout and graphics.

Frequently Asked Questions

What font should i use for my dissertation uk.

Use a clear and readable font like Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri for a UK dissertation. Most universities recommend a serif font like Times New Roman, size 12, for the main text, with clear distinctions for headings and subheadings. Always follow your institution’s guidelines for formatting and font selection.

What font should a dissertation be in?

Use a legible serif font such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri for a dissertation. Typically, the font size should be 12 points for the main text, with variations for headings and subheadings as specified by your institution’s guidelines. Consistency and readability are key for academic documents.

What size font should my dissertation be?

Your dissertation’s main text should generally be in a 12-point font size for readability and consistency. Headings and subheadings may vary, typically larger than the main text, to emphasise hierarchy and organisation. Always adhere to your institution’s specific formatting requirements for font sizes and styles to ensure compliance.

What font shall I use for my undergraduate dissertation?

For an undergraduate dissertation, using a clear and legible font like Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri is advisable. Aim for a font size of 12 points for the main text to ensure readability. Follow any specific formatting guidelines your university or department provides for consistency and professional presentation.

You May Also Like

Struggling to write a high quality research paper? Here is all you need to know if you need help with writing research paper for your degree programme.

If you have been asked to re-sit your dissertation, there is no need to panic. Here are some tips to help you with your dissertation re-sit.

This blog gives a breakdown of how much a dissertation costs. An insight into both if you write it yourself or get help from expert services.

USEFUL LINKS

LEARNING RESOURCES

COMPANY DETAILS

• How It Works

Great fonts for a PhD thesis – and terrible ones

There are thousands of fonts out there – which one should you choose for a great-looking PhD thesis? I will explain the differences between serif and sans-serif fonts, what ligatures are and why you shouldn’t use that fun free font you found on the internet.

Great fonts for a PhD thesis: Serif vs. sans-serif

As I explained in my Ultimate Guide to preparing a PhD thesis for printing , there are two basic kinds of fonts: Serif fonts and sans-serif fonts. Serif fonts have small lines – serifs – at the ends of all lines. Sans-serif fonts don’t have those lines. Compare these two, Palatino Linotype and Arial:

Serifs guide the reader’s eyes, making sure that they stay in the same line while reading a printed text. In turn, your reader’s brain won’t get tired so quickly and they can read for longer.

But there is another feature that many serif fonts have. Look at these three (which are all great fonts to use in your PhD thesis, btw):

If you look closely, you will see that serif fonts often have different stroke thicknesses within every letter. This is called “weight contrast”. A subtle weight contrast further improves legibility of a printed text. Hence, I recommend you use a serif font with a bit of a weight contrast for your main text.

Which serif font should you choose?

But whatever you do, this one thing is extremely important: Choose a font that offers all styles: regular, italics , bold , and bold italics . Since these four styles all need to be designed separately, many fonts don’t offer all of them. Especially bold italics is absent in most free internet fonts and even from many fonts that come with your operating system or word processor.

Also: In your bibliography and in-text citations (if you go with an author-year citation style) you will have to display author’s names from all over the world. Many of them will contain special letters. For example German umlauts (ä, ö, ü), accented letters used in lots of of languages, i.e. French or Spanish (à, é, ñ, etc.), and dozens of other special letters from all kinds of languages (ç, ı, ł, ø, etc.). Be aware that only a very limited number of fonts offer all of these!

If you have mathematical equations in your thesis that require more than +, – and =, your font choices are limited even further . After all, the vast majority of fonts do not offer special operators.

As you can see, these criteria severely limit your choice of font for the main text. Needless to say, they rule out free fonts you can download from dafont.com or 1001fonts.com . That is why I urge you to go with a classic font. To make things easier for you, here is a table with serif fonts that offer all the characters you could dream of:

Failsafe serif fonts for your PhD thesis

These fonts are heavily based on fonts that have been in use since the invention of the mechanical printing press in the 15th century. Hence, these types of fonts have been tried and tested for more than 500 years. Hard to argue with that!

But which of these fonts is The Best TM for a PhD thesis? That depends on how much text you have in your thesis vs. how many figures, tables, equations, etc. As I have noted in the table, fonts have different widths. Look at this image showing the same text in Times New Roman (TNR), Cambria, and Sitka Text; all at the same size:

Hence, setting entire pages of text in TNR will make the page look quite dense and dark. So, a thesis with a lot of text and few figures is best set in a wider font like Sitka Text. On the other hand, if you have a lot of figures, tables, etc., TNR is a good choice because it keeps paragraphs of text compact and therefore the page from looking too empty. Medium-width fonts like Cambria are a good compromise between the two.

To see some of these fonts in action, check out this example PhD thesis where I show all sorts of font combinations and page layouts.

When to use a sans-serif font in your PhD thesis

This covers serif fonts. But which sans-serif fonts are great for your PhD thesis? And when do you use them?

As mentioned above, serif fonts are good for the main text of your thesis. But titles and headings are a different story. There, a sans-serif font will look very nice. Plus, using a different font in your headings than in the main text will help the reader recognize when a new section begins.

Here are some examples for good sans-serif fonts:

Each of these fonts – Futura, Franklin Gothic Book, and Gill Sans – are wonderful for headings in a PhD thesis. Why? Because they are easily readable, well-balanced and don’t call undue attention to themselves. Also, they have many options: regular, light, medium, bold, extra bold, including italics for all of them. And most operating systems or word processors have them pre-installed.

The criteria for heading fonts are not nearly as strict as those for main text fonts. If you have Latin species names in your headings, make sure the font offers (bold) italics. If you need to display Greek letters in your headings, make sure the font offers those. Done.

However, there are some criteria for headings. Just for fun, let’s have a look at some sans-serif fonts that would be a bad choice for a thesis:

I’d like to explicitly state that these are wonderful, well-designed fonts – you just shouldn’t use them in a scientific document. Heattenschweiler is too narrow, Broadway has too much weight contrast and Aspergit Light is too thin. All of these things impair readability and might make your opponents squint at your headings. Of course, you will want to do everything in your power to make the experience of reading your thesis as pleasant a possible for your opponents!

How are these fonts great for my PhD thesis? They are boring!

Why yes, they are, thanks for noticing!

Seriously though, the fonts not being interesting is the point. Your PhD thesis is a scientific document showing your expertise in your field and your ability to do independent research. The content of your thesis, the science, should be the sole focus. A PhD thesis is not the place to show off your quirky personality by way of an illegible font.

However, you can infuse your personality into your thesis cover and chapter start pages. There, you can use a fun font, since you probably don’t have to display any special characters.

Choosing the right font is too much pressure? Contact me for help with your layout!

Don’t use fonts made for non-Latin alphabets (Cyrillic, Hanzi, etc.)

Every computer nowadays comes pre-installed with a number of fonts made for displaying languages that don’t use the Latin alphabet (Latin alphabet = The alphabet in which this very article is displayed). Prominent examples for languages that don’t use the Latin alphabet are Asian languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, etc. Other examples include the Arabic, Brahmic, and Cyrillic script. But there are many more fonts for a myriad of non-Latin alphabets. These fonts were optimized to make the characters of their languages easily readable.

However (and this is why I’ve written this entire section) they usually also contain Latin characters to be able to display the occasional foreign word.

Hence, you might want to honour your roots by using a font in your thesis that was made for your native language, by someone from your home country. It is tempting, because all the Latin characters are there, right? I completely understand this wish, but I strongly advise against it since there are some serious drawbacks.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not throwing shade on these fonts, they are fantastic at what they were made for. Displaying long stretches of text in the Latin alphabet, however, is not one of those things. Let me explain why.

They don’t offer all necessary characters

Firstly, fonts made to display languages with a non-Latin alphabet contain the bare minimum of Latin characters. That is, the basic letters and the most important punctuation marks. Hence, they don’t have all those math operators and special characters I talked about in the section about serif fonts.

Also, the Latin characters in these fonts are usually sans-serif, so less suitable for long text.

But let’s say the non-Latin alphabet font you chose does offer all special characters and has serifs. Unfortunately, they are still not suitable to use in your PhD thesis, for the following reasons:

They are often too small or large for use with greek letters

Do you mention β-Mercaptoethanol or α-Histidin antibodies in your Materials and Methods? Or any other Greek letter? Since Latin characters are scaled differently in fonts made for non-Latin alphabets, Greek letters will not be the same size as the rest of the text anymore. For example, look at this text, where I rendered everything (I swear!) in the specified font size:

In the first panel (Cambria), the Greek letters are the same size and weight as the main text. As I have said, Cambria is one of the fonts explicitly recommended for your thesis. If you look closely at the enlarged line on the bottom of the panel, you can see that the alpha is the same height as the lower-case letters, whereas the beta is the same height as the upper-case letters. It looks neat and tidy.

However, by using a non-Latin font for your PhD thesis, you are asking for trouble.

In the second panel, I show Cordia New, a font for Thai script. At 12 pt, it is way smaller than the Latin font. The Greek letters – which are also at 12 pt! – stand out awkwardly. Also, Cordia New produces a line distance that is larger than it should be when using it for a text in the Latin alphabet.

In the last panel I show Microsoft YaHei for displaying Hanzi characters. Here, the Latin characters are larger. This leads to the Greek letters being too small. And, as you can see in the second and third lines of the paragraph of text, the line distance is quite narrow. However, the Greek letter β requires a regular line distance. So, it pushes the following line down, making the paragraph look uneven.

They don’t offer ligatures

Now, what on earth are ligatures? I could dive into the history of book printing here but I’ll spare you those details. In essence, Ligatures are two or more letters that are printed as one single glyph. Let me show you:

In the top line, you can see that the characters inside the boxes “melt” into each other. This single shape made out of several letter is called a ligature. They are mostly common with the small letter f. If you take a magnifying glass and look at the pages of a novel, you will quickly find these same ligatures. E-readers also display ligatures. Heck, even WhatsApp does it!

Ligatures also make the text easier to read. However, in order to display them, a font actually has to have the glyphs for the ligatures. And many fonts don’t. In order to find out whether a font you chose offers them, go to the character map of that font. (In Windows 10, simply click the windows logo in the corner of your screen and start typing the word “character”.) Pick a font in the drop-down menu. Now, search for the word “ligature” in the character map. If the map is empty after this, the font has no ligature glyphs.

All that being said, ligatures are not super important. I just wanted to mention them.

You can still use fonts made for non-Latin alphabets

If you want to honour your roots by way of a font, you can still do this. For example in your thesis title and/or for the chapter start pages.

In a word: Don’t go crazy with those fonts! Let your science do the talking. If you want to see what your thesis could look like with some of the fonts I recommended, check out the example PhD thesis .

Do you want to see a font combination that’s not in the example thesis? Contact me and I’ll set a few pages in your desired font, free of charge!

Click here for help with your PhD thesis layout!

Bedrijvsgegevens | About

Privacyverklaring | Privacy Policy

What font should I choose for my thesis?

This post is by DrJanene Carey, a freelance writer and editor based in Armidale NSW. She occasionally teaches academic writing at the University of New England and often edits academic theses, articles and reports. Her website is http://www.janenecarey.com

Arguably, this question is a classic time waster and the student who poses it should be told to just get on with writing up their research. But as someone who edits theses for a living, I think a bit of time spent on fonts is part of the process of buffing and polishing what is, after all, one of the most important documents you will ever produce. Just bear in mind that there is no need to immerse yourself so deeply in the topic that you start quibbling about whether it’s a font or a typeface that you are choosing .

Times New Roman is the standard choice for academic documents, and the thesis preparation guidelines of some universities stipulate its use. For many years, it was the default body text for Microsoft Word. With the release of Office 2007, the default became a sans serif typeface called Calibri. Lacking the little projecting bits (serifs) at the end of characters makes Calibri and its many friends, such as Arial, Helvetica and Verdana, look smoother and clearer on a screen, but generally makes them less readable than a serif typeface when used for printed text . The other problem with choosing a sans serif for your body text is that if you want passages in italics (for example, lengthy participant quotes) often this will be displayed as slanted letters, rather than as a true italic font.

You would like your examiners to feel as comfortable as possible while their eyes are traversing the many, many pages of your thesis, so maximising legibility and readability is a good idea. Times New Roman is ubiquitous and familiar, which means it is probably the safest option, but it does have a couple of drawbacks. Originally designed for The Times in London, its characters are slightly narrowed, so that more of them can be squished into a newspaper column. Secondly, some people intensely dislike TNR because they think it has been overused, and regard it as the font you choose when you are not choosing a font .

If you do have the luxury of choice (your university doesn’t insist you use Times New Roman, and you have defined document styles that are easy to modify, and there’s enough time left before the submission deadline) then I think it is worth considering what other typefaces might work well with your thesis. I’m not a typographical expert, but I have the following suggestions.

• Don’t use Calibri, or any other sans serif font, for your body text, though it is fine for headings. Most people agree that dense chunks of printed text are easier to read if the font is serif, and examiners are likely to expect a typeface that doesn’t stray too far from the standard. To my eye, Calibri looks a little too casual for the body of a thesis.
• Typefaces like Garamond, Palatino, Century Schoolbook, Georgia, Minion Pro, Cambria and Constantia are all perfectly acceptable, and they come with Microsoft Word. However, some of them (Georgia and Constantia, for example) feature non-lining numerals, which means that instead of all sitting neatly on the base line, some will stand higher or lower than others, just like letters do. This looks nice when they are integrated with the text, but it is probably not what you want for a tabular display.
• Consider using a different typeface for your headings. It will make them more prominent, which enhances overall readability because the eye scanning the pages can quickly take in the hierarchy of ideas. The easiest way to get a good contrast with your serif body text is to have sans serif headings. Popular combinations are Garamond/Helvetica; Minion Pro/Myriad Pro; Times New Roman/Arial Narrow. But don’t create a dog’s breakfast by having more than two typefaces in your thesis – use point sizes, bold and italics for variety.

Of late, I’ve become quite fond of Constantia. It’s an attractive serif typeface that came out with Office 2007 at the same time as Calibri, and was specifically designed to look good in print and on screen. Increasingly, theses will be read in PDF rather than book format, so screen readability is an important consideration.  Asked to review Microsoft’s six new ClearType fonts prior to their release, typographer Raph Levien said Constantia was likely to be everyone’s favourite, because ‘Even though it’s a highly readable Roman font departing only slightly from the classical model, it still manages to be fresh and new.’

By default, Constantia has non-lining numerals, but from Word 2010 onwards you can set them to be lining via the advanced font/number forms option, either throughout your document or in specific sections, such as within tables.

