\documentstyle[fullsize,11pt]{article}
\newcommand{\BS}[1]{$\backslash${\tt #1}}
\title{Using \LaTeX\ to Write Your Thesis\\ 
       at the University of Colorado}
\author{Kurt Olender}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
Apart from the content, writing your thesis can be a frustrating
experience.  The Graduate School publishes very specific guidelines as
to what the thesis document must look like[2, 3].  Getting your local
word processor to produce a document in exactly that formatting style
is not always an easy task.  To assist you, a thesis document style has
been designed for use with \LaTeX\ that will format your Masters' or
Doctoral thesis according to the guidelines.

This article describes how to use the commands that are specific to the
thesis document style and gives a few tips on formatting
problems that \LaTeX\ cannot handle.  For a description of \LaTeX\ 
itself, see Leslie Lamport's manual[1]. 

\section{Preamble.} 
Before you begin the actual document, there is certain
information that you must define so the title page, and so on, can
be properly printed.  This section lists the commands you should
insert before the begin\{document\} command.
Some of this information is optional.  If so, the default
value listed.  If there is no default value, the information is required.
\begin{description}
\item[documentstyle]
You should use the document style, {\tt thesis}.
Options {\tt twoside}, {\tt twocolumn}, and {\tt titlepage}
do not work in the thesis. 

Options {\tt 11pt}, {\tt 12pt}, {\tt fleqn}, {\tt leqno}, and {\tt openbib} work as described
in the \LaTeX\ manual.

New options for the thesis are {\tt deepdecimal}, 
{\tt consecutivefigures}, and {\tt nodecimal}.   These specify how to 
number the chapters, sections, figures, tables and equations in your
document.  The default output style is to number chapters, sections and
subsections, not permit the nesting of sections below that and number
figures, equations, and tables within chapters (Figure 2.3).  Sections
produce a numbered side heading and subsections produce a numbered
indented in-line heading.  In the table of contents, sections and
subsections are indented at increasing levels.  You can use the 
subsubsection, paragraph, and subparagraph commands if you want, but
the effect will be the same as a subsection. The Graduate School frowns
on too deeply nested subsections and normally three levels is
sufficient.

If you really need more than three levels of sectioning (chapter,
section, subsection) you can use the {\tt deepdecimal} option.  This
will allow you to go down to the subparagraph level for six levels of
sectioning.  If you do this, then all sections produce numbered
side headings and are indented at the same level in the table of
contents.  Otherwise, you would quickly have no horizontal space
left on the page.  It looks a little strange, but that is what the 
Graduate School requires.

In either of these two cases, if you want to number your figures,
tables, and equations consecutively through the document 
(Figure 2), then use the {\tt consecutivefigures} option.  The 
Graduate School recommends the default method unless most of
the figures, tables, or equations are concentrated in one
or two chapters.

If you want only the chapters to be numbered, (the Graduate School's
``standard'' thesis) use the {\tt nodecimal} option.  This allows
3 levels of sectioning below the chapter level.  Sections have centered
headings, subsections have side headings, and subsubsections or below
have in-line, indented headings.  Figures, equations, and tables {\em
must} be numbered consecutively with this option so {\tt
consecutivefigures} need not be listed.

You should also note that this option has no effect on the numbering of
theorems and theorem-like environments (See the \LaTeX\ manual).  You
will have to ensure that the numbering you specify in the definition is
consistent with the numbering style you already have.  In general, the
{\em within} argument should be {\tt [chapter]} if you are numbering
within chapters and omitted if you are using consecutive numbering.
There are no regulations concerning how lemmas should be numbered
with respect to theorems, and so on.
\item[author]\{first middle\}\{last name\}
The name is split because the name must be written sometimes last name
first and sometimes in the normal order.
\item[title]
The title of your thesis.  You should not explicitly break it into
lines using the double backslash command ($\backslash\backslash$).  The title must be
printed in the document in two different ways and it is best to let
\LaTeX\ handle the formatting.  
\item[otherdegrees]
The other degrees you hold.  You {\em must} break the line between 
each successive degree as shown in the example.
\item[advisor]\{title\}\{name\}
These are separated because your advisor's name is sometimes printed 
with and sometimes without the title.  Correct titles are usually one of
Professor, Associate Professor, or Assistant Professor.
\item[reader]
The name of the second person who will sign your thesis.
\item[degree]\{long title\}\{short title\}
The long title is the degree written out (Doctor of Philosophy);
the short title is the abbreviation followed by the subject 
(Ph. D., Chemistry).  Again, the degree is printed in
both ways in different places in the thesis.  By default, 
\{Doctor of Philosophy\} \{Ph.\ D., Computer Science.\}
\item[dept]\{organization type\}\{organization name\}
Split because it is formatted differently on different pages and
because degrees are granted by various organizational levels within the 
university from college to program.  By default, \{Department of\}
\{Computer Science\}.  Examples: \{College of\} \{Music\}, 
\{Department of\} \{Physics\}.
\item[degreeyear]
The year you will receive your degree.  By default, the year
you run the document through \LaTeX.
\end{description}
\section{Preface pages.}
These are the commands that take the information provided in the
preamble and print the initial pages of the thesis.
\begin{description}
\item[titlepage]
Print the title page.
\item[approvalpage]
Print the approval signature page.
\item[abstractpage, shortabstractpage]
Print the header to the abstract page, without or with a page number.
Following this should come the actual text of your abstract.
\item[optional sections]
If you want a dedication or acknowledgements section, use the
{\tt chapter*} command or the {\tt shortchapter*}
command.  Following that the text of the section.
\item[tableofcontents, shorttableofcontents]
Print the table of contents without or with a page number.
\item[listoffigures, shortlistoffigures]
Print the list of figures without or with a page number.
\item[listoftables, shortlistoftables]
Print the list of tables without or with a page number.
\item[endpreface]
Signals the end of the preface section.  The major effect
is to reset the page numbering. 
\end{description}

