Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No. FHWA/TX-24/[report number]	2. Government Accession No.	3. Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle TITLE IN ALL CAPS, MUST DIFFER FROM PROJECT TITLE AND OTHER REPORT TITLES	5. Report Date April 2024
6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s)	8. Performing Organization Report No. Report
9. Performing Organization Name and Address Texas A&M Transportation Institute The Texas A&M University System College Station, Texas 77843-3135	10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
11. Contract or Grant No. Project
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Texas Department of Transportation Research and Technology Implementation Office 125 E. 11th Street Austin, Texas 78701-2483	13. Type of Report and Period Covered Technical Report: Month Year–Month Year
14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes Project sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. Project Title: URL: https://tti.tamu.edu/documents/[report number].pdf
16. Abstract Replace this paragraph with your abstract. To turn off the gray fillable fields, place the cursor inside and hit Ctrl + Alt + F9. If you have questions or would like personal training on Word formatting, email TTI Reports.
17. Key Words	18. Distribution Statement No restrictions. This document is available to the public through NTIS: National Technical Information Service Alexandria, Virginia https://www.ntis.gov
19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified	20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified	21. No. of Pages 2	22. Price

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized

PLACE TITLE HERE IN ALL CAPS

by

Author name

Author position title

Author affiliation

and

Author name

Author position title

Author affiliation

Report Insert report number here

Project Insert project number here

Project Title: Insert project title here

Sponsored by the

Texas Department of Transportation

and the

Federal Highway Administration

April 2024

TEXAS A&M TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE

College Station, Texas 77843-3135

Disclaimer

This research was sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official view or policies of FHWA or TxDOT. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

[If the report contains engineering recommendations, the following is necessary.] This report is not intended for construction, bidding, or permit purposes. The engineer(researcher) in charge of the project was __________, P.E. #_____(if applicable).

[If the report contains trade names, the following is necessary.] The United States Government and the State of Texas do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report.

Acknowledgments

This project was sponsored by TxDOT and FHWA. The authors thank [the project manager, members of the Project Monitoring Committee individually (list their names), state and federal sponsors, and others as appropriate.]

Table of Contents

Page

List of Figures	viii

List of Tables	ix

Chapter 1: Using the Template	1

Placing and Calling Template Files	1

Entering Information in Fields	1

Using Styles	1

Using Section and Page Breaks	2

Placing Endnotes	3

Adding Appendix Sections after Endnotes	3

Checking Spelling	3

Generating the Table of Contents and Other Lists	4

Sponsor Guidelines	4

Accessibility	4

Chapter 2: Heading Styles	7

Second-Level Headings	7

Third-Level Heading	7

Chapter 3: Figures and Tables	9

Placing Graphics and Tables	9

Landscape Placement	9

Automatic Figure/Table Numbering	11

Automatic Cross-Reference to Figures/Tables	11

Line Breaks	11

Sample Captioning	11

Figure and Table Formatting	12

References	13

List of Figures

Page

Figure 1. Sample Figure with Caption (Use Caption Style).	12

List of Tables

Page

Table 1. Landscape Table.	10

Table 2. Sample Table with Caption (Use Table Title Style).	12

Chapter 1:
Using the Template

This file contains an explanation of the report template, which is designed as a Microsoft Word® template file. The basic report template file is similar to this explanation file but without the explanatory text.

For more information on developing technical reports for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Research and Technology Implementation (RTI) projects, see the Guidelines for Preparing, Editing, and Submitting TxDOT RMC Reports and other resources on the TxDOT Deliverables Preparation Tools page on MyTTI.

Placing and Calling Template Files

You can put this file in your template folder and call it up using New on the File tab. If you prefer, you can open the file directly and save it as a regular document under a new name. Either way should work fine. Putting it in your template folder will make it handy to get to the next time you need to use it.

Entering Information in Fields

Use the tab key to move through the fields of the technical report documentation page and title page to easily complete the required information. Use Ctrl + Alt + F9 to remove the gray fillable field.

To create your report, delete the current explanatory text and enter your report information. The TxDOT Deliverables Preparation Tools page on MyTTI contains a link to the basic template file with minimal text that you can use instead if you prefer. Feel free to email TTI Editing with any Word-related questions.

Using Styles

This file contains styles for most of the formatted items you will need to create your report. You can change style characteristics to meet your specific needs and preferences. Using styles gives you several benefits:

Styles provide consistent formatting from item to item in your document.

Styles make it easy to change the formatting of similar items wherever they occur throughout a document.

Styles are crucial to creating an automatically generated table of contents (TOC) and other lists.