Here is an excerpt from a thesis, shown twice with different typefaces. The first excerpt features Calibri headings with Constantia body text, and the second has that old favourite, Times New Roman. As these examples have been rendered as screenshots, you will get a better idea of how the fonts actually look if you try them on your own computer and printer.

Related posts

Should I get an editor for my thesis?

Love the Thesis whisperer and want it to continue? Consider becoming a $1 a month Patreon and get special, Patreon only, extra Thesiswhisperer content every two weeks!

Share this:

The Thesis Whisperer is written by Professor Inger Mewburn, director of researcher development at The Australian National University . New posts on the first Wednesday of the month. Subscribe by email below. Visit the About page to find out more about me, my podcasts and books. I'm on most social media platforms as @thesiswhisperer. The best places to talk to me are LinkedIn , Mastodon and Threads.

• Post (609)
• Page (16)
• Product (6)
• Getting things done (259)
• Miscellany (139)
• On Writing (139)
• Your Career (113)
• You and your supervisor (66)
• Writing (48)
• productivity (23)
• consulting (13)
• TWC (13)
• supervision (12)
• 2024 (8)
• 2023 (12)
• 2022 (11)
• 2021 (15)
• 2020 (22)

Whisper to me....

Enter your email address to get posts by email.

Email Address

Sign me up!

• On the reg: a podcast with @jasondowns
• Thesis Whisperer on Facebook
• Thesis Whisperer on Instagram
• Thesis Whisperer on Soundcloud
• Thesis Whisperer on Youtube
• Thesiswhisperer on Mastodon
• Thesiswhisperer page on LinkedIn
• Thesiswhisperer Podcast
• 12,225,174 hits

Discover more from The Thesis Whisperer

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

• Langson Library
• Science Library
• Grunigen Medical Library
• Law Library
• Connect From Off-Campus
• Accessibility
• Gateway Study Center

Email this link

Thesis / dissertation formatting manual (2024).

• Filing Fees and Student Status
• Submission Process Overview
• Electronic Thesis Submission
• Paper Thesis Submission
• Formatting Overview
• Fonts/Typeface
• Pagination, Margins, Spacing
• Paper Thesis Formatting
• Preliminary Pages Overview
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures (etc.)
• Acknowledgments
• Text and References Overview
• Figures and Illustrations
• Using Your Own Previously Published Materials
• Using Copyrighted Materials by Another Author
• Open Access and Embargoes
• Copyright and Creative Commons
• Ordering Print (Bound) Copies
• Tutorials and Assistance
• FAQ This link opens in a new window

Selecting a font (typeface)

Be consistent in the use of font/typeface throughout your manuscript. All text material must be in the same font/typeface; all headings and figure/table titles/captions must be in a consistent typeface.

Please select a font, size, and color that are highly legible and will reproduce clearly. Ornate or decorative fonts such as script, calligraphy, gothic, italics, or specialized art fonts are not acceptable. For electronic submissions, embedded fonts are required.

Any symbols, equations, figures, drawings, diacritical marks, or lines that cannot be typed, and therefore are drawn, must be added in permanent black ink.

Below are suggested fonts and sizes.

Establish and follow a consistent pattern for layout of all headings.  All headings should use the same font size, font weight, typeface, etc.

For example: center all major headings; place secondary headings at least two lines below major headings.

Typeface/printing quality (paper submissions only)

If you are submitting your manuscript on paper, printer quality is critical to produce a clean, clear image. You are strongly urged to use a laser printer, as ink jet and line printers generally do not produce fully clear, legible results. Dot matrix-type printers are not acceptable.

• << Previous: Formatting Overview
• Next: Pagination, Margins, Spacing >>
• Last Updated: Aug 26, 2024 11:00 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uci.edu/gradmanual

Off-campus? Please use the Software VPN and choose the group UCIFull to access licensed content. For more information, please Click here

Software VPN is not available for guests, so they may not have access to some content when connecting from off-campus.

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base

Dissertation layout and formatting

Published on October 21, 2015 by Koen Driessen . Revised on February 20, 2019.

The layout requirements for a dissertation are often determined by your supervisor or department. However, there are certain guidelines that are common to almost every program, such as including page numbers and a table of contents.

If you are writing a paper in the MLA citation style , you can use our  MLA format guide .

Table of contents

Font, font size, and line spacing, tables and figures, referencing, paragraph marks, headers and footers, page numbering, dissertation printing.

Use a clear and professional font. Some examples include Verdana, Times New Roman, and Calibri (which is the default font in Microsoft Word). Font size is best set to 10 or 11.

In scientific articles and theses, a line spacing of 1.15 or 1.5 is generally preferred, as it makes the document more readable and enables your supervisor to post comments between the lines of text.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

With tables, the number and title should be placed above; with figures and all other illustrations, the number and title should be placed below.

Microsoft Word has a feature that can help you to automatically place these numbers and titles in the correct position. Select the graphic, right-click, and choose “Insert Caption…” In the dialogue box that appears, specify whether it is a table or figure and enter a title. Once you click “Okay,” the number and the title will be generated in the right place.

Another advantage of using this Word feature to label your graphics is that you will later be able to generate lists of tables and figures with a push of a button.

Different heading styles are frequently used to help the reader differentiate between chapters, sections, and subsections of your dissertation. For instance, you may choose to bold all chapter headings but to italicize all lower-level headings.

Once you decide on the scheme you will use, it is important that you apply it consistently throughout your entire dissertation. Using the “Styles” feature of Microsoft Word can be very helpful in this regard. After you have created a heading, just highlight it and select a style (such as Heading 1 or Heading 2) from the home tool bar. Keeping a list may help you keep track of what style to use when.

Citing sources in a correct and appropriate manner is crucial in a dissertation, as failing to do so can make you guilty of plagiarism . It is important that these references follow certain standards.

The APA standard is most commonly used. After realizing how difficult it is to create correctly formatted citations manually, we developed the APA Citation Generator  to assist you. You can use this free and simple tool to easily generate citations that follow the official APA style.

We also recommend that you use a plagiarism scanner to check for unintended plagiarism.

Using the “Show paragraph marks” feature can help you to avoid this scenario. To turn it on, click on the paragraph symbol in your home tool bar (as shown in the above illustration). A black paragraph symbol will then be shown after every paragraph and “hard return” in your document, which allows you to see how the layout is constructed.

This can be very helpful when you are trying to determine the cause of mysterious jumps and other problems.

Headers and footers can give your dissertation a very professional look. They also make it immediately clear to readers what document is before them.

A header or footer can be added by double-clicking respectively at the top or bottom of a page in your document. There are generally no firm rules about what you must include; the following are common choices:

• The name/logo of your home educational institution
• The name/logo of the company or organization where you completed a placement
• The title of your dissertation (which may be shortened if necessary)
• Page numbers

Page numbers are commonly placed in the lower right-hand corner of the page. They can easily be added by simply creating a footer. Bear in mind that a page number is usually not included on the title page of a dissertation.

• To ensure that the page numbering doesn’t start on the cover page, but the numbering begins on page 1, place the cursor on the bottom of the page where you want to start with page numbering (if you want to start on page 2, click at the bottom of the first page).
• Next go to “Page layout” and then “Breaks”. Next, choose the submenu “Next page”.
• Switch to the side, where the numbering should begin (in this case, page 2). In the edit mode of the header or footer, choose “link to previous”, after that click on “Move to footer” and click on the “Link to previous” again.
• Now, to add a page number, click on the “Insert” tab, then on the “Header and footer” group, and then click “Page number”. Now you can also choose where the page number should be (top of the page, bottom of the page or page margins) and you can choose a design.
• Finally select the option “format page number” and enter the page numbers, in what page you want the numbering to begin. After you have pressed “ok”, the page number then begins with the number from the previously selected break.

A clear and well-presented title page is a nice finishing touch for your dissertation. Certain information should be included here by default. We have prepared a separate article on title pages that includes a handy checklist you can use to make sure you don’t forget anything.

Always make sure that everything in your dissertation is in the correct order and placed in the appropriate chapter. More information on how to put your document together can be found in our article on structure a dissertation .

If you are interested in seeing how other students have tackled preparing their theses, you may find it useful to check out these dissertation examples .

The last step is usually to prepare a hardcopy of your final document. There are many issues to think about, such as whether you will make it single- or double-sided.

Before you print, however, we recommend that you check one last time that your document meets all of the below requirements!

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 Citation Generator.

Driessen, K. (2019, February 20). Dissertation layout and formatting. Scribbr. Retrieved September 3, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/tips/dissertation-layout-and-formatting/

Is this article helpful?

Koen Driessen

What is your plagiarism score.

Thesis and Dissertation Guide

• « Thesis & Dissertation Resources
• The Graduate School Home

• Introduction
• Copyright Page
• Dedication, Acknowledgements, Preface (optional)
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables, Figures, and Illustrations
• List of Abbreviations
• List of Symbols

Non-Traditional Formats

Font type and size, spacing and indentation, tables, figures, and illustrations, formatting previously published work.

• Internet Distribution
• Open Access
• Registering Copyright
• Using Copyrighted Materials
• Use of Your Own Previously Published Materials
• Submission Steps
• Submission Checklist
• Sample Pages

II. Formatting Guidelines

All copies of a thesis or dissertation must have the following uniform margins throughout the entire document:

• Left: 1″ (or 1 1/4" to ensure sufficient room for binding the work if desired)
• Right: 1″
• Bottom: 1″ (with allowances for page numbers; see section on Pagination )
• Top: 1″

Exceptions : The first page of each chapter (including the introduction, if any) begins 2″ from the top of the page. Also, the headings on the title page, abstract, first page of the dedication/ acknowledgements/preface (if any), and first page of the table of contents begin 2″ from the top of the page.

Non-traditional theses or dissertations such as whole works comprised of digital, artistic, video, or performance materials (i.e., no written text, chapters, or articles) are acceptable if approved by your committee and graduate program. A PDF document with a title page, copyright page, and abstract at minimum are required to be submitted along with any relevant supplemental files.

Fonts must be 10, 11, or 12 points in size. Superscripts and subscripts (e.g., formulas, or footnote or endnote numbers) should be no more than 2 points smaller than the font size used for the body of the text.

Space and indent your thesis or dissertation following these guidelines:

• The text must appear in a single column on each page and be double-spaced throughout the document. Do not arrange chapter text in multiple columns.
• New paragraphs must be indicated by a consistent tab indentation throughout the entire document.
• The document text must be left-justified, not centered or right-justified.
• For blocked quotations, indent the entire text of the quotation consistently from the left margin.
• Ensure headings are not left hanging alone on the bottom of a prior page. The text following should be moved up or the heading should be moved down. This is something to check near the end of formatting, as other adjustments to text and spacing may change where headings appear on the page.

Exceptions : Blocked quotations, notes, captions, legends, and long headings must be single-spaced throughout the document and double-spaced between items.

Paginate your thesis or dissertation following these guidelines:

• Use lower case Roman numerals (ii, iii, iv, etc.) on all pages preceding the first page of chapter one. The title page counts as page i, but the number does not appear. Therefore, the first page showing a number will be the copyright page with ii at the bottom.
• Arabic numerals (beginning with 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) start at chapter one or the introduction, if applicable. Arabic numbers must be included on all pages of the text, illustrations, notes, and any other materials that follow. Thus, the first page of chapter one will show an Arabic numeral 1, and numbering of all subsequent pages will follow in order.
• Do not use page numbers accompanied by letters, hyphens, periods, or parentheses (e.g., 1., 1-2, -1-, (1), or 1a).
• Center all page numbers at the bottom of the page, 1/2″ from the bottom edge.
• Pages must not contain running headers or footers, aside from page numbers.
• If your document contains landscape pages (pages in which the top of the page is the long side of a sheet of paper), make sure that your page numbers still appear in the same position and direction as they do on pages with standard portrait orientation for consistency. This likely means the page number will be centered on the short side of the paper and the number will be sideways relative to the landscape page text. See these additional instructions for assistance with pagination on landscape pages in Microsoft Word .

Format footnotes for your thesis or dissertation following these guidelines:

• Footnotes must be placed at the bottom of the page separated from the text by a solid line one to two inches long.
• Begin at the left page margin, directly below the solid line.
• Single-space footnotes that are more than one line long.
• Include one double-spaced line between each note.
• Most software packages automatically space footnotes at the bottom of the page depending on their length. It is acceptable if the note breaks within a sentence and carries the remainder into the footnote area of the next page. Do not indicate the continuation of a footnote.
• Number all footnotes with Arabic numerals. You may number notes consecutively within each chapter starting over with number 1 for the first note in each chapter, or you may number notes consecutively throughout the entire document.
• Footnote numbers must precede the note and be placed slightly above the line (superscripted). Leave no space between the number and the note.
• While footnotes should be located at the bottom of the page, do not place footnotes in a running page footer, as they must remain within the page margins.

Endnotes are an acceptable alternative to footnotes. Format endnotes for your thesis or dissertation following these guidelines:

• Always begin endnotes on a separate page either immediately following the end of each chapter, or at the end of your entire document. If you place all endnotes at the end of the entire document, they must appear after the appendices and before the references.
• Include the heading “ENDNOTES” in all capital letters, and center it 1″ below the top of the first page of your endnotes section(s).
• Single-space endnotes that are more than one line long.
• Number all endnotes with Arabic numerals. You may number notes consecutively within each chapter starting over with number 1 for the first note in each chapter, or you may number notes consecutively throughout the entire document.
• Endnote numbers must precede the note and be placed slightly above the line (superscripted). Leave no space between the number and the note.

Tables, figures, and illustrations vary widely by discipline. Therefore, formatting of these components is largely at the discretion of the author.

For example, headings and captions may appear above or below each of these components.

These components may each be placed within the main text of the document or grouped together in a separate section.

Space permitting, headings and captions for the associated table, figure, or illustration must be on the same page.

The use of color is permitted as long as it is consistently applied as part of the finished component (e.g., a color-coded pie chart) and not extraneous or unprofessional (e.g., highlighting intended solely to draw a reader's attention to a key phrase). The use of color should be reserved primarily for tables, figures, illustrations, and active website or document links throughout your thesis or dissertation.

The format you choose for these components must be consistent throughout the thesis or dissertation.

Ensure each component complies with margin and pagination requirements.

Refer to the List of Tables, Figures, and Illustrations section for additional information.

