MSSE Formatting Checklist

Title page

Checklist:

• Add 30 pt spacing before your capstone title if your title is 3 lines in length
• Add 48 pt spacing before your capstone title if your title is 2 lines in length
• Your title should be in ALL CAPS
• Put 24 pt spacing before the word “by”
• Put 84 pt spacing before the words “A professional paper…”
• The sentence “A professional paper…” should be single spaced
• Put 24 pt spacing before and 12 pt spacing after the word “of”
• Put 42 pt spacing before “MONTANA…” and single space “Bozeman, Montana” on next line.
• Put 30 pt spacing before the line "Month and Year ETD accepted..." and replace this line's content with just the month and year you submitted your paper (ex. August 2026).
• Add a page break after the date
• The title page should not have page numbers

Copyright Page

Checklist:

• Add 96 pt spacing before the word “©COPYRIGHT”
• All text on this page should be double spaced
• Add a section break after “All Rights Reserved.” This section break will allow you to put roman numerals on the next pages.
• The copyright page should not have page numbers

Dedications/Acknowledgments/VITA Page

You can include:

• A dedication page AND an acknowledgements page AND a VITA and/or American Indian Heritage page
• Only a dedication page
• Only an acknowledgments page
• Only a VITA and/or American Indian Heritage page
• Any other combination of the above pages
• None of the above pages

Checklist:

• Your paragraphs on the dedications, acknowledgments, and VITA and/or American Indian Heritage pages should be left aligned.
• The text on the dedications page should be single spaced and one page in length.
• The text on the acknowledgments page should be double spaced and one page in length
• The text on the VITA and/or American Indian Heritage page(s) should be single spaced and one to two pages in length depending on what information you wish to include.
• At the end of all of three types of pages, you should add a page break.
• The dedications, acknowledgments, or VITA and/or American Indian Heritage pages should begin your use of roman numerals. The roman number for the first of these that you include in your paper should be ii. 
• Your roman numerals will be different depending on if you include all three pages, only some, or none.

Table of Contents

Resources:

• Automating the Table of Contents process
• Dot leaders (instructions)
• Word Quick Tip: Inserting Dot Leaders (video)
• Settings:

Checklist:

• The roman numeral on this page will be one of the following: ii, iii, iv, or v
• Your title should be TABLE OF CONTENTS. Use Ch. Title in the style pane.
• Your first chapter should look like this 1. FIRST CHAPTER TITLE
• Put four spaces at the beginning of your first level heading below the chapter title. Your heading should be in Title Case.
• For a second level heading, you will do one full indent. The text should be in Title Case.
• For a third level heading, you will do two full indents. The text should be in Title Case.
• Your second chapter should look like this 2. SECOND CHAPTER TITLE
• Below your titles, put REFERENCES CITED flush left.
• Put APPENDICES flush left.
• For each appendix, put one full indent. You’ll use single spacing for each Appendix listed. It should look like this: APPENDIX A: TITLE
• Add a page break at the end of the page.

List of Tables

Checklist:

• Your title should be LIST OF TABLES using Ch. Title from the style pane.
• Put the word Table flush left.
• Put the word Page flush right in the same line as Table.
• List your first table below, like this:

           1. Table 1. Table 1 Name

• List your second table like this:

           2. Table 2. Table 2 Name

• This page should include roman numeral page numbers.
• Add a page break at the end of the page.

List of Figures

Checklist:

• Your title should be LIST OF FIGURES using Ch. Title from the style pane.
• Put the word Figure flush left.
• Put the word Page flush right in the same line as Figure.
• List your first figure below, like this:

           1. Figure 1. Figure 1 Name

• List your second figure like this:

           2. Figure 2. Figure 2 Name

• This page should include roman numeral page numbers.
• Add a page break at the end of the page.

Abstract

Checklist:

• Your spacing for the title ABSTRACT should be 12 pt after the title. Use Ch. Title in the style pane for the correct spacing.
• Your abstract paragraph should be single spaced.
• Your paragraph should be no more than 350 words in length.
• The first line of your paragraph should be one full indent.
• The abstract must contain the following elements: (1) statement of the problem, (2) procedure or methods, (3) results, and (4) conclusions.
• Add a section break at the end of the page. This section break will allow you to add new page numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) to the next page.

Chapters

Checklist:

You’ll want to reference the MSSE Chapter Outline below as you build this section.

• Your chapter title should be in all capital letters and use the Ch. Title in the style pane. It will look like this: CHAPTER TITLE.
• Add 12 pt spacing after your CHAPTER TITLE.
• Check to make sure there is no space (enter or return) before the chapter title after doing a page break on the previous page.
• For your first level heading, use the First Level style in the style pane. All First Level headings should be centered, underlined, and Title Case.
• Capitalize the first letter of each heading word except articles, conjunctions, and prepositions and underline.
• Add 12 pt spacing after and before the first level heading. If you use the First Level style in the style pane, this should already be set for you.
• For your second level heading, use the Second Level style in the style pane. All Second Level headings should be flush left, underlined, and Title Case.
• Add 12 pt spacing before and after the second level heading. If you use the Second Level style in the style pane, this should already be set for you.
• If you have third level headings, use the Third Level style in the style pane. All Third Level headings should be one full indent, underlined, and have a period at the end. All text immediately starts after the period.
• The page numbers in the chapters start with (1, 2, 3…).
• Add page breaks between all chapters.

