Microsoft Word – Dissertation Workshop

Using this guide

This guide contains descriptive text, instructions and accompanying online content from lynda.com.

Read the text and click the lynda.com links to view the online videos.

The first time you click a lynda.com icon, you will need to login with your UCLan username and password.

Each lynda.com video is just a few minutes long. You'll also notice that you can download accompanying lynda.com exercise files so that you can practice alongside the video.

Contents

Using Word for your dissertation

Use document styles

Create a table of contents

To create an automatic TOC

Update a Table of Contents

Create a Table of Figures

Use captions to create a table of figures

Working with the navigation pane

Favourite Keyboard Shortcuts

Create distinct document sections by using section breaks

Create sections in the document

Insert more advanced headers and footers

Break the link between sections to create a unique header

Further resources

Using Word for your dissertation

Your dissertation is likely to be the biggest piece of written work and probably the single most important assignment you will undertake whilst at university. Structuring your dissertation correctly is crucial,thereforelearning how to use certain features within Word can help you construct your dissertation easily and with less stress! It’s worth taking some time at the beginning to get familiar with these features to save you time later on.

Use document styles

Apply a Quick Style

In the document, either position your cursor in the text you want to change.

In the Styles group on the Home tab, select the desired stylefrom the Quick Styles gallery. Headings 1, 2 and 3 are useful for formatting dissertationsand essays. To see the expanded gallery, click the down button to the right of the gallery.

Change a style using “Modify”

  1. In the Styles task pane, right click the style, and click Modify.
  2. Make the change you want in the dialog box — select a different font colour, for example.
  3. Applying the modification to the template If you want this style change to be applied to the document's template, you need to select the New documents based on this template option.
  4. Click OK.
  5. All the text that uses this style will update to reflect the modified style.

/ Video – What styles can do for you

Create a table of contents

To create an automatic TOC

In the body of the document, apply heading styles to the chapter titles and headings that you want to include in the TOC. First, click in the chapter title or heading you want to appear in the TOC. Then, on the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Heading 1 for the highest level, such as a chapter title; Heading 2 for the next level, maybe a section heading; and Heading 3 for a sub-heading.

  1. Place the insertion point where you want the TOC to appear in the document.

Tip Press CTRL+HOME to place it at the start of the document.

  1. On the References tab, click Table of Contents.
  2. Click Automatic Table 1 or Automatic Table 2, whichever TOC looks best to you in the instant preview.

Update a Table of Contents

  1. To update a table of contents that was created automatically from heading styles, click ReferencesUpdate Table.
  2. You can choose to Update page numbers only or Update entire table if you want to update the page numbers and the text.

Troubleshooting

  • If your TOC turns into a line of code, such as, you may have inadvertently reverted to the field code that creates the TOC. Simply press ALT+F9 to view your TOC entries.
  • If you have additional or missing text in your TOC, navigate to that text and check the style applied to it. If you want the text to be removed from your TOC, select it and choose ‘Clear formatting’ from the drop down Styles menu

/ Video – Generating a table of contents from built-in styles

Create a Table of Figures

Use captions to create a table of figures

Step One: Add a caption

  1. Select the object (table, equation, figure, or another object) that you want to add a caption to.
  2. On the References tab, in the Captions group, click Insert Caption.
  3. In the Label list, select the label that best describes the object, such as a picture or equation. If the list doesn't provide the correct label, click New Label, type the new label in the Label box, and then click OK.
  4. Type any text, including punctuation that you want to appear after the label.
  5. Select any other options you want.

Step Two: Create the table

  1. Click where you want to insert the table of figures.
  2. On the References tab, in the Captions group, click Insert Table of Figures.
  3. In the Caption label list, click the label type for the items that you want to include in your table of figures.
  4. Choose any other options that you want, and then click OK.

/ Video – Creating a table of figures

Working with the navigation pane

Looking for text or a table in your document? The Navigation pane can help you find text, tables, graphicsetc and you can also get a quick look at the structure of your document.

Search for text and other document elements

  1. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Find. Or press CTRL+F. The Navigation Pane opens.
  2. In the Search Document box, type the text that you want to find, or click the arrow next to the magnifying glass, and then click the option that you want.
  3. Click a result to see it in your document, or browse through all the results by clicking the Next Search Result and Previous Search Result arrows.

Handy to know…You could also go to the View tab and select tickbox for Navigation Pane

View thumbnail images of pages

  1. On the View tab, in the Show group, select the Navigation Pane check box.
  2. In the Navigation pane, click the Browse the pages in your document tab.
  3. To go to a page in the document, click the thumbnail image.

