Creating a Research Paper in

Microsoft Word

Week 2

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

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.

Lab/Hands On:

Do the following exercises from the Chapter "Creating a Research Paper Project 2 " WD74 in the assigned textbook. If necessary, download the exercises from the Book Resources opposite in the menu.

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

Homework:

Create a 1.5 to 2 Page Research Paper on a subject relating to your major.

Resources:

MS Word Tutorials
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