Book index examples
Each of these public-domain books was published with an index written by a person. We ran scans of those first editions through IndexStudio, the same process you get when you upload a PDF, and compared the unedited draft with the original index, entry by entry. Each draft took under ten minutes. Nothing below has been edited or picked to flatter the tool.
| Book | Original entries | Found by IndexStudio |
|---|---|---|
| On the Origin of Species Charles Darwin, 1859 · 490 pages · science | 553 | 326 (59%) |
| The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book Fannie Merritt Farmer, 1906 · 616 pages · cookbook | 1007 | 557 (56%) |
| Up from Slavery Booker T. Washington, 1901 · 320 pages · memoir | 439 | 244 (56%) |
| My Life and Work Henry Ford (with Samuel Crowther), 1922 · 282 pages · business | 240 | 108 (45%) |
| Pragmatism William James, 1907 · 301 pages · philosophy | 212 | 108 (52%) |
| Original index (1859) | IndexStudio draft (unedited) |
|---|---|
Macleay on analogical characters, 427 | Macleay, 427 |
Madeira plants of, 107 beetles of, wingless, 135 fossil land-shells of, 339 birds of, 390 | Madeira, 48, 135, 314, 339, 390, 393, 402 |
Magpie tame in Norway, 212 | Not in the draft |
Maize crossed, 270 | Maize, 270 |
Malay Archipelago compared with Europe, 299 mammals of, 395 | Malay Archipelago, 2, 299, 395 |
Malpighiaceæ, 417 | Malpighiaceae, 417 |
Mammæ rudimentary, 451 | Not in the draft |
Mammals fossil, in secondary formation, 303 insular, 393 | Mammals, 289, 303, 395 |
Download the full IndexStudio draft (.txt) · Original scan on archive.org
| Original index (1906) | IndexStudio draft (unedited) |
|---|---|
MACARONI, 85 à la Milanaise, 92 à l'Italienne, 91 Baked, 91 Baked, with Cheese, 91 … 7 more | Macaroni, 85, 103, 619 |
Macaroni Timbales, 363 | Macaroni Timbales, 363 |
Macaroon Cream, 424 Dust, to Prepare, 587 Ice Cream, 447 | Macaroon Preparations, 422, 587, 614 |
Macaroons, 533 Almond, 533 Nut, 495 | Macaroons, 418, 533 |
Mace, 14 | Mace, 14 |
Macédoine, Pudding à la, 423 of Vegetables, à la Poulette, 308 Salad, 331 | Macedoine Pudding, 614 |
Mackerel, Baked, 167 Mayonnaise of, 386 | Spanish Mackerel, 154 |
Madeira Sauce, Iced, 456 | Iced Madeira Sauce, 454 |
Download the full IndexStudio draft (.txt) · Original scan on archive.org
| Original index (1901) | IndexStudio draft (unedited) |
|---|---|
MacCorkle, ex-Governor W. A., 290, 291 | W. a. MacCorkle, 291 |
Mackie, Miss Mary F., 53, 54, 72, 163 | Mary F. Mackie, 53–54, 72, 163 |
Macon County, Ala., Tuskegee county-seat of, 121 | Macon County, 121 |
Madison, Wis., Washington begins public-speaking career at, 190, 242 | Not in the draft |
Mail-carrier as disseminator of news among slaves, 9 | Not in the draft |
Malden, W. Va. Washington's relatives move to, 24-25 Washington revisits, 68 teaches school at, 75 Ku Klux Klan at, 77-78 | Not in the draft |
Mark Twain, 284 | Mark Twain, 284 |
Marshall, Edward, 275, 278 | Edward Marshall, 275, 278 |
Download the full IndexStudio draft (.txt) · Original scan on archive.org
| Original index (1922) | IndexStudio draft (unedited) |
|---|---|
Machinery, its place in life, 2 | Not in the draft |
Manchester, Eng. Ford plant at, 150 strike at, 262–3 | Manchester, 76, 150, 197, 262 |
Manufacture, a primary function, 6 | Not in the draft |
Medical Department, 112 | Not in the draft |
Mexico, 242–3 | Mexico, 242 |
Milner, Lord, 198–9 | Lord Milner, 198–199 |
Models “A,”, 54, 69–70, 76 “B,”, 57, 69–70 “C,”, 57, 69–70, 76 “F,”, 69 … 4 more | Not in the draft |
Money chasing, 12 present system of, 13, 132, 177 what it is worth, 40 invested in a business not chargeable to it, 39–40 … 2 more | Money, 2, 8, 12–13, 39, 131, 156, 169, 178–180, 183, 261, 269, 276 function, 179 social utility, 180 |
