Useful tools for writing Senior Capstone Design reports:

Captioning Tables and Figures

Insert a Table or Figure graphic
References tab > Insert Caption

Figure 1. Boxplot Comparing Three Formulations of SNAP Test Devices with Specification Limits Shown
The following dialog box (Figure 2) is used to insert the name. Choose Label type from the drop down menu (Figure or
Table). For aesthetics, type in a period and space after the prompted Figure number in the Caption box.

Figure 2. Entering Table and Figure Captions

When you make changes to the order of Tables, Figures, Citations, etc, in the document, and want to update
the captions, press Ctrl+A to select the entire document and F9 to update fields.
This is an example of a Table, to remind you that Table headings go above the Table (position is set correctly
by default). It is also included to allow generation of a Table of Tables (this would go after the Table of
Contents and Table of Figures in your report).

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for All SNAP Test Formulas

Formula 1 Formula 2 Formula 3

Mean 222.07 297.1 247.78
Standard Deviation 68.96 73.11 104.18
Number of Samples 800 800 800
Minimum 61 75 36
Maximum 600 600 1633

Table of Figures
(References Tab > Insert Table of Figures)
Figure 1. Boxplot Comparing Three Formulations of SNAP Test Devices with Specification Limits Shown ........................... 1
Figure 2. Entering Table and Figure Captions ......................................................................................................................... 1
Figure 3. Cross-reference entry options ................................................................................................................................. 3
Figure 4. Formatting Styles Menu ........................................................................................................................................... 3

Table of Tables
(References Tab > Insert Table of Figures > Change caption label dropdown option to “Table”)
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for All SNAP Test Formulas ..................................................................................................... 2

Cross Referencing Figures or Tables

(References Tab > Cross-reference
Figure 3 <– this reference within the text of the report to the Figure was inserted as a cross-reference, so that it can be
updated automatically if another Figure is added earlier in the document. (Updating is not automatic). Select the
Reference type (Figure, Table or Equation). Set “Insert reference to:” as “Only label and number”. Highlight the
appropriate Figure from the list of all Figures within the document, then click Insert.
 Figure 3. Cross-reference entry options

Citations
References Tab > Insert Citation > Add New Source
Select type of source from drop-down menu. Set Citation style (recommend ISO 690 – Numerical
References)
These data shown in Figure 1 represent 800 observations taken over 3 weeks by the research and
development team at a medical device manufacturer (1). They are testing three new chemical formulations
for a Giardia diagnostic assay (2).
To see what sources these numbered items correspond to, refer to the Works Cited section below.

Section Headings
Figure 4 shows the shortcut menu (Home tab) used for easily setting section headings, formatting Figure captions, and
returning to normal text entry. Here, the Figures and Captions style is a custom defined style that will keep a Figure or
Table and its caption on the same page of the report. To create a custom style, click to expand this menu, select Create a
Style, give it a name, click modify. Select Format > Paragraph > Lines and Page Breaks – check “keep with next”. Also set
Line Spacing to Single. To use this feature, highlight the Figure and caption, click the style type.

Figure 4. Formatting Styles Menu

To return to typing the body of the report, choose Normal from this style menu. Use Headings (at various levels) for
section headings that you want to automatically include in the Table of Contents.
Sub-headings
To create a sub-heading (secondary list structure), use “Heading 2” Style format. Note how this appears in the Table of
Contents below.

Tertiary level
This is Heading 3. Each time I added a new level to the report, the Style menu (Figure 4) automatically added the next
level. I could now add Heading 4 if further sub-headings were required in this section.

Insert a Table of Contents

References > Table of Contents > Automatic Table 2

Remember to update this table after changes are made (CTRL+A, F9).

Table of Contents
Captioning Tables and Figures ................................................................................................................................................ 1
Table of Figures ....................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Table of Tables ........................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Cross Referencing Figures or Tables ....................................................................................................................................... 2
Citations .................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Section Headings ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Sub-headings ....................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Tertiary level ................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Insert a Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Insert a List of Citations........................................................................................................................................................... 4
Works Cited ............................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Insert a List of Citations

References Tab > Bibliography >Works Cited
The style of the bibliography will match that used in your citations (here, ISO 690-Numerical References). Acceptable
options are a numbered list in order of citation appearance within the text (assuming the numbered citation style) OR an
alphabetized list, assuming (author last name, year of publication) style citations. I prefer the numbered list format.

Works Cited
1. DiMarco, Tony. IDEXX - SNAPshot Analyzer. [Online] January 09, 2017. https://www.idexx.com/small-animal-
health/products-and-services/snapshot-dx-analyzer.html.

2. Prevalence of Giardia in symptomatic dogs and cats throughout the United States as determined by the IDEXX SNAP
Giardia test. Carlin, EP, et al. 2006, Veterinary Therapeutics : Research in Applied Veterinary Medicine, Vol. 7(3), pp.
199-206.

This document is intended to help you compile your Senior Design Project reports easily. If you find a useful formatting
tip that was not included in this guide, please let me know