\section{Differences from the report document style.}

After the preface section you may begin to insert the text of the
chapters. The {\em thesis} document style is similar to the {\em
report} style described in the \LaTeX\ manual.  This section describes
the changes that have been made to make the document conform to the
Graduate School specifications and gives some tips about formatting
problems that \LaTeX\ cannot handle.

\subsection{Line Spacing}
The text is automatically double-spaced except within a quotation,
quote, verse, table,  figure, footnote, or bibliography entry, where it
is single spaced.  If you need a new environment that must
be single-spaced, use the command \BS{singlespace} as the last
command in the the environment initialization section.  It should be
used only inside environments as it can have strange effects in other
places.  

\subsection{Quotations}
Graduate school rules state that quotations shorter than four (4) lines
should be included in-line rather than in a single-spaced, indented
quotation block.  The quote environment cannot tell how long the
argument text is.  You must decide whether to use the quote or 
quotation environments or just bracket the text with `` '' characters.

\subsection{Theorems and Theorem-like environments.}
As mentioned previously you must specify the proper numbering for
theorems and theorem-like environments when you define the new
environment.  The only changes made have been to conform to the
graduate school regulations.  Theorem-like environments are in roman
font instead of the italics of normal \LaTeX\ and the heading is
indented.

\subsection{Font Styles and Sizes.}

The default size, following the normal \LaTeX\ convention, is
10 point.  However, 10 point spaced out as far as the graduate
school requires looks strange.  11 or 12 point is probably a
better size.  

You may use any font style or size in a figure or table.  This includes
using very small characters (down to about 6 point, or \BS{tiny})
if necessary to fit a large table on one page.  Figures are supposed to
be diagrams or pictures and tables are usually some form of text, but
the Graduate School doesn't really care as long as you are consistent
in how they are used.  The only significant difference (to the Graduate
School) is that figures have the caption at the bottom and tables have
the caption at the top.  This is controlled solely by where you place
the \BS{caption} line.  It should go after the text in a figure and
before it in a table.  Also note that the caption must be in the normal
font regardless of the font size and style used in the table or
figure.  This is the default.  You may also use different sizes and
fonts in an appendix.  Italics are permitted for foreign words,
mathematical equations, and book titles.  I have informally also
discussed with people at the graduate school the use of the \BS{tt}
font for in-line text that is supposed to describe text input or output
from a computer.  It is definitely permissible in figures and tables,
and they indicated that it would also be permitted for in-line text if
it was always used consistently (e. g. always indicated computer input
and output, or text from a computer program, and so on).

\subsection{Chapter and section titles.}
While the chapter, appendix, and bibliography headings have been changed
to conform to the rules there are some aspects of titles that \LaTeX\ 
cannot properly handle automatically.  

One of these problems is the case of the characters in the section
titles.  Chapter titles will be automatically converted to uppercase as
required, but section titles will remain as you type them.  Centered or
side headings whether numbered or not should have all important words
capitalized.  In-line headings should have only the first word
capitalized and be followed by a period.

The second problem is with chapter and section titles that extend over
multiple lines.  The graduate school requires that headings more than
about 4 inches long be broken into multiple lines.  Letting
\LaTeX\ automatically do the line breaking will not work.   The lines
will be too long and will be double spaced.  The usual double
backslash or newline command will not work properly either.  The
lines will be the proper length, but will still be double spaced.  To
break a chapter or section heading manually, use the command 
\BS{breakheading} at the appropriate place.  This will cause both the title
and table of contents entry to be properly single spaced.

If you are using {\tt nodecimal} mode and have to break a side heading 
(i. e. subsection) use \BS{bkindheading} instead to break the 
line, cause single spacing and indent the next line of the heading the 
required amount.  In {\tt decimal} or {\tt deepdecimal} mode the 
proper indentation is automatically taken care of and \BS{breakheading} is sufficient.

These problems do not extend to the title of your thesis itself.  It
will be properly case converted when necessary and properly broken into
lines.  In fact, using \BS{breakheading} within the title of the
thesis itself will result in incorrect formatting.

