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Table of contents
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A table of contents, usually headed simply "Contents," is a list of the parts of a book or document organized in the order in which the parts appear. The contents usually includes the titles or descriptions of the first-level headers, such as chapter titles in longer works, and often includes second-level or section titles (A-heads) within the chapters as well, and occasionally even third-level titles (subsections or B-heads).
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Encyclopedia
A table of contents, usually headed simply "Contents," is a list of the parts of a book or document organized in the order in which the parts appear. The contents usually includes the titles or descriptions of the first-level headers, such as chapter titles in longer works, and often includes second-level or section titles (A-heads) within the chapters as well, and occasionally even third-level titles (subsections or B-heads). The depth of detail in tables of contents depends on the length of the work, with longer works having less. Formal reports (ten or more pages and being too long to put into a memo or letter) also have tables of contents. Documents of fewer than ten pages do not require tables of contents, but often have a short list of contents at the beginning.
Some style manuals recommend keeping tables of contents under three pages so they can be surveyed easily. Since they lack the alphabetical arrangement that makes indexes so accessible, anything longer can become difficult to scan.
Location
Within an English-language book, the table of contents usually appears after the title page, copyright notices, and, in technical journals, the abstract; and before any lists of tables or figures, the foreword, and the preface.
Printed tables of contents indicate page numbers where each part starts, while online ones offer links to go to each part. The format and location of the page numbers is a matter of style for the publisher. If the page numbers appear after the heading text, they might be preceded by characters called leaders, usually dots or periods, that run from the chapter or section titles on the opposite side of the page, or the page numbers might remain closer to the titles. In some cases, the page number appears before the text.
If a book or document contains chapters, articles, or stories by different authors, the author's name also usually appears in the table of contents.
In some cases, tables of contents contains a high quality description of the chapter's but usually first-level header's section content rather than subheadings.
Matter preceding the table of contents is generally not listed there. However, all pages except the outside cover are counted, and the table of contents is often numbered with a lowercase Roman numeral page number. Many popular word processors, such as Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, and StarWriter are capable of automatically generating a table of contents if the author of the text uses specific styles for chapter titles, headings, subheadings, etc.
Examples
Example with leaders:
Chapter 1: Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Example without leaders:
Chapter 1: Getting Started 1
Introduction 2
Next Steps 3
Example with authors:
1. Introduction to Biology Arthur C. Smith 1
2. Microbiology Susan Jones 10
3. Advances in Biotechnology T.C. Chang 24
Example with descriptive text:
Chapter 1 3
In which we first meet our hero and heroine, attend
a gala feast, and begin an unexpected journey.
Chapter 2 12
The journey takes an unusual turn, and new villainy
is discovered.
Earliest use
Pliny the Elder credits Quintus Valerius Soranus (d. 82 B.C.) as the first author to provide a table of contents to help readers navigate a lengthy work. Pliny's own table of contents for his encyclopedic Historia naturalis ("Natural History") may be viewed online and (following dedication).
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