Indexing Specifications

Indexing Specifications

 

Options: Publisher provided, Chicago Manual of Style, or Use this Worksheet (fillable PDF here)

 

Audience: Please indicate the expected audience (may choose more than one option):

• Scholars

• College students

• K-12 students

• General Public

• Other: __________________________________________________________________

Index style: Please choose one or write in your own:

• Indented

• Run-in

• Other: __________________________________________________________________

Capitalization: Please choose one or write in your own:

• All main headings

• Only proper nouns (standard)

• Other: __________________________________________________________________

Punctuation:

• Commas: Please choose one

  • Standard (CMOS): when a main heading is followed immediately by locators, a comma appears before the first locator; commas appear between locators; commas are used when a heading is an inversion or when a main heading is qualified, without subentries.

    • Example: tomatoes, history of, 23-27, 39, 101

  • Other: please explain

    • __________________________________________________________

    • __________________________________________________________

• Colon: Please choose one

  • Standard (CMOS): In a run-in index, when a main heading is followed immediately by subentries, a colon appears before the first subheading; and a colon can be used in a cross-reference to a subentry.

  • Other: please explain

    • __________________________________________________________

    • __________________________________________________________

• Semicolon: Please choose one

  • Standard (CMOS): When subentries or sub-subentries are run in, they are separated by semicolons; and cross-references, if more than one, are separated by semicolons.

  • Other: please explain

    • __________________________________________________________

    • __________________________________________________________

• Period: Please choose one

  • Standard (CMOS): In a run-in index, a period is used only before See (or See under) or See also (or See also under); and in an indented index a period is used only before See.

  • Other: please explain

    • __________________________________________________________

    • __________________________________________________________

• Parentheses in Headings: Please choose one

  • Standard (CMOS): Parentheses enclose identification or supplementary information.

  • Other: please explain

    • __________________________________________________________

    • __________________________________________________________

Alphabetization:

• Please choose one:

  • Word-by-word

  • Letter-by-letter

• With regard to numbers: Please choose one or write in your own:

  • Standard practice is to place numbers how they would be spelled out as in the two following examples:

    • 1984 (Orwell): alphabetized at nineteen eighty-four

    • 125th street: alphabetized at one hundred twenty-fifth street

  • Numbers can be sorted numerically at the beginning of the index instead

  • Other: ___________________________________________________________

• Special instructions concerning abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols (write in Standard if unsure):

  • _________________________________________________________________

  • _________________________________________________________________

• Placement of function words in main headings (inverted or ignored in the sort): Please choose one of the examples or write in your own:

  • A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)

  • Tale of Two Cities, A (Dickens)

  • Other: ___________________________________________________________

Subheadings: Please indicate the number of subheading levels:

• subheadings (one level)

• sub-subheadings (two levels)

• sub-sub-subheadings (three levels)

• Other: __________________________________________________________________

Locator format: Please indicate the desired locator format:

• Page numbers

• Paragraph numbers

• Section numbers

• Other: __________________________________________________________________

Page range style: Please choose a page range style (note: ranges are separated by an 'en' dash '–' unless otherwise noted):

• Standard (126–129)

• Elided (126–29)

• Other: __________________________________________________________________

Formatting of figures, illustrations, graphs, tables, etc.: Please choose how figures, illustrations, etc. will be indicated in the index:

• Bold page numbers: 26

• Italicized page numbers: 26

• Page number and italicized identifier: 26fig

• Other: __________________________________________________________________

Cross-reference formatting: Please indicate how you would like the cross-references to be formatted:

Capitalization/Italicization Options: Please circle one or write in your own (note that the capitalized versions will be preceded by a period):

• See and See also

• See and See also

• see and see also

• see and see also

• Other: ___________________________________________________________

Formatting: Please choose one or write in your own

• Option 1: Run-in

                 main heading: subheading; subheading;

                      subheading. see also cross-reference

                 main heading. see cross-reference

• Option 2: Indented

                 main heading. See cross-reference

                 main heading

                      subheading

                         subheading

                         See also cross-reference

• Option 3: Other: Please explain

  • __________________________________________________________

  • __________________________________________________________

  • __________________________________________________________

  • __________________________________________________________

Other special formatting:

Names: Choose all that apply to the index:

• All names

• Only author names

• Include cited names in parenthesis

• Spelled out first names or initials only: _________________________________

• Other: __________________________________________________________

  • ____________________________________________________________

Would you like definitions that are bolded in the text to also be bolded in the index?

• Yes

• No

Is there any special formatting of titles:

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Other special formatting instructions:

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Space available for the index: Generally, I only need these specifics when space is limited and I need to figure out exactly how many entries the index can hold. Please note that space limitations will affect the exhaustivity, specificity, and price of the index.

• Number of pages: _________________________________________________________

• Columns per page: ________________________________________________________

• Lines per column: ________________________________________________________

• Characters per line: _______________________________________________________

• Font and Font Size (if available in Word): _____________________________________

• Note: In order to find the number of characters per line, I use MS Word. With the index in one column and opened in Word, I highlight the entire document, set the font to Courier New size 12, and then adjust the ruler until the desired number of characters fills a line. This is also how I can tell how many lines the index will have. However, the publisher’s designer will have final say over the format and look of the index, and this method is used by me when there is limited space so as to avoid having to make major cuts in the first draft.

Exhaustivity and Specificity: These terms refer to how detailed the index will be, and how many entries per page are expected or the size and density of the index. What we need to know is the number of pages available for the index, and then we can determine the “proportion of the number of index pages to the number of indexable text pages of the book.” Mulvany, Nancy. (2005). [Indexing Books]. In a book with 200 indexable pages, if you have 10 extra pages for the index, you divide 10 by 200 to get a 5 percent index. (10/200 = 0.05 or 5%). What this tells us is about how many terms or entries per page to expect. Please choose an option below or write in your own:

• 2-5% index will garner 3-5 entries per page

• 7-8% index will garner 6-8 entries per page

• 10% index will garner 8-10 entries per page

• Other: __________________________________________________________________

• Note: Please be aware that this does not mean there will be exactly that number of entries from each page. This is to be used as a guide only, and actual entries per page will vary depending on the content.

Notes: footnotes and endnotes are generally not indexed unless they contain information not present or mentioned in the text. Names, including citations, found in the notes are also not indexed unless requested. Please indicate if you want the notes indexed and if you want the citations indexed.

• Yes, I want the notes to be indexed (must be included in word counts)

  • Yes, I want citations found in the notes to be indexed (incurs extra cost)

  • No, I do not want citations found in the notes to be indexed (standard)

• No, I do not want the notes to be indexed (will not be included in word counts)

• Other (please be as specific as possible):

  • _________________________________________________________________

  • _________________________________________________________________

  • _________________________________________________________________

Other material you would like indexed that is not usually covered:

• Appendixes: _____________________________________________________________

• Preface/Forward: _________________________________________________________

• Other: __________________________________________________________________

Sample index provided: you may provide a sample index you like in terms of style and/or content, and I can fill out much the indexing specification form from that.