\subsection{Emphasis.}
The Graduate School prefers underlining as a method of emphasizing text
in the thesis.  A new command \BS{ul} has been added; it is merely
a shorter name for the \BS{underline} command.  It does the
continuous underlining required by the specifications.  Boldface is
acceptable for as a replacement for underlining, but italics are
prohibited.  For this reason, the \BS{em} command has been
redefined to produce boldface rather than italics.  Please note that
the prohibition against italics is only against the use of italics as a
replacement for underlining.  It is acceptable to italicize foreign
words, book titles in bibliographies, biological species and
mathemathical formulas, among other uses.  Consult any good style
manual for a discussion of what text is normally italicized.

\subsection{Page numbering.}
The Graduate School has very specific regulations about which pages
should have the page number printed on them.  The title page,
approval page, and dedication never have a page number printed on
them (although they are counted). Any other major division of the
thesis longer than one page has the page number suppressed on the
first page.  Since \LaTeX\ cannot tell at the time the page number
is printed how long the section is, you have to tell it.  

The title page and approval page are handled automatically.  They
never have a number.  For other sections, if you begin the command
with {\tt short} (e. g. \BS{shortchapter}) the page number
will be printed.  Otherwise, it will be suppressed.

The \BS{chapter*} and \BS{shortchapter*} commands suppress the
addition of that chapter to the table of contents.  Use them for the
dedication and acknowledgements sections.  Remember that dedications
never have a page number, regardless of their length.

When in doubt, use the {\tt short} versions of the commands and print
the page number.  You can always ``white-out'' the number if necessary
before you copy the document onto the special thesis bond paper for
submission.

\subsection{Bibliographies.}
You have the option of using Bib\TeX\ or thebibliography environment in
\LaTeX\ to produce the bibliography.  In the thesis document style,
these commands will automatically make the table of contents entry for
you. In addition, {\tt short} versions of both commands are included to
print the page number on the first page, when needed.  If you have only
one page of references for your doctoral thesis, you probably don't
have enough, but masters' theses may have a one page bibliography.

\subsection{Using the include command}
The \LaTeX\ \BS{include} command gives you a way to process
just a single chapter or section at a time.  I recommend that you
use it.  You can save a lot of processing time by just running
\LaTeX\  on the part of the thesis you are currently working on.

There is one problem you should be aware of.  Because of
the order things are done, if the \BS{appendix} command is
in the main file, and the first appendix is in an include file,
the word ``APPENDIX'' in the table of contents may be printed 
\em{after} the first
appendix listing rather than before.  This is strictly a problem with
include that I cannot fix.  It does not occur if you use \BS{input}
or put everything into one file.  If you want to gain the advantages
of using \BS{include}, you have two choices:
\begin{enumerate}
\item Edit the  ``.toc'' file for your
thesis to put the word ``APPENDIX'' in the correct spot and use 
\BS{includeonly}
to run off just the preface section of your thesis.    This
is probably the easiest way around it.    
\item Replace each \BS{include} with \BS{input} 
when you are ready to produce the final copy of your thesis.  You
may have to run the final version through \LaTeX\ twice to get
everything numbered properly.
\item Have a special include file that contains only the
\BS{appendix} command.  Include it along whenever any appendix
file is also included.
\end{enumerate}
\section{References}

\begin{description}
\item[1.]
\LaTeX\ :{\em A Document Preparation System}, Leslie Lamport,
Addison-Wesley, 1986.
\item[2.]
{\em Specifications for Preparation of Masters' Thesis and 
Doctoral Dissertations}, University of Colorado Graduate
School, November 1981.
\item[3.]
{\em Decimal System Headings in Theses}, University of Colorado
Graduate School, (undated).
\end{description}

\begin{table}[p]
\begin{verbatim}
\documentstyle[consecutivefigures]{thesis}
\title{This is a Very Long Title for a Thesis 
       Just to Show You How You Should Enter It}
\author{Shannon Jennifer}{Robertson}
\otherdegrees{B. A., University of Michigan, 1981 \\
              M. S., University of Colorado, 1983}
\degree{Doctor of Philosophy}{Ph. D., Physics}
\advisor{Associate Professor}{Robert Q. Lewis}
\reader{Samuel R. Delany}
\degreeyear{1988}
\begin{document}
\titlepage
\approvalpage
\shortabstractpage
This begins the (at most) 300 (hopefully) brilliant words 
of your abstract and tells LaTeX to print a page number on it.
\chapter*{dedication}
To my pet gopher, Ardis. (No page number)
\shortchapter*{acknowledgements}
I would like to thank my parents for their support. (Page number)
\tableofcontents
\shortlistoffigures
\shortlistoftables
\endpreface
\chapter{Introduction}
We now begin the main work.  The rest of the chapters
will come here in order, followed by the bibliography.
The figures and equations if any will be numbered
consecutively.  The default decimal system is used to
number the sections and chapters.
\bibliographystyle{plain}
\bibliography{mybib}
\appendix
\shortchapter{Some Notes.}
Appendix is a standard \LaTeX\ command to begin
the appendix section, if any. Appendices are labeled
with capital letters and come after the bibliography.
\end{verbatim}
\caption{An example}
\end{table}
\end{document}