These web pages provide guidance to students in the Master of Liberal Studies program for the preparation and submission of their essays to the OhioLINK Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Center.

For assistance:
Cindy Kristof
ckristof@kent.edu

Guidelines | PDF How-To | Submission How-To

Guidelines for Preparation of the Liberal Studies Essay

These are the steps to take for submitting a Liberal Studies Essay electronically.
 

1. After your defense, make any required corrections to your Essay.
2. Convert the definitive version to PDF format. Do not password the file or add other forms of security to it. Make sure all fonts are embedded (when saving as PDF with Word 2007, select PDF/A in Options). See the PDF How-To if necessary.
3. Go to the OhioLINK ETD Center and select "Submission form for your complete, finalized ETD." Fill out the forms and upload your PDF, referring to the Submission How-To as needed.
4. After completing your submission you should receive an automated email notification. If you need to confirm receipt of your submission or have any concerns about it, get in touch with the Program Director, Dr. Richard Berrong, 330-672-2312, rberrong@kent.edu. 
5. If the Program Director requires any further changes he will notify you and ask you to email him a corrected PDF.
6. When the Program Director approves your submission you should receive an automated email notification.

PDF How-To Instructions

Converting Your Document to PDF

These are the most commonly used methods:

Windows XP or Vista with Microsoft Office 2007

File > Save As...
PDF or XPS option
If you have separate files for different chapters or sections, combine them with Adobe Acrobat (see below).

Windows XP or Vista with Microsoft Office 2003

Use Adobe Acrobat (see below)

If you have separate files for different chapters or sections, combine them with Adobe Acrobat (see below).

Mac OS X with Microsoft Office 2004 or 2008

File > Print
PDF option: Save as PDF
If you have separate files for different chapters or sections, combine them with Adobe Acrobat (see below).

Adobe Acrobat (Version 6 on Windows XP):

Insert your portable drive and display the files you want to convert.
Right click on the file and click on "Save as Adobe PDF".
Save the PDF file when prompted.
The file will open automatically in Acrobat so you can check the results.
You can download a two-page instruction sheet  for more details. If your document is long or has complicated formatting, you may need to use the distiller method.

To combine multiple files:

Open the first PDF file in Acrobat.
From the menu select Document > Pages > Insert
Select the next file.
Select "After" the "Last" page.
Repeat the last three steps until the document is complete.
Acrobat is available on computers on the 1st floor of the Main Library (Multimedia Express Workstations or Group Instruction Lab).

If you wish to purchase Acrobat at a discount, visit the bookstore or its online Software Shop

Proofing your PDF

Browse through your finished PDF to make sure all content and formatting was preserved during the conversion.

Note on Fonts: If you use a special font in your document (for symbols or non-Roman scripts such as Chinese, Russian, Arabic, etc.):

The font must be installed on the computer used for converting to PDF. You must also check the PDF conversion settings to be sure
The font must be embedded in the document (use the Distiller method and check the PDF conversion settings).
Test the PDF file on a computer that does not have the font installed.
Contact us if you need help.

Note on Printing: If you print from Acrobat, be sure to select None for the "Page Scaling" option. Otherwise the document will print with incorrect margins and line spacing.

Submission How-To Instructions for Liberal Studies Essays

The online submission process is largely self-explanatory. The key points to watch for are listed here.
 

1. Go to the OhioLINK ETD Center and select "Submission form for your complete, finalized ETD." You should be able to complete the submission in one sitting but can interrupt it and resume later the same day as noted in (5) below.
2. Read the What you agree to page carefully. At the bottom, leave the default selection "My paper's bibliographic information, abstract, and full text." Mark the check box and click the "Continue" button.
3. On the Select Your School page, make sure Kent State University Liberal Studies Program is selected.
4. On the Information About You page, provide as much contact information as you can in case we need to contact you about your submission. This is especially true if you will be moving soon. Please enter your name as it appears in your paper and avoid using all caps or all lower case letters. The format you use here determines how your name will appear in the OhioLINK ETD Center. If you have any questions about formatting or special characters on this page or the next, contact us before (or immediately after) making your submission.
5. At the bottom of this and subsequent pages there is a URL that looks like this:
6. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/submit2/main.cgi?kent1170188209. It's a good idea to make a note of it or print the page in case you can't finish your submission immediately or you lose your web browser session due to a computer crash, etc. For a limited time (until 4:00 a.m.) it will get you back to your submission and allow you to finish it.
7. Type or paste your title and abstract into the Information About Your Paper page. Here, too, avoid using all caps or all lower case letters. For best results, the abstract should be in plain language without symbols or special formatting. If you past text from Word with "smart" quotes and apostrophes or other special characters, they will get converted to unreadable characters when you save the page and generate warning messages. If this happens, fix the text using regular keyboard characters and save the page again.
8. On the Information About Your Degree page enter the name of your advisor or co-advisors. Again, avoid using all caps or all lower case letters. It's not necessary to include your committee members.
9. On the Permissions and UMI Publication page, be sure to familiarize yourself with the Creative Commons licenses if you are considering one. Do not request a publication delay. In the Proquest/UMI section, Select "Do not upload my paper to UMI" and skip to Save and Continue at the bottom of the page.
10. Use the Full Text Upload page to submit a copy of your PDF.
11. On the Review and Complete Submission page, use the "Please view your PDF file..." link to verify that the uploaded copy of your PDF is correct. Then review the other information on that page, using the NO - Return to Editing button if corrections are needed. When you are satisfied with your submission, use the YES - Submit My ETD Now button. Or see (5) above if you are not ready to submit and need to come back later.
12. Soon after making your submission you should receive an email confirming it. If you do not receive it within a few hours, please contact us.