Month: July 2019

Every book consists of a number of sections, like the Title page, the Copyright page, the Table of Contents, the Preface, etc. One of the most important sections that any non-fiction book must have is the Index section.



It’s best to insert the Index as the last section in the book, after the Bibliography or the References sections. If the book has no Bibliography or References, then you can put it after the Glossary section. If the book also has no Glossary, then you can put it after the Notes section. The only section that we advise to put after the Index section, is the “About the Author” section, then comes the back cover of the book. I have checked a couple of famous books, to see where the index is placed inside those books:

1. The Chicago Manual of Style book: This book has the Bibliography section with its contents, then comes the Index after it.
2. The Children and Drug Safety book: This book has the “Acknowledgments” section, then the “Notes” section, then comes the “Index” section after the “Notes” section. Because this book has no Bibliography, or References, or even a Glossary section, it has been put after the “Notes” section, and this is a right behavior.
3. Finally, i have checked the Guide To Practical Health Promotion book. This book is divided into 2 parts, followed by an “Appendix” section, so the “Index” comes after this “Appendix”, because this book has none of the other sections that we have mentioned in the other books.

So, as you have seen in those examples, it’s best to put the index after the Bibliography of the book, if your book has this section available.