Finalize your paper’s outline. Even if the page numbers change, the titles should not while you are creating your table of contents.
Create a blank page between the title page and the rest of the paper. Use a page break, if your word processor has that function, by clicking on the "Insert" menu, then "Break." That way, if your table runs beyond one page, the paper automatically jumps down, creating another free page. Check that the table of contents page is not numbered, unless you want it to be. If there is an introduction whose page numbers are of a different system than that used for the paper, like Roman numerals, consider placing the table of contents after that. Include the introduction as the first chapter or section in your table.
Decide the font format. If you want to use a different font style in the table of contents, make it significantly different, as though you were aiming for something aesthetically pleasing. If you wrote your paper in Times New Roman and choose Arial for your table of contents, the effect will be jarring and unprofessional.
Write “Table of Contents” centered across the top of the page. Write out your table of contents as an outline first. If you are not already done with the paper, then the page numbers can continually change, and it will be frustrating if you have to go back and forth to change them in the table of contents.
Split the rest of the page into two by creating a table grid with two columns and one row. Edit the table’s properties so that the border is invisible when printed out. Write the titles of each section and subsections in the left column.
Record the page numbers for each section and write them in the right column of the table, once you are done with the final draft of your paper.