Formatting your assignment in Word

Skills for Learning

Skills for Learning IT booklet

http://skillsforlearning.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/

skillsforlearningtutorials@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

Screenshots reprinted by permission of Microsoft Corporation.

Contents

Introduction..............................................................................................................................1

Aims.........................................................................................................................................1

The basics................................................................................................................................1

1. Opening Word..................................................................................................................1

2. Change the document font to Arial or Times New Roman...............................................2

3. Change the document font to 12 point.............................................................................2

4. Change line spacing.........................................................................................................3

5. Change the margins.........................................................................................................3

6. Create a numbered list.....................................................................................................4

7. Create a bulleted list.........................................................................................................4

8. Insert a header.................................................................................................................4

9. Insert page numbers.........................................................................................................5

10. Insert an image...............................................................................................................6

11. Insert a table...................................................................................................................7

12. Insert a chart into your document...................................................................................8

Tidying up your assignment...................................................................................................10

13. Page breaks.................................................................................................................10

14. Add a border around pictures.......................................................................................10

15. Wrap text around a picture...........................................................................................11

16. Change the case of your text without deleting it...........................................................11

17. Remove problematic formatting....................................................................................11

18. Use SmartArt graphics.................................................................................................12

19. Save your document.....................................................................................................12

Further resources...................................................................................................................14

Introduction

After working through the manual, you will be able to format your assignments more confidently and effectively.

Aims

Work with document and font styles

Insert headers and footers

Add page numbers and page breaks

Change margins and line spacing

Insert bulleted and numbered lists

Customise the normal style

The basics

1. Opening Word

Click on the Start button.

Click on Word, shown in Fig 1.

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Fig 1

2. Change the document font to Arial or Times New Roman

You can use the Design tab to change your font throughout the whole document.

Click on the Design tab, shown in Fig 2.

1. Click on Fonts, shown in Fig 3.2. A drop down menu will appear, similar to that shown in Fig 3.3. Click on the font required. You might need to scroll down to find fonts such as

Verdana.

3. Change the document font to 12 point

1. Click on the Home tab, shown in Fig 4.2. Change the font size to 12 point font

size, shown in Fig 5.3. Right click on Normal in the Styles

group, shown in Fig 4.4. Click on Update Normal to Match

Selection from drop down list, shown in Fig 6.

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Fig 3

Fig 2

Fig 4

Fig 5 Fig 6

4. Change line spacing

1. Click on the Home tab.2. Click on the Line and Paragraph spacing icon in the

Paragraph group, shown in Fig 7.3. Click on 1.5 (one and a half line spacing) or 2 (double

line spacing).4. Click on Remove Space After Paragraph.

Note: This will prevent your paragraphs looking too far apart when using wider line spacing. Check your student handbook to see what line spacing is required.

5. Change the margins

Check your student handbook for the margin required for each assignment.

1. Click on the Page Layout tab, shown in Fig 8.2. Click on Margins.3. Click on Custom Margins.4. This will open the Page Setup dialogue box, shown in Fig 9.5. Change left margin to what is required.6. Click on OK.

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Fig 7

Fig 5

Fig 8Fig 9

6. Create a numbered list

1. Click on the Home tab.2. Click on the ‘More’ button next to the numbering icon, shown in Fig 10.3. Click on the number style you require.

7. Create a bulleted list

1. Click on the Home tab.2. Click on the ‘More’ button next to the bullets icon, shown in Fig 11. 3. Click on the type of bullet you want.

8. Insert a header

1. Click the Insert tab, shown in Fig 12.2. Click on Header, shown in Fig 13.3. Click on the Header type you require from the drop down menu.4. The Header pane is now open, shown in Fig 14.5. Type your header text inside the box.6. Double click the mouse underneath the dotted blue Header line to go back into the

document text.Note: A plain header type is advised for academic assignments.

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Fig 12

Fig 11Fig 10

9. Insert page numbers

1. Click on the Insert tab, shown in Fig 15.2. Click on Page Number.

This will open a drop down menu, shown in Fig 16.3. Click on one of the numbering options shown.

This will insert the number in the footer. 4. Double click the mouse above the blue dotted footer line to go back into the

document text.

 

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Fig 16

Fig 15

Fig 13 Fig 14

10. Insert an image

1. Click on the Insert tab.2. If you have a saved image, click on Picture,

shown in Fig 17.This will open the Insert Picture window, shown in Fig 18.

3. Browse to where your picture is saved.4. Click on Insert.

5. To insert an image from the web, click on Online Pictures, shown in Fig 17.This will open the search window, shown in Fig 19.

6. Type your search term in the box. The results will be listed under the search box.7. Click on the picture you want.8. Click on Insert.

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Fig 19

Fig 18

Fig 17

11. Insert a table

1. Click on the Insert tab.2. Click on the Table icon.

A drop down grid will appear, shown in Fig 20.3. Roll the mouse across and down until you have the size of

table you require. The table will appear in your document as you roll the mouse.

