# RDT Google Docs Guide

## Starting Point

Students may upload `rdt.docx` to Google Drive and open it with Google Docs, or they may recreate the styles manually using this guide. After import, verify margins, line spacing, caption indentation, and heading numbering because Google Docs may adjust Word styles.

## Page Setup

Open **File > Page setup**. Choose Letter paper, 8.5 x 11 inches. Set margins to 1 inch top and 1.5 inches bottom, left, and right. Add page numbers in the footer using a centered or standard footer position.

## Body Text

Set body text to Calibri regular, 11 pt. Use justified alignment, no first-line indentation, 1.26 line spacing, and 8.5 pt spacing after each paragraph. In Google Docs, use **Format > Line & paragraph spacing > Custom spacing** for exact spacing. Update the Normal text style.

Bold and italics may be used for emphasis. Hyperlinks, inline code, superscripts, and subscripts are acceptable.

## Title Block

Use this title block structure:

```text
Rasool Document Template v1.0
For Use in FIN 4950
Author Name
Southeastern Louisiana University
email@example.edu
```

Set the title to Calibri regular, 17 pt, centered, with 1.15 line spacing. The author, affiliation, and email lines use Calibri regular, 11 pt, centered. The email line may be omitted for anonymous submissions or when the instructor gives different instructions.

## Abstract

Place the abstract below the title block. Indent the paragraph 0.5 inches from both left and right. Begin with **_Abstract_** followed by an em dash. Use Calibri, 11 pt, justified alignment, 1.26 line spacing, and 8.5 pt spacing after.

Abstracts are optional. Use them for longer assignments that need a brief summary. Short assignments usually do not need one unless the prompt requires it.

## Headings

Use numbered headings. Google Docs automatic heading numbering may differ across accounts or document versions, so manual numbering is acceptable.

- Heading 1: Calibri, 11 pt, bold, all caps, 11 pt before, 8.5 pt after.
- Heading 2: Calibri, 11 pt, bold upright, sentence case, 8.5 pt before and after.
- Heading 3: Calibri, 11 pt, bold italic, sentence case, 8.5 pt before and after.
- Heading 4: run-in sidehead, bold italic, followed by an em dash, then body text.

Avoid headings beyond Heading 3 unless the document is complex.

## Figures

Center figures within the margins and reference each figure in the text. Use a thin border if a white-background figure is hard to see.

Place figure captions below figures. Use Calibri, 8.5 pt, 14 pt line spacing, and 1-inch left and right indents. Set labels such as **_Figure 1_** in bold italics, followed by an em dash. Keep captions on the same page as figures whenever possible.

## Tables

Place table captions above tables. Figure captions go below figures; table captions go above tables. Center tables and keep them within the margins. Use left alignment for text and right or decimal alignment for numeric values. Dense tables may use 8.5 pt Calibri. Use editable tables instead of screenshots.

## Quotes, Lists, and Technical Material

Short quotations may remain inline with citations. Quotes longer than three lines should use 0.5-inch side indents. Bulleted and numbered lists should use a 0.5-inch left indent with a 0.25-inch hanging marker. Use inline code for variable names, commands, file names, or functions. Define variables before using them heavily.

## Citations, References, and Appendices

Use APA-style in-text citations by default unless the assignment requires another style. Place citations near the claims they support. Put only cited works in a numbered, alphabetized References section. Appendices appear after References and should support the main body without replacing required explanation.