General recommendations:
▪Always start the table of contents on a right page. ▪Use the same basic page settings as for body pages (see Body page layout), such as page margins, headers, and footers. If you have a running header, have it say “Contents” on all pages of the table of contents. You can also omit a running header here because readers can easily identify the table of contents just by its appearance. ▪Use only one text column. A two-column layout may only be appropriate if you also use a multi-column layout within the document or if you need to fit the whole table of contents onto a single page. ▪If your document will be translated into foreign languages: Bear in mind that headings may be longer in other languages. ▪Name the table of contents just Contents. Avoid the verbose form Table of Contents. ▪Don’t include an entry for the table of contents within the table of contents. Visualizing structure:
▪Clearly visualize the hierarchical structure of the document. ▪Use different font sizes, but avoid using more than two. ▪Use a font size and line spacing that allow a sufficient number of entries on one page. Readers should be able to grasp the document’s structure immediately. For the lowest-level entries, use the same font size as for body text. ▪Use space before and space after top-level headings to emphasize their importance. ▪Make top-level headings bold. ▪If you use a particular color for heading paragraph styles (see Heading paragraph styles), use this same color also in the table of contents. ▪Optionally, you can add a fine line above or below top-level headings to emphasize the beginning of a new section. ▪Make low-level headings gray or italic. Chapter numbers:
If your headings include chapter numbers, also show these numbers in the table of contents. (However, in general it’s better not to use chapter numbers at all; see Heading paragraph styles.)
Guides:
If your text column is wide and the headings are short, the reader’s eyes must bridge a long distance between the end of a listed heading and the corresponding page number. Many readers slip into a wrong line then and end up on a wrong page. To prevent this from happening, consider adding a fine line or a series of dots as a visual guide.
Don’t start the dots immediately after the last letter of the heading, but first add about 2 or 3 space characters. Add the same amount of space or even a little bit more between the end of the guide and the page number.
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