Black Book Index Page: Contents Format with Sample

Key takeaway

The index page of a black book is its table of contents: each chapter and section, with the page it starts on. It comes after the abstract and before Chapter 1, lists the front pages in Roman numerals and the chapters from page 1, and is followed by the list of figures and the list of tables. Make it automatically from heading styles, and update it last.

What it lists

1. The front pages after it: list of figures, list of tables (and abbreviations, if any)
2. Every chapter, with its number and title
3. Each chapter's numbered sections (1.1, 1.2 …)
4. References or bibliography
5. Appendices (code, screenshots, questionnaire, user manual)

The pages before the index itself (title page, certificate, declaration, acknowledgement, abstract) are listed too in some colleges and left out in others. Follow your college's sample.

Sample index page

No.	Title	Page
	Abstract	iv
	List of Figures	vi
	List of Tables	vii
1	Introduction	1
1.1	Background	1
1.2	Problem Statement	2
1.3	Objectives	3
1.4	Scope of the Project	4
2	Literature Review	6
2.1	Existing Systems	6
2.2	Comparison and Gaps	9
3	[Chapter Title]	[Page]
…	…	…
	References	[Page]
	Appendix A: [Title]	[Page]

The page numbers here are an example only: yours come from your report. Many colleges print it with dotted leaders running from the title to the page number instead of a table; both are common.

Page numbering

• The title page carries no number.
• The front pages are numbered in lower-case Roman numerals: ii, iii, iv.
• Chapter 1 starts at page 1 in Arabic numerals, and the numbers run on to the end.

The black book format guide has the full page setup.

Making it in Word

1. Mark each chapter heading Heading 1 and each section Heading 2 (Home → Styles).
2. Put the cursor on the blank index page and choose References → Table of Contents → Automatic Table.
3. For dotted leaders, choose Custom Table of Contents and pick the dotted tab leader.
4. After every change to the report, right-click the table → Update Field → Update entire table.
5. For the list of figures, caption each figure (References → Insert Caption), then References → Insert Table of Figures.

Typing the index by hand is how page numbers go wrong: one added paragraph moves every page after it.

Common mistakes

• Page numbers that no longer match after late edits
• A section in the report missing from the index, or numbered differently
• Chapter titles in the index that differ from the headings in the report
• The index starting the Arabic numbering, instead of Chapter 1
• An index running to four pages because every sub-sub-section is listed

Where it sits

After the cover and title page, the certificate and declaration, the acknowledgement and the abstract. The whole process is in how to make a black book project.

Making it

A black book written with BlackBook has its index and list of figures made from the report itself. The PDF has the page numbers filled in, and the Word file uses Word's own contents and figure lists, so they stay right after you edit.