If your thesis or dissertation has appendices, they must be prepared following these guidelines:

• Appendices must appear at the end of the document (before references) and not the chapter to which they pertain.
• When there is more than one appendix, assign each appendix a number or a letter heading (e.g., “APPENDIX 1” or “APPENDIX A”) and a descriptive title. You may number consecutively throughout the entire work (e.g., 1, 2 or A, B), or you may assign a two-part Arabic numeral with the first number designating the chapter in which it appears, separated by a period, followed by a second number or letter to indicate its consecutive placement (e.g., “APPENDIX 3.2” is the second appendix referred to in Chapter Three).
• Include the chosen headings in all capital letters, and center them 1″ below the top of the page.
• All appendix headings and titles must be included in the table of contents.
• Page numbering must continue throughout your appendix or appendices. Ensure each appendix complies with margin and pagination requirements.

You are required to list all the references you consulted. For specific details on formatting your references, consult and follow a style manual or professional journal that is used for formatting publications and citations in your discipline.

Your reference pages must be prepared following these guidelines:

• If you place references after each chapter, the references for the last chapter must be placed immediately following the chapter and before the appendices.
• If you place all references at the end of the thesis or dissertation, they must appear after the appendices as the final component in the document.
• Select an appropriate heading for this section based on the style manual you are using (e.g., “REFERENCES”, “BIBLIOGRAPHY”, or “WORKS CITED”).
• Include the chosen heading in all capital letters, and center it 1″ below the top of the page.
• References must be single-spaced within each entry.
• Include one double-spaced line between each reference.
• Page numbering must continue throughout your references section. Ensure references comply with margin and pagination requirements.

In some cases, students gain approval from their academic program to include in their thesis or dissertation previously published (or submitted, in press, or under review) journal articles or similar materials that they have authored. For more information about including previously published works in your thesis or dissertation, see the section on Use of Your Own Previously Published Materials and the section on Copyrighting.

If your academic program has approved inclusion of such materials, please note that these materials must match the formatting guidelines set forth in this Guide regardless of how the material was formatted for publication.

Some specific formatting guidelines to consider include:

• Fonts, margins, chapter headings, citations, and references must all match the formatting and placement used within the rest of the thesis or dissertation.
• If appropriate, published articles can be included as separate individual chapters within the thesis or dissertation.
• A separate abstract to each chapter should not be included.
• The citation for previously published work must be included as the first footnote (or endnote) on the first page of the chapter.
• Do not include typesetting notations often used when submitting manuscripts to a publisher (i.e., insert table x here).
• The date on the title page should be the year in which your committee approves the thesis or dissertation, regardless of the date of completion or publication of individual chapters.
• If you would like to include additional details about the previously published work, this information can be included in the preface for the thesis or dissertation.

Previous: Order and Components

Next: Distribution

Dr. Mark Womack

What Font Should I Use?

The Modern Language Association (MLA) provides explicit, specific recommendations for the margins and spacing of academic papers. (See: Document Format .) But their advice on font selection is less precise: “Always choose an easily readable typeface (e.g. Times New Roman) in which the regular style contrasts clearly with the italic, and set it to a standard size (e.g. 12 point)” ( MLA Handbook , 7th ed., §4.2).

So which fonts are “easily readable” and have “clearly” contrasting italics? And what exactly is a “standard” size?

For academic papers, an “easily readable typeface” means a serif font, and a “standard” type size is between 10 and 12 point.

Use A Serif Font

Serifs are the tiny strokes at the end of a letter’s main strokes. Serif fonts have these extra strokes; sans serif fonts do not. ( Sans is French for “without.”) Serif fonts also vary the thickness of the letter strokes more than sans serifs, which have more uniform lines.

Books, newspapers, and magazines typically set their main text in a serif font because they make paragraphs and long stretches of text easier to read. Sans serifs (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Gill Sans, Verdana, and so on) work well for single lines of text, like headings or titles, but they rarely make a good choice for body text.

Moreover, most sans serifs don’t have a true italic style. Their “italics” are really just “obliques,” where the letters slant slightly to the right but keep the same shape and spacing. Most serifs, on the other hand, do have a true italic style, with distinctive letter forms and more compact spacing.

Since they’re more readable for long passages and have sharper contrast in their italics, you should always use a serif font for the text of an academic paper.

Use A Readable Type Size

The standard unit for measuring type size is the point . A point is 1 / 72 of an inch, roughly one pixel on a computer screen. The point size of a font tells you the size of the “em square” in which your computer displays each letter of the typeface. How tall or wide any given letter is depends on how the type designer drew it within the em square, thus a font’s height and width can vary greatly depending on the design of the typeface. That’s why if you set two fonts at the same point size, one usually looks bigger than the other.

Compare the following paragraphs, both set at 12 point but in different fonts:

For body text in academic papers, type sizes below 10 point are usually too small to read easily, while type sizes above 12 point tend to look oversized and bulky. So keep the text of your paper between 10 and 12 point .

Some teachers may require you to set your whole text at 12 point. Yet virtually every book, magazine, or newspaper ever printed for visually unimpaired grown-ups sets its body type smaller than 12 point. Newspapers use even smaller type sizes. The New York Times , for example, sets its body text in a perfectly legible 8.7 point font. So with proper spacing and margins, type sizes of 11 or 10 point can be quite comfortable to read.

Font Recommendations

I usually ask my students to use Century Schoolbook or Palatino for their papers. If your teacher requires you to submit your papers in a particular font, do so. (Unless they require you to use Arial , in which case drop the class.)

One thing to consider when choosing a font is how you submit your essay. When you submit a hard copy or a PDF, your reader will see the text in whatever typeface you use. Most electronic submission formats, on the other hand, can only use the fonts available on the reader’s computer. So if you submit the paper electronically, be sure to use a font your instructor has.

What follows is a list of some widely available, highly legible serif fonts well-suited for academic papers. I’ve divided them into four categories: Microsoft Word Fonts, Mac OS Fonts, Google Fonts, and Universal Fonts.

Microsoft Word Fonts

Microsoft Word comes with lots of fonts of varying quality. If your teacher asks you to submit your paper in Word format, you can safely assume they have Word and all the fonts that go with it.

Morris Fuller Benton designed Century Schoolbook in 1923 for elementary-school textbooks, so it’s a highly readable font. It’s one of the best fonts available with Microsoft Word. Because it’s so legible, U. S. Supreme Court Rule 33.1.b madates that all legal documents submitted to the Court be set in Century Schoolbook or a similar Century-style font.

Hermann Zapf designed Palatino in 1948 for titles and headings, but its elegant proportions make it a good font for body text. Named for Renaissance calligrapher Giambattista Palatino, this font has the beauty, harmony, and grace of fine handwriting. Palatino Linotype is the name of the font included with Microsoft Word; Mac OS includes a version of the same typeface called simply Palatino.

Microsoft Word includes several other fonts that can work well for academic essays: Bell MT , Californian FB , Calisto MT , Cambria , Garamond , and Goudy Old Style .

Mac OS Fonts

Apple has a well-deserved reputation for design excellence which extends to its font library. But you can’t count on any of these Mac OS fonts being on a computer that runs Windows.

Finding his inspiration in the typography of Pierre Simon Fournier, Matthew Carter designed Charter in 1987 to look good even on crappy mid-80s fax machines and printers. Its ability to hold up even in low resolution makes Charter work superbly well on screen. Bitstream released Charter under an open license, so you can add it to your font arsenal for free. You can download Charter here .

In 1991 Apple commissioned Jonathan Hoefler to design a font that could show off the Mac’s ability to handle complex typography. The result was Hoefler Text , included with every Mac since then. The bold weight of Hoefler Text on the Mac is excessively heavy, but otherwise it’s a remarkable font: compact without being cramped, formal without being stuffy, and distinctive without being obtrusive. If you have a Mac, start using it.

Other Mac OS fonts you might consider are Baskerville and Palatino .

Google Fonts

When you submit a paper using Google Docs, you can access Google’s vast library of free fonts knowing that anyone who opens it in Google Docs will have those same fonts. Unfortunately, most of those free fonts are worth exactly what you paid for them, so choose wisely.

IBM Plex is a super-family of typefaces designed by Mike Abbink and the Bold Monday type foundry for — you guessed it — IBM. Plex serif is a solid, legible font that borrows features from Janson and Bodoni in its design. Plex is, not surprisingly, a thoroughly corporate font that aims for and achieves a bland neutrality suitable for most research papers.

John Baskerville originally designed this typeface in the 1850s, employing new techniques to make sharper contrasts between thin and thick strokes in the letter forms. The crisp, elegant design has inspired dozens of subsequent versions. Libre Baskerville is based on the American Type Founder’s 1941 version, modified to make it better for on-screen reading.

Unfortunately. Google Fonts has few really good serif fonts. Some others you might consider are Crimson Pro and Spectral .

Universal Fonts

Anyone you send your document to will have these fonts because they’re built in to both Windows and Mac OS.

Matthew Carter designed Georgia in 1993 for maximum legibility on computer screens. Georgia looks very nice on web sites, but in print it can look a bit clunky, especially when set at 12 point. Like Times New Roman, it’s on every computer and is quite easy to read. The name “Georgia” comes from a tabloid headline: “Alien Heads Found in Georgia.”

Times New Roman is, for better or worse, the standard font for academic manuscripts. Many teachers require it because it’s a solid, legible, and universally available font. Stanley Morison designed it in 1931 for The Times newspaper of London, so it’s a very efficient font and legible even at very small sizes. Times New Roman is always a safe choice. But unless your instructor requires it, you should probably use something a bit less overworked.

• [email protected]

Get Instant Help From 5000+ Experts For

11 ideal fonts for dissertation writing |helpwithassignment.com.

• Dissertation

Times New Roman, Georgia, Garamond, Arial, Verdana, Cambria, Century Gothic, Constantia, and Arial Narrow are some of the ideal fonts for dissertation writing.

What is Dissertation Writing ?

In the term – Dissertation writing, the word “Dissertation” has originated from the Latin language where ‘ dissertare’ means ‘to debate’. This word was first used in the English language in around 1651 which gave us a definition to write extensively on a certain subject. It is also defined as a long piece of writing on any particular topic which you have studied.

In a dissertation writing, the writer should always choose to write with the help of using a clear font like Arial, Times New Roman, etc. They should also set perfect font sizes such are 10 to 12 also the line spacing should be done of 1.15 or 1.5 which is generally accepted as it makes the document appear more neat and tidy and allows the reader to put comments in between.

Mistakes that should be avoided while choosing the Font for dissertation writing:

• Do not choose fonts on the basis of your personal likes and dislikes. Always the writer should keep in mind that they should choose the font on the basis of the reader’s perspective as it is not easy to go through a 20 pages dissertation with a complex font.
• Always avoid using too many fonts as the write-ups become too much complicated and is also not considered well organized.
• All fonts for dissertation do not match or work together, therefore, a student should make sure that they should choose fonts which go along their write up
• Try separating the fonts of your subtitles and the paragraphs as the same fonts used might make your writing monotonous and boring for the reader.

11 Best Font for Dissertation Writing

Times new roman: most common fonts for dissertation.

This font was originally designed for Times Newspaper of London. This font has a separate and different aesthetician a formal style that is prescribed or assigned by many universities and colleges. It is also quite easy to read.

This is a serif type font designed by Matthew Carter and was founded by Microsoft Corporation. It was created and released in 1993 and 1996 respectively.

This another font which has a pleasant-looking appearance on dissertation writing and is also considered as an old-style serif typeface which was named for 16th-century Parisian engraver Claude Garamond. This font is very much popular and is used for printing books etc.

This is also a Serif style typeface commissioned by Microsoft which was designed by Steve Matteson, Robin Nicholas and Jelle Bosma in 2004. It is distributed by windows and office.

Century Gothic:

This is also designed in a sans serif typeface style and a geometric style that was released in 1991 by Monotype Imaging. 

Palatino Linotype:

This font was first released in 1949 by Stempel foundry. This serif typeface style font was designed by Hermann Zapf. It has bee also classified as old style font.

This font style is one of the commonly used font styles which is also displayed sometimes as Arial MT. It has been classified as neo-grotesque sans-serif which was released in 1982 and was designed by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders.

This font style is widely used for writing dissertations or any other academic papers as they provide a very cleaned and very simple – smooth look to the paper and also to the eyes of the reader. This was designed by Matthew Carter for Microsoft Corporation.

Constantia:

This was designed by John Hudson, a serif style design that was commissioned by Microsoft. The developmental work for this writing began in 2003 and was finally released in 2006

Century schoolbook: Fonts for dissertation

It is again a serif style typeface that was designed by Linn Boyd and Morris F Benton. This belongs to the century writing font family which was released in between 1894-1923.

Arial Narrow:

This is a high style font that is available for free download for personal and commercial use. However, the free version provides all upper case and lower case with some special character and features.

Therefore above are some of the most popularly used ideal fonts for dissertation writing. Times Roman is the most chosen font styles for thesis and dissertation writing but still, it has some common drawbacks as this font was created mostly to create spaces in between the words and letters but according to some professionals, the usage of this font causes overuse of view.

Similarly, Verdana and Arial fonts for dissertation might provide a simple and clear look on the screen but on the paper, it appears a little congested and a little less formal. But still, all of these fonts discussed above are some of the most appropriate fonts which are ideally used in writing a thesis, dissertation, essays or any writing assignment given to a student in college.

HelpwithAssignment.com provides the best quality dissertation help to the students. We have a team of skilled and experienced dissertation writers who have undergone double specialization in related fields. They are capable of writing any kind of dissertation from scratch within no time.

Best features of HelpWithAssignment.com ‘s Dissertation Help

Full-time experts: All the experts at HelpwithAssignment are full time assignment help experts and are dedicated experienced professionals who devote their full time in service of the students.

Best Quality Work: We never compromise with the quality of work. That is the reason why students always prefer our assignment services. Even if the deadline is very near, we only provide the best quality papers.

Talk to Subject Experts: You can talk to subject experts regarding the update of your assignment. If you want to make some changes to the solution, then you can convey some message to the expert. 

Plagiarism-free: We know how plagiarism affects the grades of the student. We follow strict rules on plagiarism and use Turnitin to check the originality of the papers. Papers provided by our experts are 100% genuine and plagiarism-free.

Delivery before Deadline: We understand your stress related to the submission. Our experts complete assignments before the deadline and even give enough time to make last-minute changes. 

Reasonable Cost: The cost of hiring a tutor for assignment help or homework help is very reasonable. We know the financial constraints of college or university going students. Hence, our pricing has been designed keeping in view an average student’s budget in mind.

Get Instant Dissertation Writing Help

Fill up the assignment help request form on the right or drop us an email at  [email protected] . Feel free to contact our customer support on the company 24/7 Live chat or call us on 312-224-1615.

