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Parts of a Publication

• Appropriate Sequence
  
• Table of Contents
  
• Footnotes
  
• Illustrations and Captions
  Placement and Numbering
  Punctuation
  Credit Lines and Permission
  
• Bibliography
  
• Index

The following sections offer brief suggestions for handling parts of a publication other than the text. The most important point to remember is to be consistent:
decide how you will deal with captions, footnotes, etc., and then stick to that format throughout the publication.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Make sure that the table of contents accurately reflects the organization of the publication. Place it as close as possible to the beginning of the publication so the reader won’t have to search for it. (It is now acceptable for the foreword, preface, acknowledgments, and other introductory material that has traditionally preceded the table of contents to follow it if such an arrangement is judged useful to the reader.) Include in the table of contents only those sections that follow it; preliminary material that precedes the table is not listed in it.

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FOOTNOTES

Notes documenting references in the text are called footnotes if they appear at the bottom of the pages of text and notes if they appear at the end of each chapter or of the entire text. If the references expand upon the text, place them on the text pages if possible.

1. Use numbers in consecutive order to designate footnotes (start over with number 1 at the beginning of each new chapter). Footnote numbers should be set in superscript; do not enclose them in parentheses or use punctuation with them.
   
   
2. Wherever possible, place the footnote number at the end of a sentence, or at least at the end of a clause, so it is not distracting to the reader. Footnote numbers follow any punctuation other than a dash.
   
   

   Emily Dickinson’s injunction to“tell all the truth but tell it slant”1—a characteristically cryptic Dickinsonian remark—is taken to heart by the poet herself in her verses about death.2

   
   
3. A footnote may be carried over to the bottom of the following page. It should be broken midsentence to alert the reader to the continuation.
   
   
4. Treat footnotes to tables, charts, or illustrations as a separate sequence, using symbols or letters rather than numbers.
   

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ILLUSTRATIONS AND CAPTIONS

Placement and Numbering

1. Place an illustration as close as possible to the first text reference to it. Never insert an illustration before it is referred to in the text.
   
   
2. If there are many illustrations, number them and refer to them by number within the text. Avoid referring to an illustration as the figure (illustration, photograph) above or the figure reproduced on this page.
   
   
3. Number illustrations with Arabic numerals. Even when illustrations are printed side by side and are to be compared, number them separately (Figures 37 and 38, not Figures 37a and 37b).

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Punctuation

1. Do not use a period after a headline-style caption.
   
   

   Research team studies microbes

   
   
2. Use end-of-sentence punctuation after a caption that is a statement or that includes one or more sentences.
   

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1. When using an illustration (drawing, chart, diagram, photograph) that is not the author’s, determine whether a credit line is required. The person who provides an illustration often asks that a credit line be used; the illustration itself sometimes bears a note indicating that credit must be given. Illustrations provided by the author require no credit line, although it is not inappropriate to use one if there is some reason for doing so.
   
   
2. You must obtain formal permission from the copyright holder before using any copyrighted material. This applies both to unpublished work protected by common law copyright and to published work protected by statutory copyright.
   
   
3. You may reproduce without permission illustrations from works that are in the public domain (works that were never copyrighted or works for which the copyright has expired). For the reader’s sake, it is a good idea to include a credit line with such illustrations.
   
   
4. Forms of credit lines vary with the kinds of illustrations and their copyright status. A copyright holder may demand a particular form of credit line. Aside from such requirements, follow a consistent format for credit lines of a given kind. Use the word courtesy in a credit line only if the material was obtained free and there is no legal requirement for giving credit.
   
   
5. Place a credit line parallel to the lower edge of an illustration or vertically along the side (most appropriate for photographs). Do not use end punctuation when a credit line appears on a line by itself. Credit lines may also be placed at the ends of captions or incorporated into the caption copy.
   

The University Libraries Copyright Information and Education Web site is dedicated to helping faculty and staff understand the complexities of copyright law. Please visit the site to familiarize yourself with the basics of copyright laws and permissions. If you know you need a permission to use copyrighted materials for your work, the University's Copyright Permissions Center is available to help you through that process.

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1. There is no single correct format for a bibliography; the style of an influential journal in the field concerned is a good model to follow. Consistency is the major goal in editing a bibliography, so decide on a format and follow it throughout.
   
   
2. Include the following items in a bibliography:
   
   

   Book	Article in a periodical
   Name of author(s), editor(s), or institution responsible Full title, including subtitle Series (if any) Volume number Edition (if not the original) City of publication Publisher’s name (sometimes omitted) Date of publication	Name of author Title (sometimes omitted in scientific bibliographies) Name of periodical Volume number or date or both Pages

   
   
3. Physical facts about a work—dimensions, number of pages, number of tables, etc.—are rarely included in a bibliography.
   
   
4. In listing publishers’ names, Inc. and Ltd. are usually omitted and Company is abbreviated to Co. If used consistently, the ampersand (&) is permissible. It is also permissible to shorten the publisher’s name further if it is done consistently.
   

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1. Include proper names as well as general subjects as entries in an index. A simple entry consists of a heading and page number(s); separate all elements with commas.
   
   

   Lincoln, Abraham, 34–36, 121–24, 166 Slavery, 18–19, 57, 112–19

   
   
2. Include subheadings with corresponding page numbers for more complex entries. Alphabetize subentries or arrange them in some other logical order (e.g., chronological or numerical). Separate them from the heading and from one another with semicolons.
   
   

   Poetry, 54–57, 101, 113–15; authors of, 10–14, 32; setting in type, 222; quoting from, 72–74, 134–36

   
   
3. Use one of the two standard index formats.
   
   

   	Run-in format Thesis, 16; change in title, 16; language, 16; preparation, 17;
   		readers,18; registration, 17
   	Indented format
   	Thesis, 16
   		change in title, 16 language, 16 preparation, 17 readers, 18 registration, 17

   
   
4. Every subheading must be logically related to the heading, and the heading and subheading should make sense when read together.
   
   
5. There are two kinds of cross-references: See and See also. Use a See also reference to guide the reader to further information. Use a See reference to guide the reader to the original information under the following circumstances:
   
   Possible confusion over choice of major word.
   
   

   Cars. See Automobiles

   
   Subject a subentry of another subject
   
   

   Collie. See Dogs, collie

   
   Subject alphabetized under another letter
   
   

   Institute of Technology. See Technology, Institute of

   
   Subject listed under real or original name rather than under a pseudonym, married name, or other changed form
   
   

   	Saki. See Munro, H. H
   	Twain, Mark. See Clemens, Samuel

   
   Subject a popular or shortened version of the full form
   
   

   PCBs. See Polychlorinated biphenyls

   
   

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