Once you get familiar with using styles, you will determine your own preferred method of applying them to text. Most people feel the easiest way to get started using styles is to type a segment of text (line, paragraph, or caption) and then go back and choose the style. You can choose the style on the Home tab, or you can click the expansion box on the Styles section of the Home tab to open the Style window. The Style window shows the style of the selection where your cursor rests. At the bottom of the window, the Options button allows you to select style viewing options. Selecting “In current document” and “Alphabetical” decreases the number of styles shown and makes them easy to find.

Once you apply a style, it will continue until you change styles (unless you specify a following style in your definition—you can find out more about that using the Word help feature). For example, if you block a paragraph and apply the style Body Text, you can continue typing in that style until you need to change to a different style (say, a heading).

This template has the following built-in styles:

Headings: Use Heading 1 for major section/chapter headings, Heading 2 for second-level headings, Heading 3 for third-level headings, and so forth. Use Heading 1 not in TOC for front matter headings that should not be in the TOC (i.e., Disclaimer, Acknowledgments, Table of Contents). Chapter 2 of this document provides more details on heading formats.

Text: Use the Body Text style for paragraph text. For paragraphs that follow a table and need extra spacing, use Body Text 2. Use the Quote style for any block quotes.

Lists: Use the List Bullet style for the first level of bulleted items and List Bullet 2 for second-level items. Use the List Number style for the first level of numbered items and List Number 2 for the second-level items. Introduce each bulleted or numbered list.

Equations: Use the Equation style for equations.

Figures and Tables: Several different styles have been created for figure and table elements. More details on these elements are provided in Chapter 3. Apply the following styles:

The Figure style for figure images.

The Caption style for figure captions and the Table Title style for table captions.

The Figure Note style for figure notes and the Table Note style for table notes.

The Table Header style for column headers and the Table Text style for other table cells.

Using Section and Page Breaks

When you begin a new chapter (or section that needs right-hand placement), insert a section break using the next-odd-page option (Layout/Breaks/Odd Page). When you use the next-odd-page option, you will not see a blank even-numbered page on your edit screen, but you will see it in the Print Preview screen and the final PDF. If you insert section breaks for other reasons, you may need to break to a next page (Layout/Breaks/Next Page) rather than an odd page, such as when you create a section for landscape graphics.

When you create a new section, make sure the page numbering continues from the previous section. In most cases, you will want headers and footers, which include page numbers, to keep the Link to Previous designation.

Avoid using hard returns and page breaks to force text, tables, or graphics to a new page. Instead, use the “Keep lines together” function of paragraph formatting (Home/Paragraph/Line and Page Breaks/Keep lines together). You may also need to select “Keep with next” (Home/Paragraph/
Line and Page Breaks/Keep with next). Avoiding unnecessary page breaks will keep you from having unexpected formatting problems if you need to make revisions that affect pagination and is desirable for accessibility. If you need to check the type of break you have, click the Show/Hide button (¶) on the Home tab.

Placing Endnotes

We recommend endnotes for source citations (). Place italicized endnotes in parentheses before the closing punctuation of the sentences citing your source. To insert an endnote, choose References/Insert Endnote. To cite a previously entered endnote, choose Insert/Cross-reference.

Using autogenerated endnotes will place them at the end of your document. Because TxDOT style requires appendices to follow references, keep appendix material in separate electronic files. For more information, see the following discussion on adding appendix sections. You may need to manually format endnotes and their corresponding source listings.

Adding Appendix Sections after Endnotes

If your report uses endnotes, Word will automatically place them at the end of the document. If you have appendices, the reference section may appear at the end. If you prefer references to occur before the appendices, follow the instructions found in our Word-Processing Tips in Microsoft Word at https://tti.tamu.edu/documents/editing/word-processing-tips.docx (page 14).

Checking Spelling

Because this template uses form fields, Word will sometimes set entered text to “no proofing,” and it will not be included in spell check procedures. To avoid this situation, reset the language of your file before you spell check. You should have to make this change only once after you have entered the information in the form fields.

To change the language of your file, follow these steps:

Select/highlight the entire file (using Edit/Select All or Ctrl + A).

Go to the Review tab and select Language and then Set Proofing Language.

Select English (United States).

Clear the boxes “Do not check spelling or grammar” and “Detect language automatically.”

Once you set the language to include all sections of the file, your spell checker should work normally.

Generating the Table of Contents and Other Lists

The Table of Contents, List of Figures, and List of Tables will automatically generate based upon styles. These specific styles are discussed in later sections.