Book Your Assignment

Recent Posts

How To Prepare An Excellent Thesis Defense?

How to restate a thesis – a detailed guide, explanatory thesis: examples and guide for clear writing, how to write 3 types of thesis statements, how to effectively prepare for your thesis defense, popular categories, get assignment help from subject matter experts.

4.7/5 rating | 10,000+ happy students | Great tutors 24/7

ONLINE TO HELP YOU 24X7

OR GET MONEY BACK!

OUT OF 38983 REVIEWS

• KU Libraries
• Subject & Course Guides
• KU Thesis and Dissertation Formatting
• Fonts and Spacing

KU Thesis and Dissertation Formatting: Fonts and Spacing

• Formatting Specifics
• Title and Acceptance Pages
• Page Numbering
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• Rotating Charts or Tables
• Working with Footnotes
• Converting to PDF
• Embedding Fonts
• Completed KU Dissertations & Theses
• About: Survey of Earned Doctorates
• Copyright and ETD Release Form
• Resources for KUMC Students
• Thesis/Dissertation Filenames
• LaTeX/BibTeX Support

Office of Graduate Studies Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Guidelines

These rules are taken from the KU Office of Graduate Studies Thesis or Dissertation Formatting Guidelines. To see the full thesis or dissertation formatting requirements, visit https://graduate.ku.edu/submitting

• Students should use the same font size (11- or 12-point) and style (typically Times New Roman) through the thesis, including labels and references.
• Tables, captions, and footnotes should use the same font style but may be smaller in size (usually 10-point).
• Chapter and section headings may be bold and no more than 2 points larger than the text size.
• Non-standard typefaces, such as script, are generally not acceptable except for commonly used symbols.
• The Office of Graduate Studies recommends that students get their font choice approved by their department and their graduate division before the thesis defense.
• Lettering and symbols in tables and figures should be no less than 10 points.
• Normally theses and dissertations use double-spaced formatting.
• Single-spaced formatting is acceptable in the table of contents, footnotes, end notes, charts, graphs, tables, block quotations, captions, glossary, appendices and bibliography.
• Students may use singe- or one-and-a-half-spacing for the body of the text with prior written approval of their thesis committee and graduate division.

Subject Guide

• << Previous: Title and Acceptance Pages
• Next: Page Numbering >>
• Last Updated: May 9, 2024 9:48 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.ku.edu/etd

• Formatting Your Dissertation
• Introduction

Harvard Griffin GSAS strives to provide students with timely, accurate, and clear information. If you need help understanding a specific policy, please contact the office that administers that policy.

• Application for Degree
• Credit for Completed Graduate Work
• Ad Hoc Degree Programs
• Acknowledging the Work of Others
• Dissertation Advisory Committee
• Publishing Options
• Subject, Invention, and Patents
• Submitting Your Dissertation
• English Language Proficiency
• PhD Program Requirements
• Secondary Fields
• Year of Graduate Study (G-Year)
• Master's Degrees
• Grade and Examination Requirements
• Conduct and Safety
• Financial Aid
• Non-Resident Students
• Registration
• Residence Halls
• Student Groups

When preparing the dissertation for submission, students must meet the following minimum formatting requirements. The Registrar’s Office will review the dissertation for compliance and these formatting elements and will contact the student to confirm acceptance or to request revision. The Harvard Griffin GSAS resource on dissertation formatting best practices expands on many of the elements below.

Please carefully review your dissertation before submitting it to ProQuestETD. The Registrar’s Office will email you through ProQuest if they have identified major formatting errors that need correction. Students will be provided with a brief extended deadline to make only the requested formatting updates.  

• Embedded Fonts : If fonts are not embedded, non-English characters may not appear as intended. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that fonts are embedded properly prior to submission. Instructions for embedding fonts can be found on the Dissertation Formatting Guidance resource .  
• Thesis Acceptance Certificate: A copy of the Thesis Acceptance Certificate (TAC) should appear as the first page. This page should not be counted or numbered. The TAC will appear in the online version of the published dissertation. The author name and date on the TAC and title page should be the same.  
• Title Page: The dissertation begins with the title page; the title should be as concise as possible and should provide an accurate description of the dissertation. The author name and date on the TAC and title page should be the same. Do not print a page number on the title page. It is understood to be page  i  for counting purposes only. 
• Abstract : An abstract, numbered as page  iii , should immediately follow the copyright page and should state the problem, describe the methods and procedures used, and give the main results or conclusions of the research. The abstract will appear in the online version of the dissertation and will be made available by ProQuest and DASH. There is no maximum word count for the abstract.  
• Preliminary pages (abstract, table of contents, list of tables, graphs, illustrations, and preface) should use small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc.). 
• All pages must contain text or images.  
• Count the title page as page i and the copyright page as page ii, but do not print page numbers on either page. 
• For the body of text, use Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) starting with page 1 on the first page of text.
• Page numbers must be centered throughout the manuscript at the top or bottom. 
• Every numbered page must be consecutively ordered, including tables, graphs, illustrations, and bibliography/index (if included); letter suffixes (such as 10a, 10b, etc.) are not allowed. 
• It is customary not to have a page number on the page containing a chapter heading. Check pagination carefully. Account for all pages. 
• Copyright Statement: A copyright notice should appear on a separate page immediately following the title page and include the copyright symbol ©, the year of first publication of the work, and the name of the author: © [ year ] [ Author’s Name ]. All rights reserved. Alternatively, students may choose to license their work openly under a Creative Commons license. The author remains the copyright holder while at the same time granting upfront permission to others to read, share, and—depending on the license—adapt the work so long as proper attribution is given. (If a student chooses a Creative Commons license, the copyright statement must not include the “all rights reserved” disclaimer and should instead indicate the specific Creative Commons license.) Please note: The copyright statement applies only to the student’s own work; the copyright status of third-party material incorporated into the dissertation will not change. Do not  print a page number on the copyright page. It is understood to be page  ii  for counting purposes only. 
• Abstract 
• Table of Contents 
• Front Matter 
• Body of Text 
• Back Matter 

Students can refer to the resource on Dissertation Formatting Best Practice Resource for information on best practices for front and back matter

Individual academic programs may require additional formatting elements to meet the standards of a specific field or discipline. Students are responsible to ensure that their Dissertation Advisory Committee is in support of the final formatting as signified by the sign off on the Thesis Acceptance Certificate. Any deviation from these requirements may lead to rejection of the dissertation and delay in the conferral of the degree. 

CONTACT INFO

Katie riggs, academic programs, explore events.

5 fonts that add credibility and professionalism to scientific research

by ikumikayama | Apr 29, 2013 | Uncategorized | 14 comments

Choosing the right fonts can affect how your scientific research is received.

Note: This is part 2 of a 2-part blog series about choices in fonts. You can read part 1 here .

You are dressed in your best. You edited the manuscript with a fine-tooth comb…but are your figures and images wearing flip-flops?

Last time we talked about fonts that suck professionalism out of your scientific research . In this article, we’ll talk about fonts that actually add credibility and professionalism to your research. Dress your research in a custom-tailored suit by just using these fonts!

My friend and colleague, Cassio Lynm described how a good figure should be like a billboard found in many highways around the country. Anyone who sees the billboard will understand what they are advertising in a split second. If someone is confused or gets the wrong idea, the image is not very successful.

Similarly, the best professional fonts should be one that’s easy to read with very little “bells and whistles”. When writing prose of informational value such as scientific research, a reader should pay attention to what the text is describing, not how the text looks.  A good professional font should be like air–we don’t really even pay attention to it most of the time.

Some of the fonts I’ll share with you today are considered “boring” and “overused” by some. These fonts are everywhere because they are champions of legibility and simplicity.  Make your work professional and trustworthy by using a time-tested font.

[bra_divider height=’40’]

1. Arial- “All-Around Champion with IBM Roots”

According to fonts.com , Arial is one of the most used typefaces of the last 30 years. Its electronic origins go back to 1982 for IBM laser-xerographic printers by designers Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders. When it came out, it was supposed to compete with Helvetica, which was one of the core fonts in Apple Computers in the mid 1980’s.

Arial letters have more round shapes and the edges of letters do not end in a horizontal line. Instead, the edges are at an angle.

Arial is an easy-to-read font in small and large blocks of text. Nature requests that the figure text be in Arial or Helvetica. It’s especially nice for figure labels and legends. When using Arial as figure legends, keep the font size small ~8 points for best results.

2. Helvetica- “All-Around Champion with Apple Roots”

Helvetica is the most heavily-used font. Helvetica was originally designed by a Swiss designer named Max Miedinger in 1957. The font was designed to be an easy-to-read font. The name “Helvetica” comes from “Helvetia” – Latin name for Switzerland. Actually, the font received a facelift in 1983-the newer version is called, you guessed it, Neue Helvetica.

Helvetica even has its own movie . I haven’t seen it yet, but please comment in the section below if you have.

Besides its Hollywood (Indie) status, Helvetica is a font that looks great on both print and on screen.  Nature , Science , and Cell request that their figure labels be in Helvetica. (If you need assistance setting up figures, I’m here to help). It looks great small as in figure labels, and it looks pretty good in large formats as posters. I lost count of how many figures I labeled using Helvetica, since that’s what one of the publishers used for their books.

3. Baskerville- “Tends to have positive influence on readers”

Baskerville’s history goes all the way back to 1757 when John Baskerville designed a typeface that works well in print and easy to read.  Mr. Baskerville preferred his letters simple and refined. He was also a writing master, so he had some ornamental letters like the upper case Q.

There was an  informal study  (not official, but some experiments here and there) that showed using Baskerville font increased trustworthiness of the text compared to other fonts. In the same study, Comic Sans had the most negative influence on the readers.

Baskerville is a serif font, which means that there are “tails” at the edge of the letters. Generally, serif fonts are better suited for print. This font works best when used in long blocks of text. Try to keep this font between 8 and 14pts for best results. This font looks dignified, so use this for your important professional occasions-award ceremonies, recognitions, etc.

4. Caslon- “When in doubt, use Caslon”

Caslon is another font with a long history. William Cason I designed the typeface back in the early 1700’s. This font is considered as the first original typeface from England. This font was very popular in colonial America, and it was used for many historical documents including the US Declaration of Independence.

Caslon is a serif font (with tails), and is best used in blocks of text. Like Baskerville, try to keep this font between 8 and 14 points for best results. Using this in a report or an application would be a good places.

5. Garamond – “Second best font after Helvetica”

This font’s history also goes way back. The font was designed by Claude Garamond (or Jean Jannon), who was commissioned to make a typeface for King Francis I of France (1515-47) to be used in series of books. The modern, electric version was revived in 1989 by Robert Slimbach.

Because there are different sources available for Garamond, there are numbers of different variations of the font. Adobe Garamond is the most popular and widely-available version today.

Garamond is still used extensively by French publishers. They also insist that Garamond be printed in size 9.  Some of the most famous publications in France are in Garamond such as Histoire de l’édition français.  The publishers prefer this font “for its beauty, its richness and its legibility” combined with “an uncluttered graphic style that underscores the rigour of essays and analysis providing a radical critique of contemporary society”.

Garamond is a great font to be used in long proses such as textbooks, dissertations and theses. Keeping it at 9 point is optional. In fact, my master’s thesis was in Garamond.

So that’s the 5 fonts that add credibility and professionalism to your scientific research. Did you find your favorite fonts here? Do you have other favorites? Please share your thoughts in the comment section. Also, please feel free to send this article along to those who might benefit from this short article.

[bra_border_divider top=’10’ bottom=’10’]

Now that you know about great scientific fonts, learn more about: PowerPoint Tips for the Scientist

Sources and Further reading:

Arial vs Helvetica – fonts.com

Research on font trustworthiness: Baskerville vs. Comic Sans

Caslon typeface

History of Garamond

Cell Press Figure Guide

Nature -Guide to preparing final artwork

Science Magazine: Preparing your manuscript

14 Comments

I’d rather like to know which font was used to write that article – it’s simple and readable, better than all presented above.

And the font being used for that article is Helvetica, which is one of the fonts mentioned above 😀

Hi Ewa! Great point. The font used is called “Open Sans” by Steve Matteson. For my blog, I made the font color dark grey to make it easier on the eyes, and also made them slightly bigger than average for easier reading. Hope this helps!

Hollo there, i liked the article but none of this fonts looks like the one used in the papers i read, (Journals of the American Chemical Society), do you know which one they use?

Hi There! Thank you for the note! ACS suggests Arial and Helvetica for their journal figures, so that’s what I introduced in this article–for the text, they might very well have their own custom font they use for their publications. I’ll dig into this a little deeper–thank you again!

I’m sorry, but this article is full of misinformation. Part 1 is a reiteration of articles that have been around for years. Absolutely nothing new there, and honestly, is there anyone even considering the typefaces you name there for scientific articles? Is it conceivable that anyone would use Curlz for his essay?

But my real concern goes to the second part. Arial and Helvetica are absolutely not scientific typefaces. The notion that ACS suggests these typefaces doesn’t make them suitable for scientific works. I think you ought to do research as to WHY these typefaces came recommended. Helvetica has history, as it won out of contemporaries like Univers as Helvetica was very heavily marketed. As a side note, Helvetica is actually based on the Akzidenz Grotesk model. Arial was designed to have the same metrics as Helvetica so it could be used on the same printers without having to pay a license fee to use Helvetica. Arial is more legible while Helvetica is more neutral and clear, but neither is particularly great.

So I would say Helvetica and Arial haven’t been chosen because they’re perfect. They’ve been chosen because they’re popular, and Arial is on every Windows computer, so people don’t have to purchase any fonts. I would say neither Arial and Helvetica are known to be particularly good to read. I suspect typefaces like Proxima Nova and Avenir will fair better. To be clear, I don’t think Arial or Helvetica are bad choices for labels and such, but to suggest them as top 5 typefaces, that’s very clearly misinformation.

“When using Arial as figure legends, keep the font size small ~8 points for best results.” For best results? Not entirely. It’s probably a good estimate, but in actuality the pt size should depend on the layout. I would recommend always making a test print to see if the text looks good in print, if that’s what it is intended for. Sometimes 0.2pts more or less could make the difference.

“Helvetica is the most heavily-used font.” I don’t think so. First off, Helvetica is not a font. It’s a typeface. Helvetica Regular would be a font. Helvetica is the most heavily-used typeface in graphic design, and likely the most heavily-used sans typeface. It’s not the most heavily-used typeface. At least, I would be very surprised if it was. I suspect Times New Roman is the most heavily-used.

“The font was designed to be an easy-to-read font.” No, Helvetica was designed to steal the popularity of Akzidenz Grotesk away.