Action Research Paper Chapter Outline

• Chapter 1 = Introduction and Background
  • Level 1 heading: Context of the Study
  • Level 1 heading: Focus Statement/Question
• Chapter 2 = Conceptual Framework
  • Level 1 headings: Up to 5-6 headings based on the theme titles from the literature
• Chapter 3 = Methodology
  • Level 1 heading: Demographics
  • Level 1 heading: Treatment
  • Level 1 heading: Data Collection and Analysis Strategies
• Chapter 4 = Data Analysis: Claims and Evidence
  • Level 1 heading: Results
• Chapter 5 = Value: Reasoning and Reflection
  • Level 1 heading: Claims from the Study
  • Level 1 heading: Value of the Study and Consideration for Future Research
  • Level 1 heading: Impact of Action Research on the Author

Educational Scholarship Paper Chapter Outline

• Chapter 1 = Introduction and Background
• Chapter 2 = Conceptual Framework
• Chapter 3 = Instructional Strategies/Resources
• Chapter 4 = Value: Reasoning and Reflection 

Block Quotes

Video Explanation

Direct quotes of four lines or more must be single-spaced and “blocked.” This means the text is indented on both sides and is justified.

Figure Captions

Sample Size:

• Use N when you are talking about your entire sample.
• Use n when you are talking about a subset of your sample.

Checklist:

• Make sure that your Figures are in numerical order throughout the paper.
• Here is an example of what a Figure Caption should look like:
  • Figure 3. A screenshot of the format styles, (N=19)
• Please do not italicize Figure 3.
• Your figure caption should appear directly under or above the Figure. Just be consistent throughout your paper.
• To put captions below, use the caption below style in the style pane.
  • 0 pt spacing before the caption
  • 24 pt spacing after the caption
• To put captions above, use the caption above style in the style pane.
  • 0 pt spacing after the caption
  • 24 pt spacing before the caption
• Make sure your Figure is within the page margins. 

Table Captions

Sample Size:

• Use N when you are talking about your entire sample.
• Use n when you are talking about a subset of your sample.

Checklist:

• Make sure that your Tables are in numerical order within the paper.
• Here is an example of what a Table Caption should look like:
  • Table 1. Physical characteristics and trout of 11 watersheds sampled in the headwaters of the Colorado River, (n=11).
• Your table caption should appear directly above or below the Table.
• To put your caption above, use the caption above style in the style pane.
  • 12 pt before caption
  • 0 pt after caption (sits on table)
• To put your caption below, use the caption below style in the style pane. 
• Do not include bold text in any of your tables.
• Make sure you use Sentence case text except when referring to names, places, or instruments in your tables.

References Cited

Resources:

• According to the 7^th edition of APA, you should:
  • include the names of up to 20 authors for references who have 20+ authors (1:00 in this video)
  • format DOIs as URLs (1:08 in this video)
  • not include retrieved from in front of URLs (1:18 in this video)
  • include the website name unless it is the same as the author name (1:25 in thisvideo)

Checklist:

• Put 180 pt spacing before the words REFERENCES CITED. These words should appear almost in the middle of the page.
• Center the words REFERENCES CITED
• Add a page break after REFERENCES CITED
• Start all references on the next page. You will not include a title at the top of this page.
• References should be single spaced with a double space between references.
• If a reference goes on to the second line, a word hanging indentation should be present on the second line. You’ll do this by putting your cursor in front of the first word on the second line and hitting command+t or control+t on your keyboard.

Appendices

Checklist:

• Put 180 pt spacing before the word APPENDICES. This word should appear almost in the middle of the page.
• Center the words APPENDICES.
• Add a page break after APPENDICES.
• Within the document, all appendices appear in alphabetical order.
• On a separate page, put 180 pt spacing before the words APPENDIX A. Be sure to underline APPENDIX A. You’ll do this for all Appendix XYZ.
• Add an APPENDIX TITLE using triple spacing below APPENDIX A.
• Add a page break after the appendix title.
• The next page(s) should contain the content for Appendix A.
• Add a page break after the content.
• You’ll follow the same steps for all appendices.

Parenthetical and In-Text Citations

Video Explanation

APA 7 Resources to help in this section:

• MSU Citations Style Guide
• 17 Most Notable Changes - APA 7th edition (page)
• 17 Most Notable Changes – APA 7^th edition (video)
• Reference checker (run this when you’re close to being done with your paper)

Examples:

• One Author
  • First citation (FC) in-text citation: Walker (2007)
  • FC and subsequent parenthetical citations: (Walker, 2007)
• Two Authors
  • FC in-text: Walker and Allen (2004)
  • FC and subsequent parenthetical citations: (Walker & Allen, 2004)
• Three or More Authors
  • FC in-text: Bradley et al. (1999)
  • SC in-text: Bradley et al. (1999)
  • FC Parenthetical (Bradley et al., 1999)
  • SC Parenthetical (Bradley et al., 1999)

Abbreviations

Video Explanation

Checklist:

• Abbreviations are introduced in each new chapter.
• Abbreviations match the actual abbreviation for the words.

Accessibility Check

Video Explanation

Resources:

• Accessibility for Electronic Theses and Dissertations at MSU (Video, Reading)
• Adding alternative text to figures and images (Video)

Checklist:

• No accessibility issues (Review > Check Accessibility)

Focus Question/Focus Statement

Video Explanation

Template:

• My focus question was, [Insert focus question]; no quotation marks
• Indented – My sub-questions include the following:
• 1. [Insert sub-question]
• 2. [Insert sub-question]