Creating a Research Paper in
Microsoft Word
Lesson 3 Course Outline
Class Objectives:
Students will have mastered the material in this project when they can:
- Describe the MLA (Modern Language Association of America) documentation style for research papers
- Change the margin settings and line spacing in a document
- Use a header to number pages of a document
- Apply formatting using shortcut keys
- Modify paragraph indentation
- Add a footnote to a document
- Count the words in a document
- Insert a manual page break
- Create a hyperlink
- Sort selected paragraphs
- Proof and revise a document
- Display the Web page associated with a hyperlink
- E-mail a copy of a document
- Use the Research task pane to locate information
Project Guidelines
As you create a research paper, use the following general guidelines:
- Select a topic. Choose a subject related to your major that you find interesting and would like to know more about. Identify your thesis.
- Perform your research and make notes. Gather information that supports your thesis statement. You may use the internet, books, magazines and newspapers
- Make an outline of your ideas
- Write the first draft - be sure to include all your citations and footnotes from your sources. Word 2007 allows you to automatically create your bibliography from your citations.
- Always proofread and spell check, and revise your paper.
Lecture/Demo (You must be enrolled in the ecourse to view)
- View the following Internet Research Presentation from Purdue University
- In Class demonstration on how to Create an MLA Style Research Paper in Word or view the following presentation: Creating a Research Paper in Word.
Practice Exercises from Book:
(Once you get your book, download exercise files here.)
Do the following exercises from the Chapter "Creating a Research Paper Project 2 " WD74 in the assigned textbook.
- Apply Your Knowledge, page WD 133
- In the Lab 1 - Prepare a Short Research Paper, page WD 138
- In the Lab 2 - Prepare a Research Report with Footnotes, page WD 140
Assignment: Required for certificate
Create a 1.5 to 2 Page Research Paper on a subject of your choice. Bring to class or upload for ecourse.
Resources:
MLA Formatting and Style Guide -The Owl at Purdue University> Modern Language Association (MLA) - MLA Main Website.
Researching the Web - How to do Internet Research from the Owl at Purdue
Directories - Google Directory, Yahoo Directory, Open Directory DMOZ
