Objectives include being able to set, use, and understand:
• Show/Hide formatting marks
• Margins
• Headers and Footers
• Indents and Spacing
• Centering and Alignments
• Page Breaks
• “Widows and Orphans”
• Hyperlinks
• End notes and Foot notes
• Works Cited Pages
• Hanging Indents
• Sorting
• Spell Check and Thesaurus
• Picture or Clip Art Insertions

MLA Documentation Style Research Paper

The MLA (Modern Language Association) style of documentation is one of the two main styles used today for research papers.

MLA General Guidelines:
• double-space all pages
• set one inch margins (top, bottom, left, right)
• indent the 1st word of each paragraph 1/2 inch
• put the page number at right margin 1/2 inch from top margin
• precede the page number with last name
• title page is a title block (name, course, information) on 1st page of paper 1 inch from top of page
• Center the Title 2 lines below course information
• parenthetical citations are used instead of footnoting each source at the bottom of the paper
• in the MLA style, footnotes are used only for explanatory notes
• superscripts -(raised numbers) signal an explanatory note exists
• always double-space and indent 1/2 inch from left margin
• the Works Cited are on a separate page,
• lists works alphabetically by author’s last name
• center title 1 inch from top margin, double-space, begin at left margin, indent subsequent lines 1/2 inch from left margin
Headers and Footers
• A Header is text printed at top of each page (default in Word – 1/2 inch from top of page)
• A Footer is text printed at bottom of each page 1/2 inch from the bottom of the page
(They can include both text and graphics, as well as page number, date, and time)

General Terms
• first-line indent – first line of each paragraph indented
• page width zoom – Word adjusts zoom percentage to your left and right margin settings so that you see all text on screen between the left and right margins
• AutoCorrect feature – automatically corrects your misspelled words as you type them into the document
• You can create your own AutoCorrect entries and entries for abbreviations and codes (Go to – File, Options, Proofing, AutoCorrect Options) AutoCorrect Options gives you many options for
formatting and correcting text.
• Word also has some predefined commonly used symbols, you just type in certain characters and Word inserts arrows, faces and symbols into a document

Adding Footnotes and Endnotes
• Footnotes are at the end of the page (this is the default setting)
• An endnote is at the end of the paper
• Note text is footnote documentation at bottom of screen (it can be of any length and format)
• A note reference mark displays as a superscripted number in body of document and in the note text area at bottom of screen. (Word automatically numbers notes sequentially)

Page Breaks
• Automatic or Soft page breaks are automatically inserted by Word when text has filled one page.
• A Hard Page Break is one that is forced into document at specific location (Insert menu) or press CTRL+ENTER

“Widows and Orphans”
• A widow is created when last line of paragraph displays by itself at the top of new page.
• An orphan is when the first line of paragraph displays by itself at bottom of page.
(Word by default prevents widows and orphans in a document)

Creating a Hyperlink
• A hyperlink is a shortcut that creates a jump to other documents, objects or pages.
• The text appears initially as blue and underlined.
• When you click hyperlink text color changes to purple.
• A hyperlink is created by simply typing the address of file or Web page to jump to by using the AutoFormat As You Type feature.
• Jumping is the process of following hyperlink to its destination.

Sorting
• To Sort means to arrange things in alphabetic, numeric, or date order, based on the first character (from the Home tab.)
• Ascending (the default) is from smallest to largest or A to Z and descending is from largest to smallest or Z to A.

Going to a Specific Location in a Document
• Double-click the page area of the status bar
• Press CTRL+G
• Click the Find arrow on the Home tab, then Go To
• Click Select Browse Object button on vertical scroll bar

Picture or Clip Art Insertion
• From the Insert tab choose Clip Art and search for what you want to insert.
• If you choose to insert a picture you will need to have saved that picture.

Using the Thesaurus and Word Count
• A Thesaurus is a book of synonyms. The Thesaurus in Word (from the Review tab) gives you synonyms at your fingertips.
• Word count gives the number of words in document (from the Review tab) or you can select a group of text to get number of words in that group.

Using the Research Task Pane to Locate Information
• The Research Task Pane allows you to easily look things up without leaving your document.
• It is accessed by holding down the ALT key while clicking the word for which you want information or a definition.

Microsoft Word 2010 has tools to help with the preparation of Research Papers.
From the References tab you can automate many of the tasks of a research paper.

First set the Style you desire, and then use the tools to help create your paper.

For a better look go to:
http://www.howtogeek.com/54891/using-microsoft-word-2010s-references-feature-for-students/

For more information on the MLA and APA Styles see:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
or http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/

Homework # 3 – Research paper

Introduction: The purpose of this assignment is for you to demonstrate a working knowledge of Microsoft’s word processing package (Microsoft Word) and to develop and present a brief, but quality
report. To make this process more appealing and relevant, you get some latitude on the content.

For this assignment you need to produce a three to five page research paper plus a Works Cited Page using at least two cited sources. This paper will cover information technology and your proposed
major or possible career choice. Use the proper Margins, Headers, Indents and Spacing, Centering and Alignments, Page Breaks, Foot notes or End notes, and a Works Cited Page that are the Learning
Objectives of this Project. See the grading Rubric for more detail.

You can use all resources available including library, Internet searches, association and company websites. Your work should be your own. You should gather information about the information
technology that one finds in your career.
Answer at least these questions:
• How does current information technology affect my chosen field?
• What technologies are predicted to impact my chosen career in the next five years?
• Why might technology impact my career above others?
• What information technologies should I be able to work with when I graduate so that I will be successful in my career?
The organization of your report is left to you. However, as the point of the assignment is to demonstrate a proficiency in MS Word, you should include all the items in the grading rubric.
NOTE: Point deductions can occur for each offense.
See Blackboard for a sample of the MLA style you can use in this Project.

Homework 3 Research Paper Criteria and Grading Rubric
Criteria Deductions
Total Score ________/25
Overall appearance and impression of report Up to 5 Points
No Grammar or Spelling errors – no misused words like homonyms e.g. there vs. their; its vs. it’s. 1 Point
Report should be easily readable (No run on, incomplete, poorly constructed sentences) 3 Points
Must include an appropriate picture (jpg, gif, clipart, diagram, etc.); image should be embedded in text 2 Points
Must include appropriate use of Bold, Italic, and Underline 1 Point
Must include appropriate font style and font size change 1 Point
Must include at least two references in text and must be appropriately documented at end of paper (MLA or APA style) 2 Points
Must include at least three identifiable sections with numbered section headings 3 Points
Report Title should be larger font, bold, and centered 2 Points
At least three pages plus Works Cited Page with margins of 1”; spacing at 2.0; main text font size 12 pt. 2 Points
Include appropriate header text with page number and Author Last Name across pages 1 Point
Plagiarized work 25 Points