Automated formatting and accessibility for theses and dissertations
TAU Format offers universities a new approach to preparing consistently formatted, more accessible theses and dissertations. It automates routine formatting tasks and provides students with on-demand formatting review against university requirements in both Microsoft Word and LaTeX. This saves students time and helps staff review manuscripts faster.
Access to TAU Format is available through university and graduate school subscriptions.
Get to know TAU
Watch a five-minute introduction to TAU, with a demonstration in Microsoft Word.
Reduce the formatting burden
Formatting requirements help make theses and dissertations clearer and more accessible. Well-formatted manuscripts contribute to the academic reputation of both their authors and universities. Yet at many institutions, meeting those requirements can be stressful and time-consuming for students, who must navigate detailed guidelines across long manuscripts. Professional staff also spend valuable time manually reviewing manuscripts and going back and forth with students about formatting. This process can delay submissions and sometimes graduation.
TAU reduces the formatting burden through automated formatting support and checks based on the university’s requirements. Students receive immediate feedback and guidance in Microsoft Word or LaTeX, helping them address issues as they write. Staff can use the same tools to streamline review and reduce repeated exchanges over corrections. Addressing formatting issues earlier helps make submission less stressful and gives students more time to focus on research.
How TAU works
Universities commonly provide “starter” templates to help students begin a thesis or dissertation with the required structure and formatting. These offer a useful starting point, but students still have to manually check and fix formatting as their manuscripts change.
TAU is built around the concept of an active template: a template that applies the university’s formatting rules to a manuscript at any stage and checks formatting and accessibility requirements throughout writing. Here is how universities use TAU:
1. University sets formatting and accessibility requirements
Based on existing thesis and dissertation requirements for the university, school or program.
2. TAU builds university requirements into Word and LaTeX
Microsoft Word
TAU Format add-in
LaTeX
TAU Format package
Customized university requirements in most common writing environments
3. TAU provides automated formatting support and feedback during writing
Write and revise
Format and check
Review and correct
Repeat as needed
Automated formatting and review, accessibility checks, and guidance for corrections.
4. Universities publish uniformly formatted and more accessible theses and dissertations
Less reformatting for students. Easier review for staff.
TAU Format advantage
Built around existing university requirements
TAU follows the institution’s existing formatting and accessibility requirements, so adopting it does not require changing the rules. Students and staff continue using familiar guidelines.
Consistent requirements in Word and LaTeX
Both templates are linked to one approved set of requirements for the applicable degree or program, helping the institution maintain consistent official formats in both environments.
Correct formatting for new and existing manuscripts
TAU creates a new thesis or dissertation with the required pages and formatting in place, or brings an existing manuscript into the university’s format.
Immediate feedback throughout writing
Automated checks give students immediate feedback on supported requirements, with guidance and available corrections as the manuscript develops. Each environment provides its own workflow for those tasks.
Student work stays private
Unpublished findings and sensitive material remain within the student’s writing environment. Manuscript content is never shared with TAU.
Support for more accessible manuscripts
Accessibility checks and guidance help students identify and address issues during writing, making it easier to prepare manuscripts that more people can read and navigate.
Institutional subscription model
TAU Format is offered through institutional subscriptions to universities and graduate schools. Institutions approve their requirements and aligned Word and LaTeX templates. Students, faculty and staff covered by the subscription have unlimited use of the templates and checks, working from the same approved requirements in either environment. Learn more