Microsoft Office/MLA format

< Microsoft Office

Vocabulary

Describe the MLA formatting for a research paper

MLA stands for MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION

MLA contains:

For anther source for help writing MLA formatting see: http://www.dianahacker.com/pdfs/hacker-Daly-MLA.pdf

Describe the APA formatting for a research paper

Check out this web site for some information: http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.aspx?doc_id=796

Setting Line and Paragraph Spacing

Display the formatting marks:

For MLA we need to DOUBLE SPACE the paper. From the HOME tab click the Line Spacing Button and change it to 2.0. (this is in the paragraph section of the ribbon)

For MLA we need to double space between paragraphs as well. We will need to remove the extra spaces by going to the Line Spacing Button and clicking on REMOVE SPACE AFTER PARAGRAPH.


Formatting the Header of the paper

HEADER - text that is printed 1/2 inch from the top of every page of a document

FOOTER - text that is printed 1/2 inch from the bottom of every page of a document

The header of an MLA formatted document contains:

To create the header click on the INSERT tab. Click on HEADER, scroll down the list of the gallery. Click EDIT HEADER from the gallery, Click the HOME tab, Click the ALIGN RIGHT or press CTRL+R.

Type in your last name and then press the space bar. Click the INSERT tab, Click the PAGE NUMBER button - CURRENT POSITION - PLAIN NUMBER.

Close the header by double clicking back in the text of your document

Paper Layout for MLA

Set Paper to Double Spacing

Set Paper to have NO Spaces After Each Paragraph

Create the heading for the paper

The heading of an MLA formatted paper is on page one of the paper. It should contain the following information:

The heading should be place flush with the left side of the paper and be one inch from the top of the paper and left side. (if you set your margins to be one inch just start typing in the first line.

What are the parts of a research paper?

Steps to writing a research paper
Parts of a Research Paper

Place your Title

Press enter down one double-spaced line. Then click your mouse button twice in the center of the paper to jump to the center. You could also use CTRL+E to center.

Type in your title of the paper:

Set First Line Indent

Create a quick style

In MLA formatting you need to indent the first line of each paragraph by 1/2 inch. To do this move the top triangle in the ruler, called the First Line Indent Marker. To use the sticks:

Auto Correcting

When you misspell a it will show up underlined in red or will auto correct when you press the spacebar or the enter key after it. After Word auto corrects it will mark the word. If you place your mouse back over the word you will see a blue box that gives you auto correcting options. You will be able to:

From here you can go to the Proofing option, then on the Auto Correct tab you can set up any word and its replacement.

Creating Citations

Create a reference for all sources used. If you are using an exact quote then use quotation marks. If you are paraphrasing you should still give the author credit, as the ideas are not yours.

To cite a reference in MLA and APA you will use PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS. This means you put the authors last name, and the page number in a set of parenthesis at the end of the sentence you are citing. Word will do much of the work for you.

Change the bibliography style from the REFERENCES tab. under Style in the Citations and Bibliography section change it to MLA.

Then click the INSERT CITATION button, and ADD NEW SOURCE.

Choose the type of source and then fill in the rest of the window. Click OK when you are done.

WORD does not include the page number in the parenthetical citation, so you will need to edit the citation. Right click the Citation that was created and click on EDIT CITATION, put the page numbers in the ADD PAGES section and click OK. The parenthetical citation goes on the inside of the period.

Creating Footnotes

In MLA formatting footnotes are used for explanations. When you use a footnote you will need to add a NOTE REFERENCE MARK or a superscribed number (a number that is raised above the rest of the text)to signify a note exists. A FOOTNOTE is a note that is located at the bottom of the page that has been referenced. A ENDNOTE is a note that is added to the end of the document. The actual text of the footnote or endnote is called the NOTE TEXT. To insert a footnote reference mark:

To insert a citation in the footnote

Edit a Citation

NOTE: If you use the name of the author in the sentence, you do not need to put the authors name in the parenthetical citation.

To Remove the Author from a parenthetical citation

Page Breaking

Soft page break

This is an automatic page break that occurs when you run out of room on one page, Word will automaticaly create and place your next text on the following page.


Hard page break

This is when you need to ensure that a page break occurs, like when you are going to a Works Cited or References page. To create a Hard Page Break press CTRL+ENTER. This is also a manual page break.

Background repagination

Automatic page break task, meaning when you are typing Word will continually recalculate the pages to ensure page breaks are created and inserted correctly.

Creating a Works Cited Page

Format them in MLA formatting

Finding a Replacing Text

From the HOME tab, in the Editing group at the far right, click REPLACE. A dialog box will pop up and ask for the word you want to replace and what you want to replace it with. Fill both in and then click replace all.

Counting Words

Click on the number of words in the status bar at the bottom of the window. This will display the information about the document like the number of words, number of paragraphs, and number of pages.

Spelling and Grammar Checking

From the Review tab you can click on the Spelling and Grammar checking button to have the document check and report its findings. If you want to turn on or off some of the options you need to go to the Office button and click on WORD OPTIONS. Go to the proofing section, then click on SETTINGS in the "When correction spelling and grammar in Word". From here you can turn on and off many grammar checking features depending on what your instructor is requiring.

Research Options in Word

In Word you can easily get to the research options by ALT+clicking on a word. It will automatically find the thesaurus with a list of synonyms for the word you are looking up.

Shortcut keys

Short Cut Key Strokes
Function Short cut
Align to the left side of the page CTRL+L
Align to the right side of the page CTRL+R
Align to the center of the page CTRL+E
Align to justified, flush with both the right and left CTRL+J
Hard Page Break CTRL+ENTER
Underline CTRL+U
Bold CTRL+B
Italics CTRL+LI
Undo CTRL+Z
Redo CTRL+Y
Selet all CTRL+A
Copy CTRL+C
Cut CTRL+X
Paste CTRL+V
Print CTRL+P
Save CTRL+S
New Document CTRL+N
Find CTRL+F
Move the Cursor Click with the mouse one time
Choose a word Double click
Choose a paragraph Triple click

Project

Create a Research Paper that Compares MLA to APA document styles.

Rubric

Resume Rubric
Standards 1 point 2 points 3 points 4 points 5 points
Covers all differences between APA and MLA Is missing four or more items Is missing three items Is missing two items Is missing one items Includes the title page versus the heading, the header, the references versus the works cited
Formatted according to APA style Poor Weak Fair Good Exemplary
Is 400 - 500 words in length Poor Weak Fair Good Exemplary
Has two quality cited references Poor Weak Fair Good Exemplary
Has one explanatory note Poor Weak Fair Good Exemplary
Has no spelling or grammatical errors Poor Weak Fair Good Exemplary
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