All aspects and elements of a document are important, starting from Title page to the Back cover. Every element displays the character of the document. Table of Contents and Index are the factors that show how good or bad the document is organized. The table of contents page is perhaps second only to the cover in terms of its importance to the book.
Table of Contents
Table of contents is often abbreviated as TOC. Table of contents is often considered to be one of the most unspectacular design elements ever invented. Because of its simple, usual form, table of contents is often not given the attention it may deserve — after all, it is just a list of the parts of a book or document organized in the order in which the parts appear. But why not use exactly that and surprise the reader of a booklet, brochure, annual report or a book with some beautiful and original table of contents? In fact, many creative approaches are possible.
Use of Table of Contents
A good table of contents page works like a good menu. Therefore, it is well organized. It shows the chapter distribution, columns, features, etc as per their relation to the respective document. For example, the table of contents of a magazine will consist of columns, reviews, features and more. Another example can be of a book; it will show the name of the chapters, sub divisions, and other related factors. Anybody reading a document always consults the table of contents. The reason is that they give an overview of what the book contains and what a reader can achieve from it.
Index
A document that is well structured and that has a table of contents that contains clear headings and subheadings can help a reader to find information. However, that is not sufficient. An index is usually also needed. An index organizes information that is scattered through a document. An index lets reader find information by supplying search terms that direct the reader to the applicable locations in the document.
Use of Indexes
Indexes are an overview of keywords from a large scale to small scale. In addition to table of contents, indexes also help in scanning the context of a book. For example, when people go to the library for specific topics, they see the indexes of the books related to the subject. Indexes are a structured format of entries as marked as the main entry and cross-reference in the document.
References:
http://www.techscribe.co.uk/techw/indexing_technical_documents.htm
Ryan, E., William, Conover, E., Theodore. 2003. Graphic Communications Today. Published by Cengage Learning. ISBN 0766820750, 9780766820753
 |
