Thesis Templates: What is a template? & Why use the Library's Word template?

All documents created in Word are based on the Normal template, unless the user chooses an alternate template upon which to base a document. 

A template contains styles which help you to format your document consistently, and Word's default styles are also available so you can make use of Word's functionality.

The thesis template-based file has been designed specifically to format your thesis. It holds:

• layout-related settings (such as margins, headers and footers, page orientation, section breaks, placement of footnotes, etc.)
• program-related functionality (such as the ability to generate a Table of Contents, inserting footnotes/endnotes, page numbering, etc.) and
• styles which, when applied to paragraphs, gives your document it's whitespace, makes its formatting consistent, and holds everything in the document in place.

Default styles have been reformatted and new styles have been added so you can format every single paragraph in your thesis (such as  headings, blockquotes, references, etc.) simply by applying a style to each paragraph.  The styles hold:

1. character formatting (font, fontsize, bold, italics, etc.),
2. paragraph formatting (indentation, line spacing, spacing before and after paragraphs, page break before paragraphs, keeping lines together on the same page, keeping a paragraph with the next paragraph, etc.),

which give you the ability:

1. to easily and consistently format your thesis and
2. to auto-generate a Table of Contents (ToC), List of Tables (LoT), List of Figures (LoF), List of Illustrations, List of Photos, List of Schemes, etc.

When converting to PDF the layout can shift—using a well-developed template with specific-purpose styles prevents this from happening—so keep in mind that:

• it is best to use styles to format every paragraph in your document;
• it is best to use manual page breaks (only when absolutely necessary) rather than repeatedly pressing [Enter] to move figures, tables, text, etc., down to the next page;
• after converting, it is best to check all the requirements/details listed on the Thesis Assistance homepage (http://www.lib.sfu.ca/theses) and Step 1 in the 3-Steps to Submission; 
• it is also a good idea to check that the headings and the corresponding page numbers in the ToC, LoT, and LoF match the headings and the pages on which they reside in the body of your document.

How do I get a template?