Browse by headings

  1. On the View tab, in the Show group, select the Navigation Pane check box.
  2. In the Navigation pane, click the Browse the headings in your document tab.
  3. To go to a heading in your document, click the heading.
  4. To show or hide the subheadings under a heading, click the triangle next to the heading.

Handy to know…You can move parts of your document around by moving them in the Navigation pane. You can also change the level of headings, and you can add new headings.

/ Video – Navigating using styles

Favourite Keyboard Shortcuts

Keys for Selecting and Editing Text
F8 / Switches on extend selection mode
Crtl+A / Select the entire document
Shift+Arrow Keys / Extends selection in the direction you choose
Ctrl+Home / Move insertion point to the beginning of a document
Shift+F3 / Change case
Keys for Formatting Text and Paragraphs
Ctrl+Spacebar / Remove text formats
Ctrl+Q / Remove paragraph formats
Ctrl+Shift+C / Copy formatting
Ctrl+Shift+V / Paste formatting
Ctrl+[ / Reduce font size by one point
Ctrl+] / Increase font size by one point
Keys for General Tasks
Ctrl+Alt+U / Quickly remove table borders
F4 / Repeat last action
Alt+Ctrl+I / Switch in and out of Print Preview
F7 / Spelling and Grammar
Shift+F7 / Thesaurus

Create distinct document sections by using section breaks

Create sections in the document

  1. With the header and footer workspace closed, position the cursor in front of content that you want to lead off the new section.
  2. On the Page Layouttab, in the Page Setup group, click Breaks.
  3. To start the new section on a new page, click Next Page.

View section breaks and remove them

  1. To insert or remove a section break, you need to close the header and footer workspace. However, you can view the section breaks whether the workspace is open or closed.
  2. To see section breaks in a document, on the Hometab, click the Show/Hide button in the Paragraphgroup. You'll also see all your document's paragraph marks now.
  3. Scroll to the section break you want to delete.
  4. Drag the pointer across the break to select it. Then press Delete.

/ Video – Inserting page and section breaks

Insert more advanced headers and footers

Break the link between sections to create a unique header

Headers and footers for a section will take on the headers and footers of the preceding section unless you break the link to the prior section. You have to break header and footer links separately.

  1. Place the insertion point in the header or footer for which you want to break the link to the previous section. When the link is active, the header or footer includes this tab:
  2. In Header & Footer Tools, in the Navigation group, click Link to Previous to turn the setting off. (If you want to reinstate the link at a later point, you can click this button back on.)
  3. The Same as Previous tab disappears. You can now insert content that will be unique to this header or footer (depending on which you have broken the link for). You only have to break the link for one header or footer per section.

Apply a Different First Page setting

This setting enables you to have unique header and footer content on the first page of a document or in each section of a document. With regard to page numbers, if you apply this, it omits a page number on the first page.

Handy to know…If you want this setting on only the first page of your document, wait to apply it until you've created section breaks.

With the header and footer workspace open, navigate to the section for which you want a different first page.

  1. In Header & Footer Tools, in the Options group, click Different First Page.
  2. The tabs in the header and footer for the first page of the section will indicate the setting.

Change the format or starting page number

  1. To change the format of your page numbers (for example, to use -1- instead of 1, or the roman numeral i instead of 1), or to change which page number a section starts with, use the options in the Page Number Format dialog box.
  2. Position the cursor in the section in which you want the formatting to be applied.
  3. On the Insert tab, or the Design tab within Header & Footer Tools, click PageNumber, and click Format Page Numbers, at the bottom of the menu.
  4. If you want to change the look or system of the numbers, choose a setting in Number format.
  5. You can include a chapter number in front of the page number, too.
  6. If you want numbering to restart at the beginning of a section, select the starting number in Start at. To keep the numbering continuous, click Continue from previous section.
  7. Click OK.

/ Video – Adding multiple headers and footers

Further resources

If you'd like to take your skills further with Word, you can complete the entireLynda.com Word 2013: Creating long documentscourse (still applicable for Word 2016).

Onceyou'vecompletedthecourse, you'llreceiveacertificateofcompletionwhich youcansharewithothersorupload directly to your LinkedIn profile.

YoucanalsocompleteaMicrosoftOfficeSpecialistCertificationinWordatbothCore and Expertlevel. Thesearecompletely free whilstyou'reastudentatUCLan-you'llfindmoreinformationonourcertifications web page.

Other courses you may find helpful:

Word 2013 Styles in depth(still applicable for Word 2016).

1