When creating a table of contents in an APA, MLA, or Turabian paper, PERRLA uses Word's built-in table of contents function. You can view the instructions for adding a table of contents to your PERRLA paper here: Adding a Table of Contents (Add-in).
The table of contents will be formatted with double line spacing, showing all five heading levels, in Times New Roman 12. While there is no required table of contents format in APA, MLA, or Turabian, this format is widely accepted since it flows well with the rest of the paper.
There may be times when you need to change the formatting in the table of contents. Since PERRLA uses Word's built-in TOC function, there isn't a PERRLA setting for this – but you can make any changes you'd like through Word itself.
Word for Web (the version of Word accessed in a web browser) does not allow users to customize the table of contents style. The instructions below are only available in the desktop version of Microsoft Word.
These instructions cover the basics, though Word has a number of additional formatting possibilities for the table of contents. They assume you have already added a table of contents using PERRLA.
Note: Once you have made changes to your table of contents using Word, there is no quick way to revert to the default PERRLA table of contents format. You will have to manually change each setting back. Applying an entirely new Word table of contents template cannot be undone.
Applying a Word table of contents template
Word has a number of built-in table of contents templates you can choose from. To apply one to your PERRLA-created table of contents:
- Highlight your table of contents.
- Click Word's References tab.
- Click the Table of Contents button.
- Click the template you'd like to apply.
The table of contents will be updated to reflect the template you chose.
Changing which heading levels appear in the TOC
By default, your table of contents includes heading levels 1 through 5. If you need to show fewer heading levels, follow these steps:
- Highlight your table of contents.
- Click Word's References tab.
- Choose Custom Table of Contents...
-
Find Show levels and change the number to the highest heading level you want to display.
For example, to show headings 1 through 3, change this number to 3. To show only headings 1 and 2, change it to 2. - Click OK.
- Click Yes on the Replace this table of contents? screen.
The table of contents will be updated to include the heading levels you selected.
Customize other aspects of the TOC
All TOC customizations are done from the Table of Contents screen, accessed by clicking Custom Table of Contents... as described above.
Overview of available options:
-
Show page numbers
Page numbers appear in the table of contents by default. Uncheck this box to remove them. -
Right align page numbers
Page numbers are right-aligned by default. Unchecking this box places them immediately to the right of each TOC entry. -
Use hyperlinks instead of page numbers
By default, clicking a TOC entry takes you to that section in the paper. Uncheck this box to disable that feature. -
Tab leader
By default, TOC entries are followed by dots (....) leading to the page number. You can change this using the dropdown next to this option. -
Formats
The default option is "Format template." You can choose any other option and preview it in the window to the right.
Click OK to apply any changes.
The Modify... and Options... buttons are used for more advanced formatting – for example, changing the font, indentation, or line spacing of specific heading levels. The Microsoft help articles below cover these in more detail:
Format or customize a table of contents
Using Word's functions to customize the table of contents can get very in-depth, but you should be able to accomplish almost any formatting you need.