To generate the TOC in the template, place your cursor on the sample one already created. Right-click and choose Update Field, or hit F9. When the dialog box appears, choose “Update entire table.” Repeat the process for other lists.

After generating the lists, check them to make sure all headings appear at correct levels and are correctly capitalized. This check gives you the opportunity to verify that you have used appropriate heading styles for each item. Make any necessary changes in the text and then regenerate the list.

If you make revisions that do not alter headings, you can update the lists using the Page Numbers Only option (right-click/F9/Update page numbers only). This option will not alter formatting changes.

Sponsor Guidelines

If you need further information on preparing your report, please see the Guidelines for Preparing, Editing, and Submitting TxDOT RMC Reports available on MyTTI.

Step-by-step guidance on using templates and styles is available in the Word-Processing Tips in Microsoft Word document at https://tti.tamu.edu/documents/editing/word-processing-tips.docx.

Accessibility

Electronic information prepared with state funds must now be 508 compliant. TxDOT requires that all deliverables pass the accessibility checker in Word. The following general guidelines apply to electronic accessibility of text:

Use a single-column format for text if possible.

Assign a style to all text and graphic elements.

Do not indent (with the tab key) or skip lines (with a hard return) to format paragraphs. Use paragraph attributes instead.

Use clear, consistent, and simple headings and organizational structure.

Do not use or reference color to convey meaning.

Keep tables simple: one row of column headers and/or one column of row headers. The more complex a table is, the more likely assistive technology will not interpret it properly. Fill all cells of the table.

Create alternative text (alt text) descriptions for all figures. Avoid using Word’s autogenerated alt text. You can access an image’s alt text directly by right-clicking the image and selecting “View alt text…” A box pops up along the right side of your document with a space to enter your alt text. In this same box is where you will find Word’s autogenerated alt text.

If you would like to run Word’s built-in Accessibility Checker, select the Review tab and then click on “Check Accessibility.” The checker will list its inspection results along the right side of your document. Any figures that are missing alt text or have Word’s suggested alternative text inserted will be included in the results.

Chapter 2:
Heading Styles

You do not need to number chapters, but we recommend it. If you want your chapter number to appear on a separate line from your chapter title (as the one on this chapter does), use Shift + Enter to create a soft return at the end of the line rather than using the Enter key by itself. (You can use the same technique to break the title into multiline segments if it is long.) That way, the chapter number and chapter title will appear on the same line in the TOC.

Only major sections that appear after the TOC should be included in the TOC. Use the Heading 1 not in TOC style for those preliminary headings that should not appear in the TOC (i.e., Disclaimer, Acknowledgments, Table of Contents).

Format chapter titles and other major section headings that appear after the TOC (e.g., List of Tables/Figures, Executive Summary, References, Appendix) as Heading 1, which is a first-level heading. As described in more detail in the following subsections, use Heading 2 for second-level headings, Heading 3 for third-level headings, and so forth.

Type a Heading 1 title in initial caps only, not all caps, so it will show up correctly in the TOC. The style will make it appear all caps in the body.

Second-Level Headings

Format second-level headings as Heading 2. Type the second-level heading in initial caps, not all caps. As in the chapter title, the style will create all caps for you. Then the heading will show correctly with initial caps in the TOC.

Although this illustrative material does not follow this guideline, in an actual report, there should be at least two of a specific subheading level within a section.

Third-Level Heading

Format third-level headings as Heading 3. Type the third-level headings with initial caps.

Fourth-Level Heading

Format fourth-level headings as Heading 4. As with third-level headings, fourth-level headings use initial caps instead of all caps.

Fifth-Level Heading. If practical, avoid fifth-level headings. When you do use them, begin them indented as shown here. Use Heading 5 style for the heading itself. Text should begin one space after the heading. Do not leave a blank line after fifth-level headings. Type the fifth-level headings with initial caps.

Chapter 3:
Figures and Tables

Placing Graphics and Tables

Graphics and tables need to be inserted into the document with certain formatting characteristics, such as position and wrapping style. When inserting a figure, place it on its own line and set its position to In Line with Text (right-click/Wrap Text/In Line with Text). Next, apply the Figure style, which will position it correctly (centered with appropriate spacing before/after) on the page. When inserting a table, right click in the table, click on Table Properties, set the alignment to centered, and make sure that there is no text wrapping.

All figures and tables must follow their callouts in text.

Landscape Placement

Tables and figures should not extend outside of the set margins. Larger tables or figures require landscape orientation. If a table or figure needs to use landscape orientation, the captions should also use landscape orientation (see Table 1). Tables and figures, their captions, and any related notes can be placed on a landscape page. No other text (e.g., headings and body paragraphs) should appear on landscape pages.