Also, follow this link to see some of the problems of Helvetica at small sizes, and what professionals in the field have to say about it: http://spiekermann.com/en/helvetica-sucks/

“Actually, the font received a facelift in 1983-the newer version is called, you guessed it, Neue Helvetica.” Who would guess that the prefix for the new Helvetica would be German though? Small detail… Anyway, if you like Helvetica but want a more professional typeface (because really, Max Miedinger was not a type designer and as far as I’m concerned that shows), I can recommend Neue Haas Grotesk (a typeface that is true to the original Helvetica, but improved) or Neue Haas Unica (a more fresh looking Helvetica that deviates from the original).

“Helvetica even has its own movie. I haven’t seen it yet, but please comment in the section below if you have.” I have seen it a few times now. It’s quite a pleasure to watch, but there’s a lot of propaganda involved as well. You have the likes of Massimo Vignelli drooling over how great Helvetica is. The man was a pretty great graphic designer (although insisting on always using Helvetica has little to do with graphic design, as one ought to select the perfect typeface for the job, not use one typeface for every job), but he had no insight in type design. On the other hand, you have Erik Spiekermann formulate perfectly what Helvetica stands for. I would say for a type designer the Helvetica documentary is quite pleasant to watch. For the layman I’m afraid the documentary amounts to propaganda. It gives the layman the feeling this is one of the best typefaces out there and it’s simply not, by far.

“Besides its Hollywood (Indie) status, Helvetica is a font that looks great on both print and on screen.” Absolutely not! On Windows computers, websites set in Helvetica tend to look horrendous. The problem is that Helvetica is not well hinted, and so rendering problems occur. Helvetica was obviously not designed for monitors. Neue Helvetica doesn’t have the rendering problem to the same extent I believe, but relatively few people have Neue Helvetica, so it wouldn’t be wise to use that on your website, unless you embed the fonts. For websites I highly recommend using Arial rather than Helvetica.

“Baskerville’s history goes all the way back to 1757 when John Baskerville designed a typeface that works well in print and easy to read.” Easy to read? Not particularly, though it’s not bad either. Baskerville is a transitional typeface, meaning the weight modulation is vertical and the contrast is high. This is the tradition of the Baroque, but it’s not the most pleasant to read. However, Baskerville does look quite academic. For typefaces that are more pleasant to read, I would look at the Garalde style. Garamond and Caslon belong to that classification. They have a diagonal weight modulation, which naturally leads the eyes to the next letters. Typefaces with vertical weight modulation and high contrast tend to feature a fence effect, which disturbs the reading experience. To see this effect well, look at Didone typefaces like Didot and Bodoni.

“This font works best when used in long blocks of text. Try to keep this font between 8 and 14pts for best results.” 14pt seems quite large. Try 9–12pt. This goes for any serif typeface to be used for body text that is intended for print (for the web try 10–14pt, also depending on which device it’s intended for). But again, it will depend on the layout, and always make test prints to make sure it’s pleasant to read.

“Garamond is a great font to be used in long proses such as textbooks, dissertations and theses. Keeping it at 9 point is optional. In fact, my master’s thesis was in Garamond.” I distinctly remember years ago I noticed my Harry Potter book was set in Garamond. Both Garamond and Caslon are still used extensively for books.

However, Garamond may be a bit much for scientific documents. It’s quite classical and it has a low x-height, which these days is not preferable. Caslon is a bit less expressive and has a taller x-height. I would say Caslon is probably better for scientific articles.

One group of typefaces that certainly seems to be missing here is Century. Typefaces like Century Roman and Century Schoolbook. They belong to the Clarendon classification and are reminiscent of typefaces like Baskerville. These typefaces have been popular since the late 19th century and are still used extensively in academic literature. But I suppose you should also make a consideration of whether your article should be about the most comfortable typefaces to read, or the best suitable for scientific work, because they most certainly don’t amount to the same thing, yet you seem to be equating the two in this article.

Hi Martin! Thank you so much for your in-depth note! I have to look over and digest all your excellent points. Would you be open to expanding your writing and be a guest author or send me a link to your website/blog so the readers can have more information about what types to use for their work?

THE quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog!!!!!

Leelawadee is a bit underrated. It is easy on the eyes, and simple. It could use a bit of a TimesNewRoman-punch to it, though.

Where can I download Helvetica from? I couldn’t find it anywhere

Seriously? I don’t know what this smug guy does with typography, in which he seems to be well versed, but if he were to take up writing he would need to work on his grammar.

I’m not an expert on fonts, but I’m currently using Helvetica for headlines and other Sans text in my thesis and DejaVu for the main text. Feels pretty scientific to me 🙂

I enjoyed the historical aspect of this article. Thanks! PS. I see you use a sans serif font.

How i download these font types?

Dissertation Services

• Dissertation Writing Service
• Dissertation Assistance Service
• Dissertation Consulting Service
• Buy Dissertation
• Dissertation Abstract Writing Services
• Dissertation Formatting Service
• Buy Dissertation Methodology
• Dissertation Case Study Service
• Pay For Dissertation
• Dissertation Chapter Writing Services
• Dissertation Conclusion Services
• Dissertation Data Analysis Services
• Dissertation Discussion Writing Services
• Dissertation Introduction Writing Service
• Dissertation Outline Service
• Online Dissertation Help
• Write My Dissertation
• Do My Dissertation
• Help With Thesis Writing Service
• Dissertation Writing England
• Dissertation Writing Service London
• Dissertation Writing Northern Ireland
• Dissertation Writing Scotland
• Dissertation Writing Wales
• Personal Statement Writing Service

Dissertation Subjects

• Marketing Dissertation
• Digital Marketing Dissertation
• Law Dissertation Help
• Economics Dissertation
• Accounting Dissertation
• Business Management Dissertation
• Nursing Dissertation
• Psychology Dissertation
• Social Media Marketing Dissertation
• English Literature Dissertation Help
• Finance Dissertation
• History Dissertation
• HRM Dissertation
• IT Dissertation
• Linguistics Dissertation Help
• Supply Chain Management Dissertation Help
• Health And Social Care Dissertation

Dissertation Levels

• Buy Master Dissertation
• MBA Dissertation Writing Service
• Buy PhD Dissertation
• Masters Dissertation Proposal Help
• MBA Dissertation Proposal Help
• PhD Data Collection Services
• PhD Dissertation Proposal Help
• PhD Qualitative Data Analysis Services
• Master Thesis Help
• PhD Thesis Writing Help
• PhD Dissertation Editing
• Finance Dissertation Editing
• Digital Marketing Dissertation Editing
• Accounting Dissertation Editing
• Sociology Dissertation Editing
• English Literature Dissertation Editing
• Economics Dissertation Editing
• Linguistics Dissertation Editing
• Business Management Dissertation Editing
• Psychology Dissertation Editing
• Marketing Dissertation Editing
• Academic Poster Designing Services
• Dissertation PowerPoint Presentation Service
• Dissertation Presentation Writing Services
• Literature Review Writing Service
• Primary Data Collection Service
• Qualitative Data Dissertation Services
• Research Data Collection Service
• Secondary Data Collection Help
• DISSERTATION SERVICES
• DISSERTATION SUBJECTS
• DISSERTATION LEVELS
• Buy MBA Dissertation
• PhD Dissertation Editing Services

Hire a Writer

Get an expert writer for your academic paper

Check Samples

Take a look at samples for quality assurance

Dissertation Topics

Free customised dissertation topics for your assistance

• What Font Should I Choose…
• Accounting Dissertation Topics (8)
• Banking & Finance Dissertation Topics (10)
• Business Management Dissertation Topics (35)
• Economic Dissertation Topics (1)
• Education Dissertation Topics (12)
• Engineering Dissertation Topics (9)
• English Literature Dissertation Topics (3)
• HRM Dissertation Topics (3)
• Law Dissertation Topics (13)
• Marketing Dissertation Topics (9)
• Medical Dissertation Topics (7)
• Nursing Dissertation Topics (10)
• Other Topics (10)
• Supply Chain Dissertation Topics (2)
• Biomedical Science (1)
• Business Management Research Topics (1)
• Computer Science Research Topics (1)
• Criminology Research Topics (1)
• Economics Research Topics (1)
• Google Scholar Research Topics (1)
• HR Research Topics (1)
• Law Research Topics (1)
• Management Research Topics (1)
• Marketing Research Topics (1)
• MBA Research Topics (1)
• Medical Research Topics (1)
• How To (22)

Get a native to improve your language & writing

Enjoy quality dissertation help on any topic

Qualitative & Quantitative data analysis

What Font Should I Choose for My Dissertation?

Date published November 06 2020 by Ella James

As I sat in front of my screen with all my notes gathered around me, I was quite mind boggled when I thought about this.

What is the best font for dissertation?

It seems like a very silly question but when you have been working your brains out for a few months, you get a bit paranoid ( and that is understandable).

Let’s be quick here, finding the correct font for dissertation didn’t require any rocket science or assistance from a dissertation format service. So to keep things short for you the answer is: Times New Roman.

Yep, that’s the right one but it’s not all. There are a lot of other things that you have to keep in mind. From size to spaces to margins, you have to consider everything and get everything right to be able to submit a completely legit dissertation.

How “Dissertation Proposal” Can Help You!

Our top dissertation writing experts are waiting 24/7 to assist you with your university project, from critical literature reviews to a complete masters dissertation.

Recommended Font Size

The recommended font size in a dissertation is 10 to 12 points at max. Having larger or smaller fonts can give you a bad time in structuring your dissertation according to the pages.

Margins… Are They Important?

Oh yes, they are…

Don’t you ever think: “oh, why should I care about the spacing on the sides? Does it matter?”

Margins play an important role in structuring your dissertation. So make sure that there are 1.5 inches on the left while 1 inch on the right, top, and bottom.

Final Words

You don’t have to go to professionals and ask them “write my dissertation please, I don’t know about the fonts, margins or spacing” ever. Although, if you want, you can still take assistance from services to help you write your dissertation.

Consult Our Writers to Discuss Your Needs

View different varieties of dissertation topics and samples on multiple subjects for every educational level

Times New Roman is considered the best font for dissertation. You can use it for your dissertations and thesis unless your supervisor or professor recommends any other font.

Keep that in mind that Sans Serif fonts are usually not considered an ideal choice while writing your research papers or any other professional papers. Although they are not used for body text you can use Sans Serif fonts for headings. You can such combinations such as in the format of body text/headings:

• Garamond/Helvetica
• Minion Pro/Myriad Pro
• Times New Roman/Arial Narrow

Using Calibri or any other Sans Serif might not be the valid option generally. It is recommended to use a Serif font like Times New Roman or Garamond . Although, you can use Arial Narrow for the headings in a combination with Times New Roman.

There is an endless number of new fonts being made by developers and designers every other day. Although many fonts are recognized just by their names or their designs such as:

• Times New Roman

Formatting Your Dissertation (or Thesis): Font and Typography

• Table of Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Chapters and Sections
• References or Bibliography
• Font and Typography
• Margins and Page Layout
• Headings and Subheadings
• Pagination and Page Numbering
• Change page orientation
• Add a border to a page
• Insert page numbers
• Change margins
• Microsoft Word Tips and Tricks
• Managing Images and Graphics
• Collaboration Tools and Version Control
• Templates and Style Guides
• Checking for Consistency and Coherence
• Grammar and Spelling
• Formatting Checks
• Seeking Feedback and Peer Review
• Professional Editing Services

How to Install New Font Files to Word on Window

Microsoft Word comes with a long list of fonts to choose from.

But depending on what your goal with the document is, you may want to use a font that is not on the list.

Installing fonts is easy.

Steps to Install New Fonts

To use fonts and typography in Word, you can add new text fonts by downloading and installing them in Windows. Once installed, the font will become available to all Microsoft 365 applications. 

Here are the steps to add a font to Word:

1. Download the font file. 2. Right-click the font file. 3. Click "Install" or "Install for All Users"

You can also change the font size, color, and style of your text in Word by using the Font dialog box. To open the Font dialog box, select the text you want to format and press Ctrl+D or right-click the selected text and choose Font.

Steps example

Image how to install Fonts for Mac

How to import fonts into word on mac.

To add fonts in Word on Mac, locate the font file and then double-click it.

• << Previous: Formatting Text and Visual Elements
• Next: Margins and Page Layout >>
• Last Updated: Jun 6, 2023 11:54 AM
• URL: https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/c.php?g=1324044

• Why Choose Us
• Vision and Mission
• Hire Writers
• How it Works

Top 5 Best Fonts for Dissertation to Make it Look Organized

Table of Content

Every student hates the fact that professors deduct their marks in the dissertation for not choosing an appropriate font in their writing. Most of the time, students choose times new roman font for their dissertation writing. But before making any decision regarding font selection for this type of document, students should first consider reading university guidelines. It will certainly help them in selecting the best fonts for dissertation writing without any hassle.

As we said above, in case your font doesn't match with the guidelines, then the professor might reject your dissertation. It would affect your overall academic career and lead to negative feedback, as well. So, to make the dissertation look organized, students can seek dissertation writing service from the Assignment Desk. Our writers always ensure delivering the content with the best fonts in it that certainly follow the university guidelines. Experts have listed all the font styles that are best for dissertation writing , so let's have a look at it.

Need Help with Dissertation?

Get a 100% Original Dissertation Written by EXPERTS

1. Times New Roman

Times new roman is the most preferred font in dissertation writing. Most of the universities have this font in their guidelines that must be followed by the students. It is because, from many years, times new roman is the default body text for Microsoft Word. This font help students in making their content look structured and aligned properly. So, apart from almost every font, times new roman is considered the best font that universities accept. This is the reason students always use it in their dissertation writing.

Apart from times new roman, students can choose Georgia font for their dissertation writing. Georgia is a type of font which was created back in 1993 by Matthew Carter. According to university professors, students who use this font certainly make their content organized. It is also considered that by using this font, you will make your writing look elegant.

3. Garamond

According to our expert writers, Garamond font is considered the most professional font style, among others. This is why our experts advise students to use this font in their dissertation writing. It also helps in making their document look structured with all required elements in it. When students use this font, they can easily create a good impression on the entire dissertation committee. This font is used in the dissertation because it helps in making long passages more readable than any other font.

Cambria font style is designed specifically for on-screen reading. When students write their dissertation, they often use this font style. It is because it helps in constructing letters more sturdy that helps in making the dissertation content look presentable in the eyes of professors. Apart from being sturdy, it also helps in retaining legibility even at small sizes as well. So, Cambria is indeed a good choice for students to use in their dissertation writing.

