A common question arises when discussing the use of custom templates.  That question being, "Why should I use a template when I can do the same thing manually?"  This is a good question and listed below are some bulleted points pertaining to direct/manual formatting vs. using styles contained in a custom template.

Direct (manual) formatting

• Takes a lot of time.
• To each of these you must then manually apply font and paragraph formatting.
• You must touch each and every word, paragraph or page individually.
• Hard to be consistent.
• If you change your mind on format you must repeat the process.

Styles (contained in custom templates)

• Time saver: You can format one word or paragraph as you want and then copy that formatting to other words or paragraphs.
• Consistent: applying a style to a word or paragraph ensures it is formatted exactly the same as others of its type or style.
• You can use MS Word's Index and Tables feature to automatically generate your Table of Contents and Lists of Figures and Tables.
• Saves effort: When you change a style, you change all text or words and paragraphs associated with that type or style.

The UI Thesis Template.dot already has most of the styles you need defined. You only need to read our document, attach the template and apply the styles.*  NOTE: Attaching the template is NOT the same as copying and pasting your existing document in to the template.

* The template will NOT be 100% correct for anyone. Due to limitations in Microsoft Word some changes will have to be done manually.