Chicago Style (17th & 18th Ed.) Thesis & Dissertation Formatting in Word (2026)

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS)—alongside Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (9th Edition)—is the definitive editorial standard for doctoral and postgraduate research across History, Philosophy, Art History, Musicology, Religion, and qualitative Social Sciences.

Yet doctoral candidates frequently run into severe formatting roadblocks when submitting their manuscript to their university's Graduate School or Thesis Office. Formatting a dissertation strictly according to textbook Chicago guidelines without accommodating graduate division binding regulations guarantees formatting rejection.

The reason: CMOS is published for commercial book publishers and university presses. Graduate schools have statutory archival mandates: 1.5-inch physical binding gutters, formal certification sheets, specific preliminary page sequences, and dual Roman/Arabic pagination.

This tutorial provides an exhaustive, step-by-step breakdown of how to configure Microsoft Word for Chicago and Turabian dissertation formatting—reconciling official style manuals with institutional thesis reality.

1. Institutional Override: CMOS Standard vs. Graduate School Reality

Before modifying Word templates, establish authority: your university's Graduate School or Thesis Office handbook strictly supersedes general CMOS rules.

2. Page Setup & Archival Binding Margins in Word

A 1.0-inch left margin causes text to disappear into the binding crease when your thesis is printed and hardcover-bound or microfilmed for ProQuest/library archives.

1. In Word, navigate to the Layout tab on the ribbon (or Format > Document > Margins on macOS).
2. Click Margins, then select Custom Margins....
3. Configure your dimensions:
   • Top Margin: 1.0 in (2.54 cm / 1,440 dxa)
   • Bottom Margin: 1.0 in (2.54 cm / 1,440 dxa)
   • Right Margin: 1.0 in (2.54 cm / 1,440 dxa)
   • Left Margin: 1.5 in (3.81 cm / 2,160 dxa) — or set Left to 1.0 in with a 0.5 in Gutter.
4. Under Apply to:, choose Whole document, and click OK.

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Figure 1: Microsoft Word Document Margins dialog showing binding gutter and margin dimensionsClose

Figure 1: Adjust page margins (Layout > Margins > Custom Margins) to apply a 1.5-inch left binding margin for archival library binding.

3. Turabian Title Page Architecture

Turabian Chapter A.1 provides the standard doctoral title page layout, but ensure you insert your institution's exact degree conferral wording:

• Title Block: Positioned approximately 2.0 inches (5.08 cm) below the top margin. Centered, Title Case or Full Capitals, bold, double-spaced if multi-line.
• Degree Statement: Positioned approximately halfway down the page:
  A Dissertation Submitted to
  The Faculty of the Division of the Humanities
  In Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
  Department of History
• Author & Graduation Date: Placed approximately 1.5 inches above the bottom margin:
  By [Author Full Name]
  [City, State / Country]
  [Month, Year of Degree Conferral]

4. Dual Pagination: Lowercase Roman vs. Arabic Numerals

Chicago dissertations require strict multi-section pagination:

• Front Matter (Title, Abstract, Dedication, Acknowledgements, TOC, Lists of Tables/Figures): Lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv...), with the Title Page counting as page i but suppressing the printed number.
• Body Text (Chapter 1 through Bibliography): Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3...) starting at 1 on the first page of Chapter 1.

Configuring the Section Break in Word:

1. Place your cursor at the absolute end of your preliminary pages (e.g., after the List of Figures).
2. Go to Layout > Breaks > Section Breaks > Next Page.
3. Double-click the header of Chapter 1 (page 1 of Section 2).
4. In the Header & Footer ribbon tab, click Link to Previous to turn it OFF.
5. In Section 1 (Front Matter), click Page Number > Format Page Numbers.... Select i, ii, iii..., set Start at: i, and enable Different First Page to hide the number on the Title Page.
6. In Section 2 (Body), click Page Number > Format Page Numbers.... Select 1, 2, 3..., and set Start at: 1.

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Figure 2: Microsoft Word Page Number Format dialog showing lowercase Roman numerals selected for preliminary pagesClose

Figure 2: Set preliminary front-matter numbering to lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii...) using Word's Page Number Format dialog.

5. Footnote Typography in Microsoft Word

In the Chicago Notes & Bibliography system, footnotes are placed at the bottom of the page where the reference occurs. Word's default footnote styling often violates graduate guidelines:

• Font Size: Set to 10 pt (two points smaller than the 12 pt body text).
• Line Spacing: Single-spaced within each individual note.
• Spacing Between Notes: A blank line (or 6 pt to 12 pt space-after) between separate notes.
• Indentation: The first line of each note must be indented 0.5 in (1.27 cm / 720 dxa), matching body paragraphs. Subsequent lines are flush left.
• Footnote Numbering: Superscript Arabic numbers in the text; superscript or regular numbers followed by a period in the note (Word defaults to superscript).

How to Edit Word's Footnote Style Permanently:

1. Open the Styles Pane on the Home tab.
2. Locate Footnote Text, click the dropdown arrow, and select Modify Style....
3. Change font size to 10 pt and line spacing to Single.
4. Click Format > Paragraph: set Special to First line by 0.5 in, and set Spacing After to 6 pt.

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Figure 3: Microsoft Word Footnote and Endnote Options dialog showing continuous numbering and bottom of page placementClose

Figure 3: Configure footnote layout options (Insert > Footnote > Options) to enforce bottom-of-page placement and continuous numbering.

6. Block Quotations (Extracts) in Chicago Style

Under CMOS 17th §13.10 and CMOS 18th standards, prose quotations of 100 words or more (or spanning 5 or more lines of text) must be formatted as an indented block quote:

• Indentation: Indent the entire block 0.5 in (1.27 cm) from the left margin. Leave the right margin flush with body text.
• Line Spacing: Single-spaced (unlike the double-spaced body text).
• Paragraph Clearance: Leave one double-space blank line before and after the extract.
• Quotation Marks: Do not enclose the block in quotation marks. Internal quotes retain their original marks.
• Citation Placement: In Notes & Bibliography, place the footnote number at the end of the extract after the terminal punctuation.

7. The 5-Level Turabian Heading Hierarchy in Word Styles

Turabian §A.2 prescribes a systematic 5-level heading hierarchy. Modifying Word's built-in heading styles ensures your Table of Contents generates automatically without broken page links:

8. Chicago 3-Line Academic Tables in Word

Chicago style tables follow clean, professional typesetting principles:

• No Vertical Rules: Never include vertical interior or border gridlines.
• Three Horizontal Rules: One rule above the column headers, one rule below the column headers, and one rule at the bottom of the data.
• Preventing Page Break Splits: Highlight your table, right-click > Table Properties > Row tab, and uncheck Allow row to break across pages (OpenXML <w:cantSplit/>). Check Repeat as header row at the top of each page (<w:tblHeader/>).

9. Pre-Submission Chicago Dissertation Checklist

Looking for specific university thesis requirements? Explore our index of 150+ university dissertation guidelines, or read our tutorial on formatting 3-line tables in Word.