Calibri is considered as the universally readable sans-serif font. It is because of replacing times new roman font style from the default setting of Microsoft word. According to professionals, it is the second-best font style that students can use while writing their dissertations. Professors also suggest this type of font style to students as it looks great on-screen, which makes them read every word easily without any hassle. So, to make a dissertation organized properly, Calibri is another font style that can be used.

Now, it is all up to you that whichever font you like to use according to the university guidelines. If not restricted, try using subtle fonts that can make your overall content look organized. With all this explanation, isn't it quite obvious to buy dissertation  and eliminate your stress related to the selection of best fonts in your dissertation writing? We at Assignment Desk, provide the best assignment help to students who are struggling with writing their assignments.

Try Before You Buy !

Get Free PDF Link Directly to your WhatsApp !

Great!! Sumsa Free PDF Template has been delivered on your WhatsApp Number.

Boost Grades & Leave Stress

Get A+ Within Your Budget!

Price Calculator

Offers & Benefits

Get upto 55% OFF on Your First Order !

Extra 25% OFF on Your First Order !

Use Our Seasonal Offers!

Coupon Code

FREE Features

• Topic Creation USD 3.87 FREE
• Outline USD 9.33 FREE
• Unlimited Revisions USD 20.67 FREE
• Editing/Proofreading USD 28 FREE
• Formatting USD 8 FREE
• Bibliography USD 7.33 FREE

Get all these features for

USD 80.67 FREE

RELATED BLOGS

Dissertation Word Count Analysis: A Helpful Writing Guide

Engaging Essay Title: Essential Tips, Format and Examples

How Many Pages is 3000 Words? All You Need to Know

Dissertation vs Thesis: Meaning, Difference, and Similarities

120+ Persuasive Speech Topics: Tips to Select a Theme

How to Write Assignment in UK Universities? Steps and Tips

Professional assignment writers.

Choose a writer for your task among hundreds of professionals

Please rotate your device

We don't support landscape mode yet. Please go back to portrait mode for the best experience

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Know more

Calculate the Price

Professional Academic Help at Pocket-Friendly Prices!

Estimated Price

Limited Time Offer

Exclusive Library Membership + FREE Wallet Balance

1 Month Access !

5000 Student Samples

10,000 Answers by Experts

Get $300 Now

Format Requirements for Your Dissertation or Thesis

Main navigation.

The final dissertation or thesis manuscript must have a ready-for-publication appearance and standard features.

The Office of the University Registrar does not endorse or verify the accuracy of any dissertation or thesis formatting templates that may be available to you.

It is your student responsibility to make sure that the formatting meets these requirements. Introductory material, text, and appendices must all be clearly and consistently prepared and must meet all of the specifications outlined below.

Once you upload and submit your dissertation or thesis in Axess, and it has been approved by the university, the submission is considered final and no further changes are permitted.

The digital file of the dissertation or thesis, which is sent to Stanford Libraries for cataloging, must meet certain technical requirements to ensure that it can be easily accessed by readers now and into the future. 

Follow the specifications outlined below.

Style and Format

Word and text divisions, style guides, content and layout, special instructions for d.m.a. students, order and content, page orientation, embedded links, supplementary material and publishing, supplementary material, scholarly reference, published papers and multiple authorship, use of copyrighted material, copyrighting your dissertation, file security and file name, stanford university thesis & dissertation publication license.

Pages should be standard U.S. letter size (8.5 x 11 inches).

In order to ensure the future ability to render the document, standard fonts must be used. 

For the main text body, type size should be 10, 11, or 12 point. Smaller font sizes may be used in tables, captions, etc. 

The font color must be black. 

Font Families

Acceptable font styles include:

• Times New Roman (preferred)
• Courier, Courier Bold, Courier Oblique, Courier Bold-Oblique;
• Helvetica, Helvetica Bold, Helvetica Oblique, Helvetica Bold-Oblique;
• Times, Times Bold, Times Italic, Times Bold-Italic;
• Computer Modern (or Computer Modern Roman).

Note: Do not use script or ornamental fonts. Do not use proprietary fonts.

If you use mathematical or other scientific notation in your dissertation or thesis using a font other than Symbol, you must embed the font into the PDF that is submitted to the university. 

Inner margins (left edge if single-sided; right edge for even-numbered pages, and left edge for odd-numbered pages if double-sided) must be 1.5 inches. All other margins must be one inch.

Pagination, headers, and/or footers may be placed within the margin, but no closer than one-half inch from the edge of the page.

For double-sided copies, 1.5 inches must be maintained as the inner margin. Margin requirements should apply to the entire document, including the title page.

The main body text of the manuscript should be one-and-a-half or double-spaced lines, except where conventional usage calls for single spacing, such as footnotes, indented quotations, tables, appendices, etc.

Words should be divided correctly at the end of a line and may not be divided from one page to the next. Use a standard dictionary to determine word division. 

Avoid short lines that end a paragraph at the top of a page, and any heading or subheading at the bottom of a page that is not followed by text.

The dissertation and thesis must be in English. 

Language Exceptions for Dissertations Only

Approval for writing the dissertation in another language is normally granted only in cases where the other language or literature in that language is also the subject of the discipline. 

Exceptions are granted by the school dean upon submission of a written request from the chair of your major department. Approval is routinely granted for dissertations in the Division of Literature, Cultures, and Languages within department specifications.

Prior to submitting in Axess, you must send a copy of the approval letter (or email message chain) from the department dean to [email protected]    

Dissertations written in another language must include an extended summary in English (usually 15 to 20 pages in length). In this case, you should upload your English summary as a supplemental file, during Step 4 of the online submission process.

Select a standard style approved by your department or dissertation advisor and use it consistently. 

Some reliable style guides are:

• K.A. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, 
• Theses and Dissertations (University of Chicago Press), and 
• the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Modern Language Association).

If you are a student in the Doctor of Musical Arts program, you may submit musical scores formatted at 11 x 17 inches in size. 

If you are submitting a performance as your dissertation, submit the audio file in WAV format as a supplemental file. 

Note: The maximum file size accepted for submission is 100 MB. If a performance recording exceeds the maximum file size, break the file into multiple files and submit the parts individually as supplemental files.

Your dissertation or thesis must contain the following sections. All sections must be included in a single digital file for upload.

• Title Page — The format must be followed exactly. View these title page examples for Ph.D. Dissertation and this title page sample for an Engineer Thesis . Use uppercase letters. The title of the dissertation or thesis should be a meaningful description of the content of the manuscript. Use word substitutes for formulas, symbols, superscripts, subscripts, Greek letters, etc. The month and year must be the actual month and year in which you submit your dissertation or thesis electronically to the university. (Note: A student who submits in Autumn quarter is conferred his/her degree in the following calendar year.)
• Copyright Page — The dissertation or thesis PDF uploaded in Axess should not contain a copyright page. The copyright page will be created automatically by the online submission system and inserted into the file stored by Stanford Libraries.
• Signature Page — The dissertation or thesis PDF uploaded in Axess should also not contain a signature page. The submission process has moved away from ink-signatures, so a digital facsimile of the signature page will be created automatically by the online submission system and inserted into the dissertation or thesis in its final format stored by Stanford Libraries.
• Abstract — An abstract may be included in the preliminary section of the dissertation or thesis. The abstract in the body of the dissertation or thesis follows the style used for the rest of the manuscript and should be placed following the signature page. There is no maximum permissible length for the abstract in the dissertation or thesis.    Dissertation authors must enter an abstract using the online submission form for uploading the digital dissertation or thesis file to the library. This abstract, which will be indexed for online searching, must be formatted in plain text (no HTML or special formatting). It should be a pithy and succinct version of the abstract included in the dissertation or thesis itself.
• Preface, an Acknowledgment, or a Dedication.   This is optional.
• Table of Contents – Include page references.
• List of Tables –  Include titles and page references. This list is optional.
• List of Illustrations – Include titles and page references. This list is optional
• Introduction/Main body – Include suitable, consistent headings for the larger divisions and more important sub-divisions.
• Appendices.   This is optional.
• Bibliography or List of References.

Except for the title page, which counts as 'i' but is not physically numbered, each page of the manuscript, including all blank pages, pages between chapters, pages with text, photographs, tables, figures, maps, or computer code must be assigned a number. 

Consistent placement of pagination, at least one-half inch from the paper’s edge, should be used throughout the manuscript.

Follow these pagination instructions exactly:

• For the preliminary pages, use small Roman numerals (e.g., iv, v, vi).
• The title page is not physically numbered, but counts as page i.
• Keep in mind that a copyright page ii and augmented signature page iii (based off your student record) will automatically be inserted to your manuscript during submission.  This means you must ensure to remove pages ii and iii from your dissertation or thesis.
• Failing to remove pages ii and iii is most common formatting mistake: you must remove your copyright page ii and signature page iii from the pdf file before you submit your dissertation or thesis, and begin pagination on your abstract with page number "iv". If the document is formatted for double-sided printing with each section starting on the right page, then pagination will begin on a blank page (page"iv") and the Abstract should be numbered as page "v", and so forth.
• For the remainder of the manuscript, starting with the Introduction or Chapter 1 of the Main Body, use continuous Arabic pagination only (1, 2, 3, etc) for text, illustrations, images, appendices, and the bibliography. Remember to start with Arabic numbered page 1, as this is not a continuation of the Roman numeral numbering from the preliminary pages.
• The placement of page numbers should be consistent throughout the document.

For text, illustrations, charts, graphs, etc., printed in landscape form, the orientation should be facing away from the bound edge of the paper.

Images (color, grayscale, and monochrome) included in the dissertation or thesis should be clearly discernible both on screen and when printed. The dimensions should not exceed the size of the standard letter-size page (8.5” x 11”).

Image resolution should be 150 dots per inch (dpi), though resolutions as low as 72 dpi (and no lower) are acceptable. 

The format of images embedded in the PDF should be JPEG or EPS (the format JPEG2000 is also acceptable when it is supported in future versions of the PDF format). GIF and PNG are not preferred image file formats.

Large images, including maps and charts or other graphics that require high resolution, should not be included in the main dissertation or thesis file. Instead, they can be submitted separately as supplemental files and formatted in other formats as appropriate. 

Multimedia, such as audio, video, animation, etc., must not be embedded in the body of the dissertation or thesis. These media types add size and complexity to the digital file, introducing obstacles to users of the dissertation or thesis who wish to download and read (and “play back”) the content, and making it more difficult to preserve over time.

If you wish to include multimedia with your submission, upload the media separately as a stand-alone file in an appropriate media format. See Supplementary Material section below.

It is acceptable to include “live” (i.e., clickable) web URLs that link to online resources within the dissertation or thesis file. Spell out each URL in its entirety (e.g., http://www.stanford.edu ) rather than embedding the link in text (e.g., Stanford homepage ). By spelling out the URL, you improve a reader’s ability to understand and access the link reference.

Supplementary material may be submitted electronically with the dissertation or thesis. This material includes any supporting content that is useful for understanding the dissertation or thesis, but is not essential to the argument. It also covers core content in a form that can not be adequately represented or embedded in the PDF format, such as an audio recording of a musical performance.

Supplementary materials are submitted separately than the dissertation or thesis file, and are referred to as supplemental files.

A maximum of twenty supplemental files can be submitted. There are no restrictions on the file formats. The maximum file size is 1 GB.

You are encouraged to be judicious about the volume and quality of the supplemental files, and to employ file formats that are widely used by researchers generally, if not also by scholars of the discipline.

The following table outlines recommended file formats for different content types. By following these recommendations, the author is helping to ensure ongoing access to the material.

After uploading each supplemental file, it is important to enter a short description or label (maximum 120 characters for file name and the description). This label will be displayed to readers in a list of the contents for the entire submission.

If copyrighted material is part of the supplementary material, permission to reuse and distribute the content must be obtained from the owner of the copyright. Stanford Libraries requires copies of permission letters (in PDF format) to be uploaded electronically when submitting the files, and assumes no liability for copyright violations. View this sample permission letter .

System restrictions allow for a maximum of 10 individually uploaded permission files. If you have more than 10 permission files we recommend combining all permission letters into a single PDF file for upload.

In choosing an annotation or reference system, you should be guided by the practice of your discipline and the recommendations of your departments. In addition to the general style guides listed in the Style section above, there are specific style guides for some fields. When a reference system has been selected, it should be used consistently throughout the dissertation or thesis. The placement of footnotes is at your discretion with reading committee approval.

An important aspect of modern scholarship is the proper attribution of authorship for joint or group research. If the manuscript includes joint or group research, you must clearly identify your contribution to the enterprise in an introduction.

The inclusion of published papers in a dissertation or thesis is the prerogative of the major department. Where published papers or ready-for-publication papers are included, the following criteria must be met:

• There must be an introduction that integrates the general theme of the research and the relationship between the chapters. The introduction may also include a review of the literature relevant to the dissertation or thesis topic that does not appear in the chapters.
• Multiple authorship of a published paper should be addressed by clearly designating, in an introduction, the role that the dissertation or thesis author had in the research and production of the published paper. The student must have a major contribution to the research and writing of papers included in the dissertation or thesis.
• There must be adequate referencing of where individual papers have been published.
• Written permission must be obtained for all copyrighted materials. Letters of permission must be uploaded electronically in PDF form when submitting the dissertation or thesis. 
• The published material must be reformatted to meet the university's format requirements (e.g., appropriate margins and pagination) of the dissertation. The Office of the University Registrar will approve a dissertation or thesis if there are no deviations from the normal specifications that would prevent proper dissemination and utilization of the dissertation or thesis. If the published material does not correspond to these standards, it will be necessary for you to reformat that portion of the dissertation or thesis.
• Multiple authorship has implications with respect to copyright and public release of the material. Be sure to discuss copyright clearance and embargo options with your co-authors and your advisor well in advance of preparing your thesis for submission.

If copyrighted material belonging to others is used in your dissertation or thesis or is part of your supplementary materials, you must give full credit to the author and publisher of the work in all cases, and obtain permission from the copyright owner for reuse of the material unless you have determined that your use of the work is clearly fair use under US copyright law (17 USC §107). 

The statute sets out four factors that must be considered when assessing Fair Use:

• the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purpose;
• the nature of the copyrighted work;
• the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
• the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The Association of American University Presses requires permission for any quotations that are reproduced as complete units (poems, letters, short stories, essays, journal articles, complete chapters or sections of books, maps, charts, graphs, tables, drawings, or other illustrative materials). You can find this guideline and other detailed information on Fair Use at http://fairuse.stanford.edu . 

