OmniDocHow to format a paper: from formatting requirements to operating steps
Paper formatting usually follows the steps of "reading specifications, creating styles, applying, completing, and checking". This article starts with the format requirements, gives a step-by-step method to complete paper layout in a Word-compatible editor, and explains how to use AI-assisted layout.
Key points of this article
- First compile the formatting specifications of the school or journal into a list, listing the requirements for fonts, title levels, page margins, headers and page numbers, etc., and then start typesetting.
- Use title styles to distinguish chapters, and set styles for text, tables, and references separately, which is less messy than manually adjusting paragraph by paragraph.
- Table of contents, page numbers, and chart numbers should be generated using automatic functions, and there is no need to modify them one by one when adding or deleting content later.
- AI can help organize the format list or check the structure, but the formatting results need to be opened and checked by the school itself, and shall be subject to school regulations.
If you are preparing a graduation thesis or journal submission, what takes time is often not the writing itself, but arranging the content into a format that meets the requirements. Fonts, title levels, page margins, header page numbers, chart numbers, everything must be compared to the standards, and if there are any omissions, they will have to be reworked.
This article is written for students and researchers who need to format their own papers. After reading, you can get a general process: first organize the formatting requirements into a list, then use styles to set them uniformly, and finally finish with a table of contents, numbering and checklist. The operations in this article are completed in OmniDoc's UniDoc web editor, but the ideas are applicable to any word processing software that supports styles.
How to format a paper? One sentence conclusion
The core of paper layout is "set it in one place and the whole text will take effect". Determine the formatting basis first, and then write the formatting into the style. The main text and title will not be inconsistent due to manual adjustment paragraph by paragraph. The table below shows what to do in different situations.
| your situation | Recommended practices | reason |
|---|---|---|
| The school has a unified template | Use the template directly and only replace the content | The template already contains margins, headers and styles, making errors less likely |
| Only text format requirements, no templates | Create a new document, first set the style according to the specifications and then write the text | The style is unified, and subsequent modifications only need to change one place |
| The content has been written | First organize the chapter structure, and then apply the corresponding style to each paragraph | Avoid adjusting fonts and line spacing paragraph by paragraph |
| Want to use AI assistance | Let AI sort out the formatting list, and typesetting is still done in the editor | Each setting can be confirmed according to the specifications |
| Some text needs to be changed after typesetting | After modification, check the layout page by page and then save it. | The addition or deletion of text can easily affect the page number and table of contents. |
Before you start: Confirm these points first
Spending ten minutes confirming the following things before starting can avoid most rework.
- Which copy is the format based on? School regulations, departmental supplementary requirements and journal submission instructions may be inconsistent, and the submission to whom shall prevail. Priority is given to the original text of the regulations issued by the school's graduate school or academic affairs department.
- Whether Chinese and English fonts are specified separately. The fonts for Chinese text, English and numbers are often set separately. If the specification only states one font, ask whether it includes English and numbers. Otherwise, there will be inconsistencies in the mix of Chinese and English.
- There are several levels of title hierarchy. Usually divided into three to four levels: chapter, section, and subsection. The number of levels determines how many title styles you want to create, and also determines to which level the table of contents can be displayed.
- Whether to divide into sections. The page numbering rules for cover, abstract, table of contents, and main text are often different. For example, Roman numerals are used in the front part and the main text starts from 1. If sections are needed, the location of the sections must be planned in advance.
- Whether to allow AI assistance. Requirements for using AI vary between schools and journals. The boundaries between typesetting assistance and content writing should also be confirmed in advance, and your own revision records should be kept.
Steps to format a paper in OmniDoc
The following steps take the UniDoc web page editor (app.unidoc.top) as an example. The idea is the same as that of other word processing software.
- Compile the format list. Write the specifications into a table item by item, including font, font size, line spacing, paragraph spacing before and after paragraphs, page margins, header page numbers, title levels, table captions, and reference formats. The checklist is the basis for checking each subsequent step.
- Create a new or import document. Create a new document in app.unidoc.top, or import an existing Word file. UniDoc supports Word-compatible editing. Read it through after opening it to make sure that the text, formulas and tables are not lost.
