How to Build a Table of Contents in Word
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Overview:
• A Table of Contents (TOC) is a list of all of the headings and sub-headings in a legal document that
notes the page numbers on which each heading appears.
• To create a TOC, you must mark each of your headings with the appropriate heading style. Once all
headings have been “marked” and a TOC has been created, Microsoft Word will generate the contents
of the TOC in the proper order.
Instructions:
1. Manually type “Table of Contents” directly above where you’d like to insert the TOC.
2. Place your cursor where you would like to insert the TOC and go to Insert > Index and Tables > Table
of Contents. Make sure that “Show page numbers” and “Right align page numbers” are both checked
(see the diagram below).
3. If you wish to change the font and font size of the TOC, click “Modify…” Otherwise, click “OK.”
4. Identify headings: Now that you’ve told Word where to place the TOC, the next step is to identify the
contents of the TOC. To do so, highlight the text of the first major heading you wish to include in your
TOC. Once highlighted, navigate to the Home tab, and apply Heading 1 style by clicking on Heading 1.
5. For all major headings in the document (e.g. Statement of the Issues, Statement of the Case, Statement
of the Facts, Argument, Conclusion), repeat the above process of applying Heading 1.
6. In the same way, apply Heading 2 style to all point-headings (e.g. the first section within the Argument
section), Heading 3 style to all sub-point-headings, and so on. Note: Microsoft Word defaults to
showing only three levels of headings. If your TOC has more than three levels of headings, you will
need to increase the number of levels shown. To do so, go to the TOC tab within Index and Tables.
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Although differences should be slight, these instructions were based off of Microsoft Word for Mac 2011.