You must go strictly by the layout and formatting that is dictated to you by your supervisor. Any attempt to go outside the rules will make your paper void. This is the reason why it is highly important to ensure that you play by the rules set by your department if your aim of getting the marks is to be achieved.

We shall be taking a look at a very popular layout and formatting style that is in vogue for the MLA citation guide. What you are about reading will serve as a guide to give the best that you are entitled to in grades which will make you smile at the end of the day.

• Font, font size, and line spacing: You are expected to choose a clear and professional font size that will add value to your electronic writing. The best font size should be between 10-11. A line spacing of 1.15-1.50 in some cases adds more bite to your paper.
• Tables and figures: They must all be numbered and given subtitles for easy referencing.
• Styles: You need to be clever in the use of styles. This will help in differentiating chapters; sections and subsections of your dissertation. The style must be uniform throughout all the chapters included in your dissertation. 
• Referencing: One of the areas where students muddle up their work is in the area of failure to adhere properly to referencing. Plagiarism is a serious offense. When you use the material and fail to give credit; you are guilty of plagiarism. Make sure you use a plagiarism scanner to make assurance doubly sure.
• Paragraph marks: If you want to ensure uniform formatting in your work; then you have the tool: ‘show paragraph marks’ to help fix the issues. Mysterious jumps can happen; this tool will detect them easily.
• Headers and footers: This is required to confer a professional look at your work. It will help the readers to easily identify with the work that is before them. There are no rules on what to include in the header. You can do this by double-clicking at the top or bottom of the page in your document.
• Page numbering: There is space for page numbering in your dissertation. It should be noted that the numbering does not cover the title page. The title page is covered by roman numerals. 
• Title page: You are going to have a nice finishing to your dissertation with a clear and excellently presented title page. The title page is an expression of what to expect in your paper.
• Structure: Everything that will appear in your paper must follow an ordered pattern. Every item must appear in the appropriate chapter. There should be an order arrangement in the presentation of items in your paper.
• Printing: Now that you are through with work on the soft copy of your document, you must get the hard copy ready. You have to make a final check-in to ensure that there are no mistakes involved in your write-up. Decide whether you are going to use single-space or double-space printing.

Final thoughts

The general blueprint for the formatting and layout of the dissertation has been given above. However, there are standard procedures from each department and you are expected to follow such to the letter.