To change the page orientation to landscape:

Before the page you wish to change to landscape, insert a section break: on the Layout tab in the Page Setup group, click the Breaks button and select Section Break Next Page. Delete any extra returns.

After the page you wish to change to landscape, insert a section break the same way. Delete any extra returns.

Double-click in a header or footer. This causes the Headers & Footers Tools (Design tab) to become active. Click inside the footer of the first landscape page and deselect Link to Previous. Next, click inside the footer following the landscape page and deselect Link to Previous. This will preserve the portrait layout for the sections following the landscape pages.

On the first landscape page, on the Layout tab in the Page Setup group, click the Orientation button. Select Landscape.

Insert the illustration and caption or table on the landscape page.

Table 1. Landscape Table.

Automatic Figure/Table Numbering

Figure and table numbering must be autogenerated in Word. To insert automatic figure/table numbers, follow these steps:

Position your cursor where you wish to insert the caption.

On the References tab, select Insert Caption. The Caption window appears.

Under Options/Label, select Figure or Table and click OK. Word inserts a consecutive figure/table number.

Once the number is autogenerated, you can type in the caption. Word’s default is to automatically assign the Caption style to both figures and tables; for table captions, you will need to click on the caption and assign the Table Title style instead.

Select the figure or table number and click F9 to update the number if needed.

Automatic Cross-Reference to Figures/Tables

Figures and tables must be called out in the text prior to figure or table placement (within 1.5 pages of where the figure or table appears). The callouts must be autogenerated cross-references to the figure/table number (not the entire caption). To create a cross-reference to a figure or table, follow these steps:

On the Insert tab, select Cross-reference.

For Reference type, select Figure or Table. For Insert reference to, select Only label and number. For which caption, select the figure/table you’re referring to.

Line Breaks

Sometimes automatic cross-references cause a glitch in Word where a line break, page break, or other oddity is inserted before or after the cross-reference. This generally happens when you add a break before the figure or table number you’re referencing. Basically, the information you types gets caught in the Word code for the caption.

To correct this undesired formatting, you can delete the caption and replace it. Remember to check any other cross references to that caption because they will probably become unlinked.

Sample Captioning

Figure 1 and Table 2 show sample captioned items. Figure captions use the Caption style, and table captions use the Table Title style.

Figure and Table Formatting

Figure 1 shows a sample of correct figure placement (with the Figure style assigned and In Line with Text positioning). Figure notes (Figure Note style) are placed between the figure and the caption. You can also use the Figure Note placement and style if you need to give the source. Table 2 shows sample formatting for table column headers (Table Header style) and table text (Table Text style).

Figure note: If figure does not extend all the way to the left margin, indent the note so that it aligns with the bottom left side of the figure.

Figure 1. Sample Figure with Caption (Use Caption Style).

Table 2. Sample Table with Caption (Use Table Title Style).

Table Header	Table Header	Table Header	Table Header	Table Header
Table Text	Table Text	Table Text	Table Text	Table Text
Table Text	Table Text	Table Text	Table Text	Table Text
Table Text	Table Text	Table Text	Table Text	Table Text
Table Text	Table Text	Table Text	Table Text	Table Texta

Note: Use the Table Note style for all table notations. Notes should be placed below the table, not within the table itself. Tables should be centered on the page and should not extend beyond the 1-inch margins. Table headers and text can be modified if needed for space or desired appearance. For example, text can be smaller (but no smaller than 8 point), all centered, right aligned, etc. Use the note section to define abbreviations (e.g., N/A) or explain what a dash represents (if used). For 508 compliance, avoid leaving empty cells.

a Table footnotes must have a corresponding notation within the table.

As noted previously, use the Body Text 2 style for paragraphs that follow tables. This style includes the appropriate spacing between the table and the text.

References

Reference listings may use any standard, accepted style as long as the style is applied consistently to all entries. All entries must include complete and consistent information such that the reader is able to locate the source. Information that is not available to the reader (e.g., personal communications and unpublished documents) should not be on the reference list but can be noted via a parenthetical explanation or a footnote in the text.

The reference cited in this template file is to the guidelines document for TxDOT RTI reports. See the full guidelines for sample source listing styles.

Guidelines for Preparing, Editing, and Submitting TxDOT RMC Reports. Texas Transportation Institute, TTI Communications, College Station, Texas, 2011, https://tti.tamu.edu/documents/editing/TTIGuidelines.pdf.