4. If you want to apply a design to the table, click on it to activate the Table Tools menu, shown in Fig 21.

5. Click on the design you want for your table.6. Click on the arrow shown in Fig 21 to get more options.

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Fig 21

Fig 20

12. Insert a chart into your document

You can create a chart directly in Word.

1. Click on Insert.2. Click on Chart, shown in Fig 22.

This will open the Insert Chart window, shown in Fig 23.

3. Click on the Chart you want.4. Click on OK.

This opens the Chart in Microsoft Word window, shown in Fig 24.

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Fig 23

Fig 22

Fig 24

5. Fill in the series (columns) and categories (rows), shown in Fig 24.As you complete each field the chart will build in the slide, shown in Fig 25.

6. When you’ve finished adding your data, click the X icon to close the chart in Microsoft PowerPoint window.Note: This won’t delete the chart.

7. Click on the title box, shown in Fig 25.

8. Highlight the text and delete.9. Type in your chart title.

To apply a design to your chart:

10.Click on the Chart Tools tab at the top of the screen, shown in Fig 26.

11.Click on the design you want.Note: Click the arrow shown in Fig 26 for more design options.

Copy and paste a chart from Excel

The Introduction to Excel 2013 demonstrates how to copy a chart from Excel into Word or PowerPoint. You can find this on the Skills for Learning website, under the IT section.

http://skillsforlearning.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/local/information_technology/ks_materials/ks_materials.shtml

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Fig 26

Fig 25

Tidying up your assignment

The last four tasks will help you tidy your document and understand how to remove any problem formatting.

13. Page breaks

When you need text to start on a new page, don’t hit the Enter key repeatedly. Use a page break instead.

1. Click the mouse on the part of the document where you want a new page to begin.2. Press the Ctrl key on the keyboard and keep it pressed.3. Press the Enter key on the keyboard.

14. Add a border around pictures

Putting a border around your picture can help separate it from the text.

1. Click on the image.2. This will open the Picture Tools

menu on the Ribbon, shown in Fig 27.

3. Click on Format.4. Click on Picture Border.5. Click on Weight.

Choose one of the line options. Commonly used weights are 1pt or 1½ pt.Note: You can also add borders to charts.

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Fig 27

15. Wrap text around a picture

1. Click on the picture.2. Click on the Wrap Text

icon, shown in Fig 28.3. Click on Square if you

want text to appear at the side (or both sides) of your image, chart or diagram.

4. Click on Top and Bottom if you want text at the top and bottom of your image, chart or diagram.

5. Note: Experiment with all the text wrapping options to see which suits your document best.

16. Change the case of your text without deleting it

If you type a whole block of text in uppercase (capital letters) by mistake, you can change it instead of deleting.

1. Highlight the block of text you want to change.2. Click on the Home tab.3. Click on the Change Case icon (Aa) on the Home tab, shown in Fig 29.

This will open a drop down menu of case options, shown in Fig 30.4. Choose the case you want to change it to.

17. Remove problematic formatting

1. Highlight the text you want to remove formatting from.2. Click on the Home tab.3. Click on the Clear All icon (to the right of the Aa icon), shown in Fig 29.

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Fig 29

Fig 28

Fig 30

18. Use SmartArt graphics

You may decide to use SmartArt graphics in your document. SmartArt is an easy, professional way to present information visually.

1. Click on the Insert tab.2. Click on SmartArt, shown in Fig 31.

This will open the SmartArt window.3. Scroll through the options and click on the SmartArt you want to use.4. Click OK.

19. Save your document

It’s good practice to save your document every fifteen minutes or so to avoid losing your work if the power cuts out or the computer fails. If you are saving to a memory stick (USB drive) you should still save a backup copy to your personal drive on the student network (P: drive).

You then have a backup copy to work on. To avoid confusion about which location has the most recently worked on file, save as a new file with the date or date and time as part of the file name.

1. Click on the File tab, shown in Fig 32.2. Click on the Save As icon, shown in Fig 33.3. This will open the Save As menu, shown in Fig 33. 4. Click on Computer.5. Click on Browse.

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Fig 32

Fig 31

This opens The Save As window, shown in Fig 34.

6. Click on the P: drive.

7. Type the name in the File Name box.

8. Click on Save.

Note: If the folder you want to save in is listed on the right, under Current Folder or Recent Folders, you can click on the folder to go directly to that location.

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Fig 34

Fig 33

Further resources

The Library has several books on using Word.

Lambet, J. (2013) Microsoft Word 2013. Washington: Redmond.Basham, S. (2013) Word 2013 in easy steps. Leamington Spa: Easy Steps Ltd.

Workshops and the Skills for Learning website

Workshops on using Word for formatting assignments and dissertations are provided throughout the academic terms. For the most up to date timetable see the Skills for Learning website:

http://skillsforlearning.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/workshops/index.shtml

Video tutorials can be an effective way of developing IT skills. GCFLearnFree provides a comprehensive range of tutorial topics covering Word, as well as other Office and IT topics. Approximate timings are shown for each tutorial.

GCFLearnFree http://www.gcflearnfree.org/office2010/word2013

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