Over the last few weeks, I’ve been exploring the components of an array—main headings and subheadings, locators, and cross-references. It’s time to now look at how these are all held together.
Formatting the index, by which I mean either run-in or indented format, along with punctuation, has to do with the visual structure of the index. It is what the reader sees on the page. An index is not written like conventional prose, with complete sentences, capitalization, and closing punctuation. Headings and subheadings are instead single words or short phrases which nonetheless need to be strung together in a coherent way that indicates relationships and is easy to search.
There are two ways that indexes are typically formatted: run-in and indented. Run-in format is more space efficient and common in scholarly books, where indexes tend to be dense and space can be at a premium. Indented format is easier to scan, while also being more spread out, taking up more space.
When I write an index, the software I use, Cindex, allows me to easily switch back and forth between run-in and indented format. I find this a huge advantage because I prefer to index in indented format, which is, I suppose, my implicit acknowledgment that indented format is easier to work with. Once I have finished editing the index, one of my last steps, if the press requires run-in format, is to switch the format and export.
The difference between run-in and indented looks like this:
Run-in format
coffee: café culture and, 35, 64-66, 132; comparison to tea, 52-55; fair trade, 22, 32, 58, 89-90;
geopolitics and, 43, 78; industrialization, 33-34, 88, 91-93; roasting, 43, 53, 67; varieties, 29,
45-47. See also caffeine; tea
Indented format
coffee
café culture and, 35, 64-66, 132
fair trade, 22, 32, 58, 89-90
geopolitics and, 43, 78
industrialization, 33-34, 88, 91-93
roasting, 43, 53, 67
tea, comparison to, 52-55
varieties, 29, 45-47
See also caffeine; tea
As you can see, in run-in format the main heading, subheadings, and cross-references are strung together, one after the other. The main heading is separated from the subheadings by a colon, and subheadings are separated from each other by semicolons, with a period between the final subheading and the cross-references. This format allows the array to utilize the full length of the line; once the line is full, the array runs down onto the next line. Subsequent lines are indented to differentiate between arrays. This is what makes run-in format more space efficient, though having all of the lines run together does mean that the reader needs to scan more carefully.
In indented format, in contrast, each element of the array has its own line. The main heading is at the top with all subheadings following below. The subheadings are indented to differentiate between the heading and subheadings, and to differentiate between arrays. The cross-references, in this example, are placed at the very end, also indented. Because each line is indented, less punctuation is needed—no colons, semicolons, or periods. With the subheadings stacked on top of each other, the subheadings are easier to scan, though also taking up more lines.
For both run-in and indented formats, commas are used to separate headings and subheadings from locators, and locators from each other.
In my experience, some publishers, including scholarly, see the value of indented format and are committed to making sure that there is enough space. Indented format also works well for an index that doesn’t have many subheadings, as the space difference between run-in and indented will then be negligible. Otherwise, if the index contains a lot of subheadings and space is an issue, use run-in format to squeeze in as many lines as possible. Sometimes, if I know the publisher is open to either and I’m not sure how the index will fit, I’ll submit the index is both formats for the publisher to try and decide.
A few more points:
- Capitalization should follow the text, and generally is only for proper nouns. I believe it used to be a convention to always capitalize headings and subheadings, as in a sentence, but that convention seems to have passed. The exception are the See and See also of cross-references, which are capitalized since they typically follow a period.
- Adjust how subheadings are phrased, depending on the format. In run-in format, because subheadings run together, I try to ensure that the subheadings read naturally, without inversion or extra punctuation to chop up the phrase. While I still try to lead with the key term, there is already so much punctuation that I don’t want to make the array even more complicated. In indented format, in contrast, because the stacked subheadings are easier to scan, always lead with the key term. This may require inverting the phrase. For example, see the subheadings “comparison to tea/tea, comparison to” in the examples above. This difference also affects how the subheadings are sorted—another detail to pay attention to. The goal, as always, is to make the subheadings both easy to read and easy to find.
- If you use dedicated indexing software, like Cindex, you don’t need to pay too much attention to formatting. The software does it for you. You do need to make sure, though, that you have chosen the correct settings. Having the software handle the formatting is a huge timesaver and frees up cognitive space to focus on analyzing the text and writing the entries. When I first started indexing, I typed everything out in a Word document and needed to manually create the format. That was an excellent way to intimately learn how format works, and I’m also thankful I don’t need to do that anymore.
The format is how the index appears on the page. It helps to pull all of the entries and arrays together in a way that is easy to read and search. Run-in and indented formats are both common and both have their pros and cons. While indexing software typically handles the formatting automatically, as the indexer, be aware of the options and of how the format affects how entries are written and how the index fits the reserved space. How the index appears on the page is also important, alongside the contents of the index, and you may find yourself called upon to advise the client on the best format for their particular index.