- Set the title style. Create styles for first-, second-, and third-level titles, and write fonts, paragraph spacing, and numbering methods. After that, each chapter title only needs to be selected and the corresponding style applied.
- Set the text style. The text font, font size, line spacing, and first line indentation are all written into the text style, and it is applied uniformly to all paragraphs. Chinese and English fonts must be set separately.
- Process charts, formulas and references. Add captions to figures and tables to ensure continuous numbering; formulas remain editable to facilitate subsequent modifications; references are formatted according to specifications.
- Set header page number and section. Insert sections between the cover, abstract, table of contents, and text, set the starting page number and header content respectively, and confirm that the rules of each section do not affect each other.
- Generate directory. The table of contents is automatically generated based on the heading style. All chapters will be generated after they are finalized. If the content changes later, please remember to update the table of contents.
If the final submission is a PDF, it should be converted after all modifications are completed; if you still need to modify paragraph text on the PDF, you can use the PDF editor on the desktop client and check the layout page by page after the modification is completed.
Check each item after completion
Completion of typesetting does not mean it is ready for submission. The checklist below can help you identify common problems.
| Check items | How to see | What to do if there is a problem |
|---|---|---|
| Title level | Check the navigation or table of contents preview to see if the chapters correspond layer by layer. | Change the mistakenly set title back to text style, and then update the table of contents |
| Font size line spacing | Randomly flip through a few pages of text and compare whether they are consistent. | Return to the main text and modify it uniformly, not paragraph by paragraph. |
| Page numbers and sections | Check whether the page numbers on the cover, abstract, and text start and end according to the specifications | Reset page number start at section |
| Figure numbers and references | Check whether the numbers are consecutive and whether the text references correspond | Update captions and cross-references after adding or deleting figures |
| Formulas and tables | Confirm that the formula is editable and the table is not misaligned across pages. | Rearrange the paragraph and adjust the table width if necessary |
| References | Compare the citations in the text and check the author, year, and journal item by item. | Complete missing information, machine-generated entries require manual verification |
| Character content | If you have used translation or OCR, check important content paragraph by paragraph | Fix mistranslations or incorrectly recognized words |
📊 Core comparison
The three common methods of paper layout each have applicable scenarios and can be used in combination according to the situation.
| method | Suitable | Notice |
|---|---|---|
| Manual setting step by step | The article is very short and only one or two formatting changes have been made. | When there are many paragraphs, it is easy to be inconsistent and difficult to unify later. |
| Style application | Most dissertations and journal manuscripts | It takes time to create the style in the early stage, but it takes less effort to modify it later. |
| AI-assisted organizing | Not familiar with the specifications and need to sort out the list quickly | The format given by the general chatbot may not meet the school requirements; the AI assistant that supports MCP can call OmniDoc to create or edit Word files, but you still need to open the file yourself to check |
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What is the difference between the formatting of Chinese papers and English papers?
Chinese papers usually have Chinese fonts, English fonts, and digital fonts set separately, and the font size rules for titles and main text are also often different. English manuscripts pay more attention to reference format and paragraph spacing. Either way, the rules should be written into the style rather than being adjusted piece by piece.
2. The format is messed up after typesetting, how to change it?
First check whether any paragraphs have been manually changed in font or line spacing. This type of direct formatting will override the style. Clear manual formatting and apply the corresponding style instead. Section breaks and page numbering are also often the cause and should be checked section by section.
3. What should I do if the table of contents page number does not match the main text?
The table of contents is generated based on the title, and the table of contents needs to be updated after the content is changed. If the overall page number is offset, it is probably because the section or page number starting point in the leading part is set incorrectly. Just go back to the section and reset it.
4. Can AI be used for paper layout?
Whether the use of AI assistance is allowed should be subject to the requirements of the school and the journal. Even if it is allowed, it is recommended to use AI in auxiliary links such as organizing format lists and checking structures, and to keep your own modification records. Important content should be confirmed in person.
📝 Summary
The key to paper layout is to first understand the specifications, then use styles to unify the entire text at once, and finally finish with a table of contents, numbering, and checklist. Following the steps in this article will not only save time on rework, but also make the manuscript more secure when submitted.
