Table of contents
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A table of contents, usually headed simply "Contents," is an organized list of parts of a book or document. Besides chapter titles, they often list section titles (A-heads) within the chapters as well, and occassionally even subsections (B-heads). The depth of detail in tables of contents depends on the length of the work, with longer works having less. Formal reports (ten or more pages and being too long to put into a memo or letter) also have tables of contents.
Style manuals usually recommend keeping tables of contents under three pages so they can be surveyed easily. Since they lack the alphabetical arrangement that makes indexes so accessible, anything longer can be become difficult to scan. Printed tables of contents indicate page numbers where each part starts, while online ones offer links to go to each section. Often, the page numbers are preceded by periods called leaders that run from the chapter or section titles on the opposite side of the page. Others keep the page numbers closer to the titles. In English works the table of contents is at the beginning of a book; in French and Spanish ones it is at the back, by the index.
Matter preceding the table of contents (e.g., forward, title fly) is generally not listed there. However, all pages except the outside cover are counted and the table of contents is numbered with a lowercase roman numeral at the bottom of the page. The table is also usually set further down than on other pages. For example, on an 8 ½ × 11 inch sheet of paper, the table of contents would start about 1 ½ - 2 inches down from the top edge.de:Inhaltsverzeichnis fr:Sommaire (liste) he:תוכן העניינים ja:目次