how to insert table of contents in word | Uses, Importance, and Example of Table of Content

table of contents

Tables of contents are used to indicate the scope or content of an article. They typically only appear at the very beginning, usually on a page before the article begins.

Its purpose is to give readers a quick way to navigate through an article, especially with long texts. The first line of the table of contents is usually written in bold and should be left-aligned.

What is a Table of Content?

Tables of contents provide more than just a list of the table of contents. It also adds information on how the reader should read and understand the full text of the article.

For example, it lists which topic is discussed in an article and sections that are followed by a specific number. Therefore, tables of contents are very useful in creating a well-structured article and make it easy for reading or skimming the content of an article.

Importance Of Table on Content in MS Word

Below are some reasons for using a table of content in Microsoft word.

  1. It helps you to easily access any section of the content
  2. You can use it for quick reference
  3. It saves your time by quickly accessing the required information
  4. A table of contents is written only when the article is large enough.
  5. It is written in a way that readers will understand its purpose.

how to insert a table of contents in MS word

To insert table of contents, the following steps are required:

  1. Open the article you want to add a table of contents.
  2. In Microsoft word, click the “reference” menu > “Table of content”.
  3. After selecting the table of content, choose an automatic style
  4. Choose the correct table style for your article and make some changes.
  1. Click “OK”.
how to add table of content in ms word

If you have missing items follow these steps

It’s a common question for people can I update my table? and how can I further add some headings?

  • For each heading that you want in the table of contents, select the heading text.
  • Go to Home > Styles and then choose Heading 1.
  • Update your table of contents.

How can I update a table of content in MS word?

It’s a great feature of Microsoft word that allows its user to update a section of the table of content.

In Microsoft word, click the “reference” menu > ” Update Table”.

It allows you two options, either to update page numbers only or to update an entire table.

Select your required option.

Example of a table of Content

Imagine that you want to write an article on Chinese history. If you are not sure how many paragraphs under which category they fall, a designer table of content can help you in this case.

The table of contents always links the topic to its subtopics. The author often adds a brief description to each subtopic.

The table of contents aids in the development of the article outline. It helps you to determine where you are going to start an article and where you are going to end it.

Example of table of content

Uses of Table of Content

Businesses and professionals extensively use tables of contents because they are used mostly to make a long document more familiar, useful, and effective. Below are some uses of the table of content.

  1. They are useful for students and teachers to access any section of lengthy text easily.
  2. They are useful for finding a specific copy quickly.
  3. They are useful for a business or professional to skim through their content.
  4. We used them in a long document to add information about the content and this makes the document readable and easy to read.
  5. We used them in a journal to add information to articles.
  6. They are used in the wiki to provide easy access to the whole article by using their metadata tags.
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