Topic 14
Citations, Bibliography & TOC
Academic and professional documents require properly formatted source citations and an automatically generated table of contents. Word handles both — and keeps them in sync as your document evolves.
Section 1
Citation Styles
Different academic and professional fields use different citation formats. Word supports the most common styles — and switching between them reformats all citations and the bibliography automatically.
APA
American Psychological Association
(Al Rashid, 2022, p. 14)
MLA
Modern Language Association
(Al Rashid 14)
Chicago
Chicago Manual of Style
Al Rashid, Sara. Title. Publisher, 2022.
Harvard
Harvard Referencing
Al Rashid (2022) p.14
IEEE
Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers
[1] S. Al Rashid, Title, 2022.
ISO 690
International Standard
AL RASHID, Sara, 2022.
Change style anytime: References → Citations & Bibliography → Style dropdown. Switch between APA, MLA, Chicago, and others — Word reformats every in-text citation and the bibliography in one step.
Section 2
Adding Sources & Citations
Word stores sources in a reusable library. Add each source once, then insert citations from it throughout the document with a single click.
1
Set the citation style
References → Citations & Bibliography → Style → choose the required format (APA, MLA, etc.) before adding any sources.
2
Add a new source
Place the cursor at the citation point → References → Insert Citation → Add New Source. Choose the source type (Book, Journal Article, Web site, Report, etc.) and fill in the fields. Click OK.
3
Insert a citation
References → Insert Citation → select a source from the list. The in-text citation appears in the correct format for the selected style. The source is now stored in the document's source library.
4
Add page numbers to a citation
Click the inserted citation → click the dropdown arrow → Edit Citation → enter the page number. The citation updates to include the page reference.
5
Manage sources
References → Manage Sources. The Source Manager shows all sources in two lists — the master list (available across all documents) and the current list (used in this document). Copy sources between lists, edit, or delete.
Qatar demonstrated its capacity to host major international events with
the highest standards of quality and professionalism
(Supreme Committee, 2023),
setting a benchmark for future tournaments in the region
(FIFA, 2022, p. 47).
References
FIFA. (2022). FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Official Tournament Report. FIFA Publications.
Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy. (2023). Legacy Report 2022–2023. Government of Qatar.
Placeholder citations: If you don't have the full source details yet, choose Add New Placeholder instead of Add New Source. Insert the citation now and fill in the details later via Manage Sources. Placeholders appear with a question mark in the bibliography.
Section 3
Insert a Bibliography
The bibliography is generated from the sources you have added — formatted automatically in the selected citation style, alphabetized, and ready to update.
1
Position the cursor
Move to the end of the document where the bibliography should appear — typically on its own page after a page break.
2
Insert the bibliography
References → Bibliography → choose Bibliography, References, or Works Cited (the label changes by style). Word inserts the formatted list.
3
Update after adding sources
Click inside the bibliography → click Update Citations and Bibliography at the top of the bibliography field. New sources appear and the list is re-sorted.
Works Cited vs Bibliography vs References: The label depends on the style. MLA uses "Works Cited" (only cited sources), Chicago uses "Bibliography" (may include uncited sources), APA uses "References" (only cited sources). Word applies the correct label automatically when you choose the style.
Section 4
Table of Contents
Word generates a Table of Contents from your Heading styles automatically — no manual typing. Every entry is a live link and the page numbers update as content shifts. This is the most important reason to use Heading styles correctly.
Contents
1. Introduction
1
1.1 Background
2
1.2 Objectives
3
2. Methodology
5
2.1 Data Collection
5
2.2 Analysis
8
2.2.1 Quantitative Methods
8
2.2.2 Qualitative Methods
11
3. Results
14
4. Conclusion
22
1
Apply Heading styles throughout the document
Use Heading 1 for main chapters, Heading 2 for sections, Heading 3 for sub-sections. The TOC will reflect exactly these three levels. This must be done before inserting the TOC.
2
Insert the TOC
Place cursor at the beginning of the document (after the title page) → References → Table of Contents → choose an Automatic Table style. Word scans all headings and generates the TOC instantly.
3
Update the TOC
After adding or moving content, click anywhere inside the TOC → click Update Table at the top. Choose Update page numbers only (if headings haven't changed) or Update entire table (to rebuild completely).
4
Customize the TOC
References → Table of Contents → Custom Table of Contents. Change how many heading levels to show, whether to show page numbers, leader style (dots, dashes, or none), and apply different styles.
5
Navigate using the TOC
Ctrl+click any entry to jump directly to that section. In Read Mode, a single click works. The TOC is a set of live hyperlinks — not just decorative text.
| TOC option | Details |
|---|---|
| Automatic Table 1 / 2 | Pre-styled TOC using the document's Heading styles. Fully live and updatable. |
| Manual Table | A static template — you type all entries manually. Does not update automatically. Use only when headings are not styled. |
| Show levels | Set how many heading levels appear (1–9). Default is 3. A report usually needs 2–3; a book may need 4. |
| Tab leader | The dots (……) between the entry text and the page number. Can be changed to dashes (——) or removed entirely in Custom TOC settings. |
| Remove the TOC | References → Table of Contents → Remove Table of Contents. Removes the field cleanly without leaving stray text. |
TOC on a separate page: Insert a page break before the TOC and add a "Table of Contents" title above it styled as Normal (not a heading style) — otherwise it will appear as an entry inside the TOC itself.
Section 5
Table of Figures
A Table of Figures lists all captioned objects — figures, tables, or equations — with their page numbers. It works exactly like a TOC but reads from caption labels instead of heading styles.
List of Figures
Figure 1: Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
3
Figure 2: Lusail Iconic Stadium aerial view
5
Figure 3: Tournament attendance statistics
9
Table 1: Key World Cup 2022 Matches
7
Table 2: Stadium capacities and locations
8
1
Add captions to all figures and tables
Every figure and table must have a caption inserted via References → Insert Caption (as covered in Topic 13). Without captions, the Table of Figures has nothing to read.
2
Insert the Table of Figures
References → Insert Table of Figures. In the dialog, choose which caption label to list (Figure, Table, or Equation). Click OK to insert. You can insert separate lists for figures and tables.
3
Update when captions change
Click inside the Table of Figures → Update Table. Works identically to updating a TOC — choose page numbers only or entire table.
Include the label: In the Insert Table of Figures dialog, check Include label and number to show "Figure 1:" before each entry title. Uncheck it to show only the caption text without the prefix.