Table of contents

A table of contents (hereinafter, the Table) is a list of titles of the parts of a book, report, or document, organized in the order in which the parts appear. The Table is a required part of report's front matter; it functions as a part of report's structural metadata.

Description

The ANSI/NISO Scientific and Technical Reports standard details,

The required contents section identifies the heading and location of, or link to, each major section of the front matter (excluding the title page and the contents section itself), the content, and the back matter. A contents section helps readers understand the organization and scope of a report. Headings in a table of contents are worded, spelled, punctuated, and numbered, if used, exactly as they are in the report. Creators should consider that page numbers of digital items may not be static and alternate methods of efficient access may be needed.

It is useful to include a list of subheadings in the contents section at the beginning of each major report section that is more than 20 pages in length. Subheadings are also helpful for understanding complex material; however, not all levels of headings need to be listed in the contents section. First- and second-level headings may suffice. However, if any subheading of a given level is listed in the table of contents, all subheadings of that level must be included. Organizations may opt for a variation in the order of the table of contents. For instance, a preface may follow the title page to set the context of the report and precede the table on contents.