Microsoft Word – Dissertation WorkshopUsing this guideThis 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.

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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.

ContentsUsing Word for your dissertation...........................................................................2Use document styles.............................................................................................2Create a table of contents.....................................................................................2

To create an automatic TOC...............................................................................2Update a Table of Contents................................................................................3

Create a Table of Figures.......................................................................................3Use captions to create a table of figures............................................................3

Working with the navigation pane.........................................................................4Favourite Keyboard Shortcuts...............................................................................5Create distinct document sections by using section breaks..................................6

Create sections in the document........................................................................6Insert more advanced headers and footers...........................................................6

Break the link between sections to create a unique header...............................6Further resources..................................................................................................8

IT Skills@UCLanLearning and Information Services itskills@uclan.ac.uk www.uclan.ac.uk/itskills 1

Using Word for your dissertationYour 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, therefore learning 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 stylesApply a Quick StyleIn the document, either position your cursor in the text you want to change.

In the Styles group on the Home tab, select the desired style from the Quick Styles gallery. Headings 1, 2 and 3 are useful for formatting dissertations and 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.

V ideo – What styles can do for you

Create a table of contentsTo create an automatic TOCIn 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.

2. On the References tab, click Table of Contents.

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3. Click Automatic Table 1 or Automatic Table 2, whichever TOC looks best to you in the instant preview.

Update a Table of Contents1. To update a table of contents that was created

automatically from heading styles, click References > Update 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

V ideo – Generating a table of contents from built-in styles

Create a Table of FiguresUse captions to create a table of figuresStep 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.

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V ideo – Creating a table of figures

Working with the navigation paneLooking for text or a table in your document? The Navigation pane can help you find text, tables, graphics etc and you can also get a quick look at the structure of your document.

Search for text and other document elements1. 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 pages1. 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 headings1. 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.

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V ideo – Navigating using styles

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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

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Create distinct document sections by using section breaksCreate 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 Layout tab, 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 them1. 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 Home tab, click the Show/Hide button in the Paragraph group. 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.

V ideo – Inserting page and section breaks

Insert more advanced headers and footersBreak the link between sections to create a unique headerHeaders 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.

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Apply a Different First Page settingThis 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 number1. 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 Page Number, 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.

V ideo – Adding multiple headers and footers

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Further resourcesIf you'd like to take your skills further with Word, you can complete the entire Lynda.com Word 2013: Creating long documents course (still applicable for Word 2016).

Once you've completed the course, you'll receive a certificate of completion which you can share with others or upload directly to your LinkedIn profile.

You can also complete a Microsoft Office Specialist Certification in Word at both Core and Expert level.  These are completely free whilst you're a student at UCLan - you'll find more information on our certifications web page.  

Other courses you may find helpful:

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

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