Appendix B
ENG/102 Version 4 / 1

Associate LevelMaterial

Appendix B

Using Microsoft® Word to Help With Formatting Basics

You may use the ribbon menu optionsin Microsoft® Word to help you format academic papers according to college requirements and APA style guidelines.

Font

Font Types

Fonts come in two types: serif and sans serif.

  • Serif. This is an example of a Serif font. The most popular serif fonts include Times New Roman, Century Schoolbook, and Garamond. Books, newspapers, and other printed materials (excluding electronic materials) typically use serif fonts, which are easier to read in hard copy. Most readers are accustomed to seeing these fonts.
  • Sans Serif. This is an example of a Sans Serif font.The clean, simple lines of sans serif fonts are preferable for viewing print on a computer screen.

Do not use fonts such as Broadway, Comic Sans, or any other elaborate or fancy font for academic papers—these fonts detract from the readability of the paper. Use Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier for all your academic papers.

Font Styles

  • All text must be written in the same font:
  • Use Times New Roman font. Arial and Courier font are also acceptable.
  • Use 12-point size.
  • Use italics sparingly for emphasis; do not use bold (acceptable for paragraph headings), underlining, or all capital letters.

Default Font Settings

To select default font settings inMicrosoft®Word, open a blank document, and follow the steps below.

  1. On the ribbonat the top of the screen, click the Fontarrow:
  2. Under Font, you will see the following textbox. Scroll through the choices and select Times New Roman as the font, regular as the font style, and 12 as the font size (highlighted in blue below):

You must use the same font throughout the entire paper. To set the default font size and type for the entire paper, clickDefault at the bottom of the menu above. Setting the default will ensure the same font not only for this paper but also for all other documents you subsequently create.

Then, click Yes in the pop-up textbox to confirm the default setting:

Margins

Margins must be set at 1 inch for all sides of the paper. Note. Although APA guidelines permit the left margin to be 1.5 inches, this setting is only for papers that are to be published and bound. You must set your margins to 1 inch for your papers.

To set the margins, complete the following steps:

  1. Go to the Ribbon at the top of the screenand click Page Layout:
  1. Once inside the Page Layout menu, clickMargins:
  1. Select Normal to set your page margins at 1 inch for the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the paper:

Justification or Alignment

APA-formatted papers must be left-aligned, with the right-hand margin left unjustified, or jagged. To set the format for left alignment, follow the directions below:

  1. Go to the ribbon at the top of the screenand click theParagraph arrow:
  1. Inthe Paragraph menu, go to General and then Alignment. SelectLeft:
  2. You may also use the alignment icons on the ribbonto set the left alignment:

Spacing

Before starting the paper, you mustset the spacing according to the following steps:

  1. On the ribbon at the top of the screen, click theParagrapharrow:
  1. In the Paragraph menu, go to Spacing, and select Double in the Line Spacing box (highlighted in blue below):

Indentation

APA requires that each new paragraph be indented five to seven spaces (indent five spaces for academic papers in your college). If you use the spacebar to indent, the indentations will not be consistent. Instead, use the Tab key to set indentations:

  • On the ribbon at the top of the screen, click the Paragraph arrow.
  • At the bottom of the Paragraph menu, select Tabs:
  • If the figure in the Default tab stops box is already 0.5,” click Cancel.
  • If the default Tab stopposition is set to a distance other than 0.5”, type 0.5” in the Tab stop position box.
  • Then, click OK.

Once you set the default, the text will be indented 0.5 inches whenever you press the Tab key.

Title Page

All documents written in APA style must have a title page. To format a title page, double-space the following information and center it on the page:

Title of the paper

Your name

Course number

Due date

Instructor’s name

Center the information by entering the items, highlighting the information, and then clickingthe Center alignment icon on the ribbon at the top of the screen. You may also follow the above directions under the Justification or Alignment section (but choose Center instead of Left).

Manuscript Page Headers

All APA papers must have a manuscript page header. The header consists of a shortened version of the title, placed in the upper left-hand corner. The page number must be placed in the upper right-hand corner.

The header appears on every page in the document. Headers begin on the title page and are automatically repeated at the top of every page in the paper.

Headers are particularly important to ensure all pages of the paper remain together when you write group papers or submit papers electronically to the Center for Writing Excellence or to the instructor.

Additional Resources
For more assistance with formatting Microsoft® Word documents, review Ch. 1 of theAssociate Level Writing Style Handbook and complete the tutorial at