Thesis Formatting FAQ

How does your service work?

Our thesis formatting page provides a full description of our service – what we need from you to get started, our pricing mechanism, the steps we take to format your thesis, exactly what you receive back and a selection of examples and customer testimonials.

What will I receive back?

Here at Wordzworth we have a team of Microsoft Office experts using Windows PCs. We will return your file as an editable .doc file that you can open with any version from Word 2000 to Word 2010. If you are using Word for Mac please see the note in the Reviewing your Thesis section below.

Can you meet any guidelines?

We have yet to receive any instructions that we could not meet perfectly. If sending us a weblink or pdf please indicate which pages or sections are applicable to this job. In cases where instructions are particularly long or complex there may be an additional charge for the time involved to fully digest them and to set up extremely bespoke styles. If this charge applies it will be clearly outlined in your quotation.

Do you format to MLA or APA standards?

Absolutely. We have significant experience formatting to both of these standards. Please note that when asked to comply with APA or MLA standards we will format to the most recent edition (APA - Sixth Edition, MLA - Seventh Edition) unless otherwise specified. If you have APA or MLA based university guidelines these will typically follow the APA or MLA rulings but with more specific instructions for laying out some of the front matter.

Can you restyle diagrams and spreadsheets?

We can and often do recreate or restyle diagrams and spreadsheets for our customers so they fit more with the style and color scheme of the overall thesis. Our prices for this service vary depending on what you require – recoloring an item, restyling it or completely recreating it. So simply provide us with everything you have and tell us what you are looking to achieve. Description text will usually be cropped out of images and inserted as a proper caption underneath each figure.

How should I open my file for review?

Save down and open the file. Do not double click to open directly from an email as this will display it in Read Only mode and it will look entirely different.

Can you make my APA thesis look nicer?

An APA style document is designed to be easy, clear and consistent to read. It is however very restrictive and does not however always lend itself to presenting a thesis in the most attractive manner. We will always be careful to ensure your thesis conforms to APA standards but many methods which would often be used to improve the flow of a thesis such as page balancing, compression, keeping items together, minimising blank extra spacing, styling headings etc are all prohibited.

How will my document look in Word for Mac?

Word on Mac is basically Word for Windows re-compiled to run on the Mac. Whilst there are still minor differences between Word on both platforms these are being reduced over time and most Word documents can be opened on a Mac without problem. However, currently font embedding, ActiveX form features and digital signatures are not supported. In addition, Macs handle print drivers differently which can cause minor discrepancies with pagination. Please be aware that if your document has been very carefully balanced we cannot guarantee it will appear the same on a Mac.

What is your changes policy?

Once your thesis is formatted, it is sent to you for review. Should you find any errors at this stage they will fall into one of three categories: our errors, your errors and styling alterations.

Please note: Change requests must be submitted within one month.

Our Errors – Our experts format the majority of texts without issue. However, on occasion, particularly for complex texts it is possible for misinterpretation to occur. If you find certain elements of your manuscript such as numbering schemes or heading levels are incorrect – don’t worry. The thesis is now consistently styled and this is easy for us to amend. If you would like us to produce an extended table of contents showing your heading levels to aid you in marking which ones need changing, just let us know.

Your Errors – Formatted theses are often so much clearer that it is easier to suddenly spot your mistakes in the text. If you find you have made a few typos in your thesis and need them amended then this is typically not a problem. If however you wish to make a significant number of changes to a thesis we have already formatted then there will be an additional charge for this work. The time and price for this can be kept to a minimum if we send you a file to make your changes in. We then compare the updated document to your book file and make any necessary edits, regenerate the TOC, adjust and rebalance pages. Our minimum changes fee is $48 USD.

Styling Alterations – Once your thesis has been formatted every heading, list and paragraph is styled consistently. If you wish to change the way something looks (e.g. increase the spacing between bullets) one click will ripple this change through all sections of your thesis. So simply collect your styling changes together in a single email and we will happily make them free of charge. Please allow time for changes to be made.

How are breaks formatted?

We will generally style your document so that major headings begin on a new page, lists are kept together and we will try to keep tables from splitting in strange places as much as possible. Sometimes this can result in white space on preceding pages and some of our customers prefer this to be minimised. Just let us know and we can modify the setup of your document accordingly.

How does payment work?

Thanks to PayPal customers are able to make payments with any debit card, credit card or their PayPal account. These can be made in any currency, safely and securely without us ever needing to receive any of your details. When we return your document for review we will include a Pay Now link. Once you’re happy with your job, simply click the link and follow the instructions.

How should I make updates to my thesis?

Wordzworth produces consistent, final form documents for print or distribution. If you later decide to edit these you can be assured that the file you are starting with is as properly structured and stable as possible.

Whilst we cannot provide ongoing editing assistance for completed jobs, we have compiled a few useful tips to keep in mind when making any changes yourself. If you encounter any difficulty when editing your document, come back to us and we will always look to assist you for a reasonable fee. However, please be aware that if you have made substantial changes to your document we may need to undertake some significant reformatting.

Paragraph Styles – The most important thing to remember when entering new text is to use the paragraph styles we have set up for your document and avoid forcing space by repeatedly pressing enter or holding down the space bar. To view paragraph styles – click View | Task Pane | open the drop down panel | Styles and Formatting.

Page Balancing – In a finished form document we will use various techniques to ensure pages end in sensible places e.g. avoiding tables splitting, avoiding single lines on their own at the bottom of a page and keeping headings with the following paragraph. As a result you might find that a block of text will move together when you are making edits. To stop this – select text block | right click | Paragraph | Line and Page Breaks | untick these settings.

Figures – In order to keep figures stable, clear and easy to work with they will typically be inserted as inline objects styled with the Figure paragraph style. In order to remove unwanted detail from images they may be cropped. To paste in a new figure – Edit | Paste Special | Picture (Enhanced Metafile). To format a new figure – Right click on inserted image | Format Object | Layout | In Line with Text. To style a new figure – Select the Image | open the styles and formatting toolbar | click the Figure style. To crop/uncrop – Select Image | Open the picture toolbar | Select crop tool | drag image corners in or out.

Section Breaks – We will always avoid using page breaks in your document where possible. Section breaks may be used before the ends of chapters, or before and after a group of landscape pages. It is best to be aware of where these are located in order to avoid accidentally deleting them. To see section breaks – Standard Toolbar | Show/Hide paragraph marks – Section breaks shown as a double row of dotted lines.

Updating Contents Tables – Once your edits are complete you will want to update the page numbers in your contents tables. To update a TOC – Right click inside the table | Update field | Update entire table. Repeat for List of Figures and List of Tables.

Numbering Schemes – Numbering schemes are one of the most well known sources of document corruption. If you wish to make significant changes to the styling of your numbering schemes, please contact us.