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Formatting a Research Paper Using Word

Bonnie Startt

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What do you need to know? This is intended to aid you in preparing a

research paper. You need to be sure your paper is

formatted correctly. This will guide you in being sure about

what your assignment entails.

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What do you need to ask? What format is this paper to be written in?

Different subject areas use different formats: APA, MLA, CBE, Chicago (also called Turabian).

How long is it to be?– Word Count Is that length just the paper section? Or

does it include everything?

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Questions--Continued Make sure you ask what type of sources you are

to use: book, Internet, journal. How many sources do you need? Remember this

is a research paper, so you will have to do research!

Will you be required to turn in all your sources? Some teachers ask that all Internet information be turned in with the paper. I require a disk too.

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Questions- Continued Do you need to meet with the teacher at

specific times? Ask if you need to have your research topic

pre-approved. Is it to be informative or argumentative? Should it be in 3rd person or may you use 1st

person?

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Questions-- continued Should there be an outline section? If using

APA, you will need an Abstract.

Get your questions asked beforehand.When your paper is returned, it is too late to say you didn’t know.

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What kind of class are you in? If this is a face to face class, you can do

each section as a single document. If taking an online class, it will need to be a single document. The following instructions will assume this is an on-line class.

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It’s MLA– now what We are going to assume you are writing

an MLA paper with a cover page, outline, paper, and Works Cited.

You need to open Word. The next steps will show you how to get

the paper you want.

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This is your title page. The following commands

will set up much of the formatting for the whole paper.

MLA requires 1” margins all around. Word has a 1.25” default. Go to Files- Go to Page Set-Up and set r/l margins at 1”

Type the information as you see it.

How to Format a Paper

Ima Student

English 111- 15B

Your Teacher

April 21, 2003

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Title page, continued The title page in the MLA format does not require a page number. • Go to Insert menu • Select Page Number – deselect the check mark on Show number

on First Page This will allow you to prepare your title page correctly.

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Last Step-each section When the page is complete, but before you go to the next page, you

need to create a new section which will allow a new numbering format. ****

• Go to the Insert menu • Select Break • Select the second section—select Section Break Types • Select Next Page • At the bottom you will see Page # and Section #-- the section and

page # will change to 2.

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Your Outline Page You are now ready to begin the section for

the outline. This will require you to use lower case Roman numerals (For example: i ii iii iv) in your header. We will also need to include your last name in the Header.

• Select View in the Menu • Select Header/Footer • Change alignment to Right—type your

last name and press the space bar 2 times. • Looking at the Header menu—select #

with a hand mark • Select number format: select the Roman

numerals (In older version, 95 or older, you may need to use the Insert-Page Number)

Next, Select # . When you have completed your outline,

you will need to start a new section by following the same steps as from slide 15.

Student iName May not be needed if you have a title page.TeacherClassDate

Outline

Thesis Statement: This is a single statement that introduces your topic and what your intent is. The diet industry tries to make people think there is an easy way to lose weight when in truth it requires a lifestyle change.

I. This is your opening point.

A. This is a support of the main point B. This is another point C. Use all sentences or all key words—not both.

II. This is a supporting detail.III. This is a another point

A. Support B. Support 1. Support of support 2. Another example a.. Example of example

b. ExampleIV. This might be your concluding topic sentences and supports

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•This is your Body/Works Cited Section.

At the bottom you will see Page # and Section #-- the section and page # will change to 3. It is now time begin your text. You will need to create a new header which shows the next numbering format.

Select View in the Menu Select Header/Footer Change alignment to Right—type your last

name and press the space bar 2 times. Looking at the Header menu—select #

with a hand over it. Select number format: select numbers. Then select # Don’t forget that your Works Cited

continues this numbering process.

Student 1Ima Student Use a header or a heading– not both.

Class and Section Your Teacher

How to Write a Research Paper One must double space and indent 5 spaceswhen one begins a paragraph. The writer will use the standard one inch margins all the way around. This is not the default setting if using MS Word. Use left justification for the margins. If one needs a topic, one may go to the TCC Writing Center, http://www.tcc.edu/writcent online handouts – Research Paper Topics or visit the TCC Learning Resource Center for ideas. Unless the teacher specifies otherwise, this is to be written in third person (he, she, they).

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Paper, continued Student 2This is called a research paper because the writers must do research and include it in their paper. One must include a combination of direct quotes, paraphrases, combination notes, and your own conclusions. In a direct quote the writer will use the authors exact words and place quotation marks ("quote") around it. It will be followed by the author's last name and the page number in parenthesis. In a paraphrase, the whole idea in the writer's own words. With a combination note, one uses some of one's own words and an direct quote. The writers' own conclusions are the ideas that come to the writers as contemplate research.

In the event of a long quote, more than 4 lines,

the writer must set it off by indenting 10 spaces.

Student 3This will not need quotation marks. Laughter is also an elixir for the mind. Tests

administered by Swedish psychologist Lars Ljungdahl before and after humor therapy reveal a reduction of stress and depression and a heightened sense of mental well being and creativity. More and more we are discovering that it only hurts when we don't laugh. (Lederer 10)

In the event there is a quote inside your quote, use a single quote mark for the interior quote. The following is a combination quote with an interior quote. A teacher read this to her students, " 'If you subscribe to the summer Weekly Reader you will receive ten issues.' One of her students waited all summer for a pair of tennis shoes“ (Lederer 147). Please note there is no comma inside the parenthesis, and the closing punctuation from the sentence is placed

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Paper, continued. Student 4

after the parenthesis.

If one mentions an author's name in the text,

one need only give the page number in the

parenthesis. This is also the case if one is

continuing to quote from one author. "She's a real

Pre-Madonna" (152). In the event the quote

comes from a book with 2 authors, list both in

parenthesis. (Author1 and Author2 10). With 3

authors it will be (Author1, Author2, and

Author3 10). Beyond 3 authors one may name

them all, but the most common usage is to

name the first author followed by the

abbreviation for "and others" et al. (Author1 et

al. 10).

Student 5 In the event the quote is a quote from another work which can't be found, one must indicate where it was quoted from. (qtd. In Author 10). In the event one uses an abbreviation,

always spell out the name first. For example, the

Modern Language Association (MLA) is the source of thisinformation. In the event one doesn't wish to use awhole quote, one may use an ellipsis (...) toindicate that text is missing. For example: "... Andthe quote" or "The ... quote" or "The quote ..." Should the writer need to to offer an explanationabout the quote or extra details, this may be doneby placing the explanation in square brackets [ ]. When the writer feels sure that he/she has proven the point of the thesis, the writer will prepare the conclusion. This section will sum up all that has been written without introducing any new topics.

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Paper, continued. Student 6

Page 2 and all subsequent pages will

have the writer's last name and the page

number as a header at 1/2 inch from the

top of the paper. The actual text will begin

at the 1 inch margin. Like any project make sure that you allow

enough time. Prepare a schedule. It is a simple

process if you take it in steps and allow enough

time. To quote from Murphy's Law: "If anything

can go wrong, it will." This is never more true

than when you leave a project to the last minute.

Student 7

Works Cited

Lederer, Richard. More Anguished English. New York: Delacorte Press, 1993.

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Good Luck!Although if you plan carefully,

you won’t need luck.