If you are in doubt, it is safest to obtain permission. Permission to use copyrighted material must be obtained from the owner of the copyright. Stanford Libraries requires copies of permission letters (in PDF format) to be uploaded electronically when submitting the dissertation or thesis, and assumes no liability for copyright violations. For reference, view this sample permission letter .

Copyright protection is automatically in effect from the time the work is in fixed form. A proper copyright statement consisting of the copyright symbol, the author’s name, year of degree conferral, and the phrase “All Rights Reserved” will be added automatically to the dissertation or thesis in its final form.

Registration of copyright is not required, but it establishes a public record of your copyright claim and enables copyright owners to litigate against infringement. You need not register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office at the outset, although registration must be made before the copyright may be enforced by litigation in case of infringement. 

Early registration does have certain advantages: it establishes a public record of your copyright claim, and if registration has been made prior to the infringement of your work, or within three months after its publication, qualifies you to be awarded statutory damages and attorney fees in addition to the actual damages and profits available to you as the copyright owner (should you ever have to sue because of infringement).

For more information about copyright, see the Stanford Libraries' resource on Copyright Considerations.

For further information on Registration of Copyright, see https://www.copyright.gov/registration/ .

Do not require a password to make changes to your submitted PDF file, or apply other encryption or security measures. Password-protected files will be rejected.

The file name and description will be printed on a page added to your dissertation or thesis, so choose a file name accordingly.

Important note: File names may only consist of alphanumeric characters, hyphen, underscore, at sign, space, ampersand, and comma – before the ending period and file extension.  Specifically,

• A file name cannot start with a space, period (nor contain a period), underscore, or hyphen.
• Files names must be 120 characters or less.

Here is an example of a filename that is allowed, including all of the possible characters:

• A Study of Social Media with a Focus on @Twitter Accounts, Leland Student_30AUG2023.pdf

In submitting a thesis or dissertation to Stanford, the author grants The Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford) the non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable right to reproduce, distribute, display and transmit author's thesis or dissertation, including any supplemental materials (the Work), in whole or in part in such print and electronic formats as may be in existence now or developed in the future, to sub-license others to do the same, and to preserve and protect the Work, subject to any third-party release or display restrictions specified by Author on submission of the Work to Stanford.

Author further represents and warrants that Author is the copyright holder of the Work, and has obtained all necessary rights to permit Stanford to reproduce and distribute third-party materials contained in any part of the Work, including use of third-party images, text, or music, as well as all necessary licenses relating to any non-public, third-party software necessary to access, display, and run or print the Work. Author is solely responsible and will indemnify Stanford for any third party claims related to the Work as submitted for publication.

Author warrants that the Work does not contain information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), confidentiality agreements, or contain Stanford Prohibited, Restricted or Confidential data described on the University IT website , or other data of a private nature.

Stanford is under no obligation to use, display or host the work in any way and may elect not to use the work for any reason including copyright or other legal concerns, financial resources, or programmatic need.

• Graduate School
• Current Students
• Dissertation & Thesis Preparation

Formatting Requirements

Choice of font.

For most theses, the font should be one that is appropriate for an academic paper. Generally, the same font should be used throughout the thesis (dedication page and scholarship-appropriate alterations excepted).

Normally the font should be equivalent to 10 to 12 point font in Times New Roman or Arial for main text, and at least 2mm high in tables and figures.

Font colour should normally be black throughout, except for web links which may be blue.

• Why Grad School at UBC?
• Graduate Degree Programs
• Application & Admission
• Info Sessions
• Research Supervisors
• Research Projects
• Indigenous Students
• International Students
• Tuition, Fees & Cost of Living
• Newly Admitted
• Student Status & Classification
• Student Responsibilities
• Supervision
• Managing your Program
• Health, Wellbeing and Safety
• Professional Development
• Final Doctoral Exam
• Final Dissertation & Thesis Submission
• Life in Vancouver
• Vancouver Campus
• Graduate Student Spaces
• Graduate Life Centre
• Life as a Grad Student
• Graduate Student Ambassadors
• Meet our Students
• Award Opportunities
• Award Guidelines
• Minimum Funding Policy for PhD Students
• Killam Awards & Fellowships
• Dean's Message
• Leadership Team
• Strategic Plan & Priorities
• Vision & Mission
• Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
• Initiatives, Plans & Reports
• Graduate Education Analysis & Research
• Media Enquiries
• Newsletters
• Giving to Graduate Studies

Strategic Priorities

• Strategic Plan 2019-2024
• Improving Student Funding
• Promoting Excellence in Graduate Programs
• Enhancing Graduate Supervision
• Advancing Indigenous Inclusion
• Supporting Student Development and Success
• Reimagining Graduate Education
• Enriching the Student Experience

Initiatives

• Public Scholars Initiative
• 3 Minute Thesis (3MT)
• PhD Career Outcomes

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

Right font style and size for a master thesis

I'm writing a master thesis for my master in economics.

Given that the thesis is not expected to be too much formal (the master itslef is very practical and little theoretical) I want to use good conventions.

So far this is the formatting I used:

• main title "Thesis of ...": Arial 16pt
• Abstract subtitle: Times New Roman 12pt
• Abstract content: Times New Roman 11pt, justified
• Heading 1 (main sections of the paper): Arial 14 bold
• Heading 2 (sections of the paper, corresponding to Headings 1): Arial 12 bold
• Content of each sections (Headings 2): Times New Roman 12pt justified . The content is starting after a blank line

How can I improve the formatting to make the paper looking professional? Thanks in advance

• academic-writing

• 3 Does your university have any guidelines or a favorite style guide? –  Monica Cellio Commented Jan 7, 2015 at 1:59

Your academic department may have posted guidelines for this. For example, the Rutgers Graduate school has posted an Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Style Guide , complete with sample pages. They suggest an easy-to-read font in 10-12 point type, but other schools may have different requirements.

Many schools may require that you use an existing style guide, such as APA style , MLA style , or the Chicago Manual of Style . These will probably be available for use in a local library.

Your school may use one of these, or it may have posted its own style guide, or use a hybrid of them. Check with your department website and your department advisor; they will be the final arbiter.

• as far as I know there are no guidelines. I will send them an e-mail. I just wondered if there existed any good practice –  dragonmnl Commented Jan 7, 2015 at 12:38

Your Answer

Reminder: Answers generated by artificial intelligence tools are not allowed on Writing Stack Exchange. Learn more

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest.

Required, but never shown

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy .

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged formatting academic-writing or ask your own question .

• Featured on Meta
• Bringing clarity to status tag usage on meta sites
• Announcing a change to the data-dump process

Hot Network Questions

• Why is it spelled "dummy" and not "dumby?"
• Conjugate elements in an extension
• Direction of centripetal acceleration
• Does a party have to wait 1d4 hours to start a Short Rest if no healing is available and an ally is only stabilized?
• What's the radius of Mars over Mount Olympus?
• Current in a circuit is 50% lower than predicted by Kirchhoff's law
• What is the optimal number of function evaluations?
• Book about a wormhole found inside the Moon
• "Mixture, Pitch then Power" - why?
• What is the first work of fiction to feature a vampire-human hybrid or dhampir vampire hunter as a protagonist?
• How should I tell my manager that he could delay my retirement with a raise?
• Could a lawyer agree not to take any further cases against a company?
• Intersection of Frobenius subalgebra objects
• What was the typical amount of disk storage for a mainframe installation in the 1980s?
• Is reading sheet music difficult?
• Are incomplete magic squares with some integral entries necessarily purely integral
• What does "Two rolls" quote really mean?
• Is there a way to prove ownership of church land?
• Is the 2024 Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk region the first time since WW2 Russia was invaded?
• What was the first "Star Trek" style teleporter in SF?
• How to go from Asia to America by ferry
• What other crewed spacecraft returned uncrewed before Starliner Boe-CFT?
• Is there a problem known to have no fastest algorithm, up to polynomials?
• Representing permutation groups as equivalence relations

• Personal Thesis
• How we work

How to choose the font type for your dissertation?

It’s time for the design: your texts are finished and have been approved by your reading committee. One of the most important elements of a good layout is the font type. How do you choose a suitable font type for your manuscript? In this article, we will give you some tips and tricks!

Appearance of the font

The first thing to keep in mind when choosing a font type, is the general appearance/feeling you would like your thesis to have. Are you going for a modern appearance or would you like a more classical style? We’d like to refer you to see some examples of different styles of design . Once you have made your decision regarding the appearance of your dissertation, you are ready to choose a font type that matches this style. If you have an example that you like that’s not from our website, your designer with us can always check if we know what font it is.

Modern font

If you want a more modern feel to your thesis, we recommend you opt for a sans serif font type. This means no serifs have been placed on the letters. More specifically, this results in letters without any thin dashes on the ends of the vertical and horizontal beams of a letter.

Some sans serif font types that are often used are:

Classic font

For a more classic appearance, we recommend you go for a font type that does have serifs. These font types will give your dissertation a classic appearance, comparable to older scientific publications and novels.

Popular serif font types that can be found in theses more often are:

• Times New Roman

Now you have decided whether you would like a font type with or without serifs, you are ready to go through enormous lists of possibilities. We would have liked to give you some more tips and guidelines, however that is not possible anymore. The choice for a certain font type is very personal and totally depends on your taste. We do have some last points of attentions that might help you in finding the perfect font type for your dissertation.

How many variants does the font type have?

Most font types have many variants like italic , bold , light (a slim version) etc. This number of variants is important for your designer, because this will offer more possibilities in designing the lay-out. Almost every thesis has bolds and italics, so they’re often also simply necessary in the design. Therefore, we recommend you to always choose a font type with several variants; or at least one with ‘regular’, ‘italic’ and ‘bold’.

Is it a free font or are you required to pay for a license?

Perhaps you already knew this, but fonts can be really expensive. Every variant of a certain font type could come at additional costs between ten and hundred euros. Therefore, please ask us if we already have your desired font type in our database. This could save you a lot of money!

Already have a nice font in your Word-file?

If you are used to working with a specific font type – especially if you’ve written your thesis in it for several years – you will probably be very accustomed with the way it looks. Because of your habituation with this specific font type, it might be that you will disapprove of other font types without good consideration. Many doctoral students opt for Calibri because they’ve got accustomed to it, even though this font was originally designed for good screen readability (for example in Word) and not for print specifically. But because it’s so familiar, it’s a very popular choice for doctoral students’ theses.

Are you not yet sure which font would suit your thesis, to make sure the readability and design are the best they can be? Don’t hesitate to contact us, we’re happy to think along with you. Sometimes the best font depends on the content, tables or data in your thesis, so we can always advise you personally.

Related Articles

• A bookmark or invitation
• Thesis tables design examples
• Layout styles for your cover
• How do I get inspiration for the design of my thesis?
• Images for your thesis cover, for example stock images

What is the best font for Thesis presentation? 10 Best Fonts

You are probably wondering if your panel will judge your presentation based on the font used. Selecting the best font for thesis presentation is as essential as your thesis content. A good font has a sizable effect on how your thesis is perceived and received. Great fonts assist you in acing your thesis defense and add a professional touch to your thesis presentation.

Making a decision on the best font for thesis presentation might be difficult because there are so many possibilities. The two most frequent major font classifications for academic purposes are sans serif and serif. Each group has advantages and disadvantages. The following are the top ten fonts for thesis presentations

Serif or Sans Serif? 

Serif and sans-serif fonts boast advantages and drawbacks. Serif fonts are lauded for their print readability, as the serifs guide the eye along the text lines. Sans-serif fonts, however, are favored for on-screen reading due to their lack of serifs reducing eye strain.

Finally, the choice between serif and sans-serif boils down to personal preference. It is important to select the font that you feel is most appealing and appropriate for the aim of the presentation.

Factors to consider before selecting a font?

The best font for thesis presentation depends on your tastes as well as the necessities. Assess the readability, style, and suitability of the target audience of the typeface. The typeface should enhance rather than distract from the message.

The list of fonts available for selection is extensive, ranging from more conservative options like Times New Roman to more modern and sleek-looking options like Helvetica or Futura. When selecting a font for thesis presentation, choosing a suitable option that portrays professionalism without sacrificing aesthetic appeal is crucial.

Legibility should be at the top of your list of considerations. Your thesis should be accessible to a wide range of audiences, so it is crucial to avoid fancy or overly stylized fonts that may be difficult to read.

Additionally, the font size and spacing should be carefully considered. Avoid using condensed or tight lettering that can make the text appear cluttered. Proper spacing between letters and lines enhances legibility and makes the content visually appealing.

The fonts listed below were selected based on their readability, professionalism, and appropriateness for academic presentations. The fonts are in no particular ranking order:

Garamond is an example of a serif typeface that is distinguished by its timeless nature. Its beauty and intelligibility offer it a traditional and professional style that will elevate your thesis presentation.

Example of Garamond font styling :

Palatino is another serif font commonly used for academic presentations that require a sophisticated look. Its elegant design makes it practical for detailed information and H1s alike.

Example of Palatino font styling :

Bodoni’s is an example of a high-contrast and elegant serif font. Its unique design makes it perfect for h1s, titles, and short text blocks.

Example of Bodoni font styling :

This serif font’s letterforms have a distinctive curved shape, giving it a soft and refined appearance. Bell MT’s versatility makes it great for academic presentations that require a professional look.

Example of Bell MT font styling

Verdana is a sans-serif font intended for screen use, making it suitable for digital presentations. Verdana’s excellent readability and simple design are ideal when showcasing complex information.

Example of Verdana font styling :

Segoe is a sans-serif font often seen in Microsoft products. It has a simple design that is ideal for making your presentations look sleek and more modern.

Example of Segoe font styling:

Franklin Gothic

Franklin Gothic is a sans-serif font with a bold and commanding presence suitable for titles and h1s. Its bold design guarantees that your thesis will stand out and draw the attention of your panel. This is a preferred font for thesis presentation.

Example of Franklin Gothic font styling:

Candara sans-serif font was designed for use in Windows Vista . Its sleek and modern look is perfect for contemporary work. It has top-notch readability and is the ideal font if you are looking to achieve a minimalist look.

Example of Candara font styling :

Tahoma is an example of a sans-serif font with narrow letters with a brief appearance. Tahoma’s distinctive feature is its ease of reading due to its narrow design and sufficient spacing between letters. Tahoma’s versatility makes it popular for academic presentations, as it offers a modern appearance while maintaining high legibility. Additionally, its unique design allows Tahoma’s to be mixed with other formats to show similarities and contrast.