Download the full IndexStudio draft (.txt) · Original scan on archive.org
| Original index (1907) | IndexStudio draft (unedited) |
|---|---|
MACH, 57 | Ernst Mach, 57, 190, 220 |
Many, the One and the Manyness co-ordinate with oneness, 138 | Not in the draft |
Materialism defined, 93 | Materialism, 11–12, 16, 19, 92–94, 96, 98–99, 101–103, 108, 268 cosmic dissolution, 104 definition, 107 functional divinity, 101 mechanical view, 101 … 2 more |
Matter Berkeley on, 89 Spencer on its supposed crassness, 94 vs. God, as a principle, 98-108 | Matter, 52, 86, 89, 95–96, 98, 105, 233, 239 |
MCTAGGART, 118 | John McTaggart, 117 |
Mechanism, 111 | Mechanism, 103, 111, 157 |
Meliorism, 119, 127, 285 f | Meliorism, 119, 127, 285–286, 300–301 |
Merit, 118 | Not in the draft |
Download the full IndexStudio draft (.txt) · Original scan on archive.org
How we tested (2026-10-02): IndexStudio's production pipeline, unedited output. Page text came from each scan's OCR layer, the original index pages were removed before indexing, and photo plates were removed so page numbers line up with the printed edition. An entry counts as found when the draft has the same heading, a close variant, or one a separate AI judge rated as the same heading. Scores against a single human index understate quality somewhat, because two good indexers also disagree.
A book index is an alphabetical list of the names, topics, and concepts in a book, each followed by the page numbers where it is discussed. Unlike a table of contents, which follows the book's chapter order, an index lets a reader jump straight to every place a specific subject appears, with subentries and “see” cross-references connecting related terms.
Universal principles that make indexes useful and professional
Index all significant concepts, not just keywords
Index 'leadership styles' not just 'leadership'
Readers need specific, actionable entries
Group related concepts under main headings
Group 'JavaScript → ES6 features → arrow functions' hierarchically
Creates intuitive navigation paths
Connect related terms with see/see also references
'API → see also REST, GraphQL, Web services'
Helps readers discover related information
Use the same term form throughout the index
Use either 'e-commerce' or 'ecommerce', not both
Prevents confusion and missed references
Think like your target audience when selecting terms
Include both 'machine learning' and 'AI' if readers use both
Matches how readers actually search
How to recognize and create high-quality professional indexes
Typically 3-5 index entries per page of content
300-page book with 900-1500 entries
300-page book with only 200 entries
Comprehensive coverage vs. gaps in findability
10-15% of entries should have cross-references
100 main entries with 10-15 see/see also references
Index with no cross-references between related terms
Connected knowledge vs. isolated entries
Complex topics broken into logical sub-categories
Marketing → digital marketing, content marketing, social media
Marketing, 23-156 (large page range without subdivision)
Specific findability vs. overwhelming page lists
All page numbers verified and accurate
Terms link to actual discussions, not passing mentions
Page references that don't contain meaningful content
User trust vs. frustration and abandonment
See the difference between amateur and professional indexing approaches
Different book types require different indexing approaches and focus areas
Qualitative research → phenomenology, 45-52; grounded theory, 53-61
SWOT analysis, 78-85; see also Strategic planning, Competitive analysis
Error handling → try-catch blocks, 123-128; async errors, 129-134
Themes → redemption, 45-52, 134-140; family loyalty, 67-73, 201-208
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