Example of Tahoma font styling :

Corbel’s wide letterforms and generous letter spacing make it an excellent sans-serif font for academic presentations, as it offers high readability. Its wide design also makes it suitable for H1s and titles and is suitable if you intend to impact the panel.

Example of Corbel font styling:

With so many options, it is important to select a style that looks professional and complements you as a writer. Remember that your audience/panel will likely have received multiple thesis presentations, all with unique styles and structures. The right font style will help you communicate your ideas and defend your thesis effectively while being memorable. And just as important as your thesis font styling is your font size.

What size font for thesis presentation?

The ideal font size should strike a balance between readability and visual impact. Generally, sizes 28 and 32 are the sweet spots for body texts, while heading 1 and titles can be larger.

However, the size of the display device and distance to the panel/audience are significant factors to consider. Large screens and displays often require large fonts to ensure legibility. A smaller font might be more suitable if you present your thesis on a small screen.

Also, consider the different x-heights for fonts which can affect the apparent text size. It is essential to test the font size on different screens and environments. You should aim for a font size that maximizes legibility and impact.

Professional Assistance with Your Thesis Presentation

Personal preferences, research type, and target audience determine the best font for thesis presentation. Select a font that communicates professionalism, readability, and elegance while showcasing the presentation’s unique style and personality.

If you require professional assistance with your thesis writing or PowerPoint presentation, do not hesitate to reach out for assistance. Our team of experts can assist you in creating a visually appealing and impactful presentation that will leave a lasting impression on your audience.

• Expert writers in 68 disciplines
• 8.5/10 average satisfaction rate
• Timely delivery
• Money-back guarantee
• Plagiarism-free papers
• Free revisions
• 24/7 support

How to place an order?

Take a few steps to place an order on our site:

• Fill out the form and state the deadline.
• Calculate the price of your order and pay for it with your credit card.
• When the order is placed, we select a suitable writer to complete it based on your requirements.
• Stay in contact with the writer and discuss vital details of research.
• Download a preview of the research paper. Satisfied with the outcome? Press “Approve.”

Feel secure when using our service

It's important for every customer to feel safe. Thus, at WritersABC, we take care of your security.

Get assistance with placing your order. Clarify any questions about our services. Contact our support team. They are available 24\7.

Still thinking about where to hire experienced authors and how to boost your grades? Place your order on our website and get help with any paper you need. We’ll meet your expectations.

Order now Get a quote

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

What kind of fonts can I use for academic presentation? [closed]

Many videos and documents say that we should use Arial as the font for academic presentation. However, I think Arial is really ugly.

Certainly, there are other fonts suitable for academic presentations. How can I recognise them? Is it just every sans-serif font or what do I need to consider?

• presentation

• 4 This is probably to some extent a matter of taste. But for all things concerning academic design and layout, Edward Tufte is a classical go-to reference. –  henning no longer feeds AI Commented Aug 23, 2021 at 20:40
• 4 If your presentation is not about fonts, any boring font is suitable. –  Anonymous Physicist Commented Aug 23, 2021 at 20:50
• 5 Not Comic Sans. –  Captain Emacs Commented Aug 23, 2021 at 20:53
• 3 One advantage of a hideously ugly font is that you will know if someone swipes your slides and posts them online! ;-) –  Ed V Commented Aug 23, 2021 at 21:21

I take it as given that you won’t use typefaces that are not suitable for an academic setting at all, like a comic or blackletter typeface, i.e., any typeface you that is not suitable for a printed poster either. With those constraints, the main thing to consider is that your typeface must render well on a projector or via screencast. Interestingly, those different settings lead to similar conclusions:

You have to expect that projectors have low resolutions (and no sub-pixel hinting ), which causes intricate details such as most serifs look ugly.

For screencasts, you have to expect that they will be scaled on the viewer’s side, which again causes problems with detailed components such as most serifs and works bests with straight lines and similar.

For this reason, most sans-serif typefaces are well suited for presentations while serif typefaces are not. However you can find exceptions such as organic grotesques, which are sans serif but scale badly and render badly on low resolutions – or slab serifs, which work well with scaling as well as on low resolutions.

• Does anyone know the name of the four example fonts in this answer? (Especially the two "good" examples) –  Caleb Stanford Commented Jan 30, 2022 at 0:56
• 2 @6005: The fonts from top to bottom are: Aakar, Ubuntu, Linux Biolinum and Zilla Slab. However, please note that I chose them for highlighting the aspects relevant to this answer, and not to endorse (or attack) these particular fonts. –  Wrzlprmft ♦ Commented Jan 30, 2022 at 9:35
• Thank you! Understood yes –  Caleb Stanford Commented Jan 30, 2022 at 13:24

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged presentation formatting .

• Featured on Meta
• Bringing clarity to status tag usage on meta sites
• Announcing a change to the data-dump process

Hot Network Questions

• Is "She played good" a grammatically correct sentence?
• Book about a wormhole found inside the Moon
• How should I tell my manager that he could delay my retirement with a raise?
• Why didn't Air Force Ones have camouflage?
• Is it helpful to use a thicker gage wire for part of a long circuit run that could have higher loads?
• How can I play MechWarrior 2?
• Gravitational potential energy of a water column
• What is this movie aircraft?
• Does a party have to wait 1d4 hours to start a Short Rest if no healing is available and an ally is only stabilized?
• Replacing jockey wheels on Shimano Deore rear derailleur
• Geometry nodes: spline random
• What would be a good weapon to use with size changing spell
• What does "Two rolls" quote really mean?
• Manhattan distance
• What was Jesus' issue with Mary touching him after he'd returned to earth after His resurrection?
• Why is LiCl a hypovalent covalent molecule?
• What's the benefit or drawback of being Small?
• An instructor is being added to co-teach a course for questionable reasons, against the course author's wishes—what can be done?
• Breaker trips when plugging into wall outlet(receptacle) directly, but not when using extension
• Where is this railroad track as seen in Rocky II during the training montage?
• Is it a good idea to perform I2C Communication in the ISR?
• IRF9540N P-MOSFET Heating UP
• What does 'ex' mean in this context
• Intersection of Frobenius subalgebra objects

The 10 best fonts for presentations

Elevate your slidedeck with these fonts, perfect for presentations.

Even if you know your subject, giving a presentation in front of a bunch of strangers can often be nerve-wracking. So it helps to have a series of eye-catching slides to keep you on track and engage your audience. And key to that is picking the best fonts for presentations, which need to tick a number of boxes (you can't just pick any old free font available).

We've found a selection of fonts great for presentations. Most of these are standard system fonts in PowerPoint and many are included in the Windows or Mac operating systems, which means they're licenced for your own personal use. However, if you want to use them as web fonts on a website, or in client work, you will need to license them, so we've included download links too.

What makes a good presentation font?

First, they need to be clear and legible, even at a distance. Secondly, they need to be attractive and eye-catching. Thirdly, they need to convey a polished and appropriate tone for the context of your presentation. And fourthly, they should be widely available, or at least easy to embed, to avoid formatting issues.

In short, whether you're crafting a business pitch, an academic lecture, or a creative showcase, choosing the best font for presentations can make all the difference. In this article, we'll explore 10 great options.

01. Helvetica

• System font in Powerpoint?: Yes
• Preinstalled on Windows? No
• Preinstalled on macOS: Yes
• Download Helvetica from MyFonts

Helvetica might not be the most exciting choice of fonts. But this classic sans-serif, which is named after the Latin word for ‘Switzerland', is nothing if not reliable. Its clean, neutral and versatile nature means conveys an instant sense of professionalism, without drawing unnecessary attention to itself. And that makes it an excellent choice for presentations of all kinds

There's a reason why Helvetica remains hugely popular, 67 years on from its creation: its letterforms are well balanced are balanced between top and bottom, making them highly legible, even at smaller sizes or when projected. Moreover, its wide range of weights and styles allows for flexibility in creating visual hierarchies within your slides.

So whether you're presenting financial data, marketing strategies, or creative concepts, Helvetica will help you share your words in a way that your audience will find easy to read. And isn't that the most important thing?

In short, if you're looking for a modern, straightforward, and universally appealing typeface for your presentations, Helvetica is a worthy contender.

• System font in Powerpoint?: No
• Preinstalled on macOS: No
• Download Futura from MyFonts

Want to give a bold, dynamic edge to your presentation? Then the geometric sans-serif Futura is a good choice. Its clean lines and perfect circles are based on simple shapes, giving it a distinctive and memorable appearance, and strong visual impact. This makes it an especially good option for headlines and key points you want to emphasise.

At the same time, Futura's clarity and legibility at various sizes will ensure that your message comes across effectively, whether you're presenting on a large projector screen or remotely through your audience's laptops.

In short, when you want to convey themes such as disruption, transformation and a contemporary outlook, in fields such as technology, architecture and design, Futura can help your presentation stand out, while still being very legible and accessible.

03. Garamond

• Download Garamond from MyFonts

Does your presentation call for a touch of elegance and tradition? Then you'll probably want to go for a serif, and Garamond is an excellent option.

With its roots in 16th-century typography, this font will instantly give a sense of sophistication and timelessness to your slides. At the same time, this iconic typeface remains highly legible, especially in its more recent digital adaptations. Its refined serifs and varied stroke weights create a pleasant rhythm that's easy on the eyes, making it work for both headlines and body text.

For these reasons, Garamond will work particularly well for academic talks, presentations on literary topics, or any content that benefits from a more formal tone. In other words, if you want to convey authority and knowledge while maintaining readability, it's a great option.

04. Montserrat

• Download Montserrat from Google Fonts

Is your presentation topic one that's innovative, pioneering, or even game-changing? Then you'll want a font to match, and Montserrat could fit the bill.

Inspired by old posters and signs in Buenos Aires, this eye-catching geometric sans-serif offers a combination of clean, modern letterforms and varied weights. Its crisp edges and open counters contribute to excellent legibility, while its geometric roots give it a contemporary feel. This makes it a great choice for presentations in creative industries, startups, or any other context where a fresh, dynamic tone is required.

Montserrat boasts an extensive family, including various weights and styles, allowing for a creative to typography hierarchies within your slides. So if you want your presentation to feel current and energetic while maintaining clarity and professionalism, it's well worth giving a try.

05. Palatino

• Download Palatino from MyFonts

If you're aiming for a balance between reassuring tradition and exciting forward-thinking in your presentation, you'll be looking for a font that sits somewhere between traditional and modern design. In which case we recommend Palatino.

This versatile book serif combines the readability of classic Roman typefaces with subtle calligraphic touches. And that makes it well positioned for presentations that require a professional, scholarly tone without appearing overly formal.

Palatino's defined letterforms ensure clarity even at smaller sizes, making it suitable for both headlines and body copy. It works well on screens, and maintains its elegance and readability when projected. And all this makes it a worthy option for presentations in fields like law, academia or the arts.

06. Calibri

• Preinstalled on Windows? Yes
• Download Calibri from MyFonts

One of the biggest stresses surrounding presentations is the idea that things will go wrong technically, especially if you're using unfamiliar equipment. So if safety is your priority then good news: Calibri isn't just the default font for Microsoft PowerPoint, it's an excellent design choice as well.

This sans-serif has a warm, soft and friendly tone without sacrificing professionalism and legibility, thanks to its slightly rounded edges and open letterforms. It's also a font that adapts easily to different themes and colour schemes. And this means it work well in both corporate and creative presentations.

Perhaps most significantly, Calibri's widespread availability across systems means you're less likely to encounter formatting issues when sharing your presentation. So if you're seeking a safe, versatile and universally compatible font that still looks current, Calibri is the one we'd recommend.

• Download Roboto from Google Fonts

Do you value legibility above all else? Then you can't go wrong with Roboto. Developed by Google, Roboto, this neo-grotesque sans-serif is perfect for designing clear, legible text on screens that need to be readable from a distance, or at small sizes.

Roboto was developed by Google as the system font for Android , and its modern, professional appearance makes it suitable for a wide range of topics and industries. Moreover, its extensive family includes condensed and slab serif versions, which gives you a lot of flexibility in creating visual hierarchies and emphasis within your slides.

In short, Roboto is an excellent choice for presentations that need to look contemporary and function flawlessly.

• Download Avenir from MyFonts

If you want to appear warm and friendly, but also cutting-edge, Avenir (meaning "future" in French) is a good font to consider. This geometric sans-serif is similar to Monserrat in that it combines modernist style with humanist touches, and its superb legibility across various sizes makes it versatile for both headlines and body copy.

As such, Avenir would works particularly well for presentations in fields such as technology, healthcare or education. When you want your slides to appear contemporary and polished, yet accessible and inviting, Avenir does a good job of squaring that particular circle.

09. Baskerville

• Download Baskerville from FontSquirrel

Here's another great choice for excluding elegance and authority. Baskerville is a transitional serif typeface with refined forms and high contrast between thick and thin strokes. This all adds up to a dignified, sophisticated appearance, making it a good choice for conveying trustworthiness and expertise.

Baskerville clear, open letterforms ensure good readability on screens, particularly for longer text passages, and this font would works exceptionally well for academic or literary presentations, along with businesses looking to project a sense of heritage and quality.

In other words, if you want your audience to perceive your content as thoughtful, well-researched, and credible, Baskerville can help set the right tone.

10. Georgia

• Download Georgia from MyFonts

Will your talk be viewed remotely? Then try Georgia; a serif designed specifically for on-screen readability, making it great for digital presentations. Its larger x-height and open letterforms ensure clarity even at smaller sizes, covering you if your slides are being viewed on a smaller laptop or tablet.

These letterforms are sturdy enough to render well on various screen resolutions while still providing the traditional, trustworthy feel associated with serif fonts. This makes Georgia when you require a more formal tone while remaining highly legible on a variety of screens. For talks in fields such as journalism, publishing or any other content-heavy topic, it's a good balance between classic style and readability.

Need more fonts for work? See our pick of the best professional fonts .

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Get the Creative Bloq Newsletter

Daily design news, reviews, how-tos and more, as picked by the editors.

Tom May is an award-winning journalist and editor specialising in design, photography and technology. Author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Great TED Talks: Creativity , published by Pavilion Books, Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. Today, he is a regular contributor to Creative Bloq and its sister sites Digital Camera World , T3.com and Tech Radar . He also writes for Creative Boom and works on content marketing projects. 

Related articles

• 2 Asus Zenbook S 16 review: a beautiful-looking laptop for general creatives
• 3 Get ready for ImagineFX Art Challenge 6!
• 4 Spine-chilling Apple Vision Pro app turns your house into a horror game
• 5 Silent Hill 2 remake uses a '90s filter' for ultimate retro authenticity