Microsoft Word 2007™ Starting a Thesis (Level 3) Contents Introduction ..............................................................................................................0 The Rules and Page Setup ....................................................................................1 Creating a Thesis Template ..................................................................................2 Setting up Styles ......................................................................................2 Numbering Headings ............................................................................3 Sub-Headings ...........................................................................................4 The Body Text (Normal Style) .............................................................5 Page Numbering ......................................................................................6 Headers and Footers ..............................................................................6 Saving the Template ..............................................................................7 Creating a New File Using the Template .........................................................7 Keeping your Work Safe and Secure ................................................................7 Typing the Text .........................................................................................................8 Creating More Styles ..............................................................................8 Adding Graphics ......................................................................................9 Adding Captions to Figures, Equations, Tables etc .................. 10 Cross-Referencing ................................................................................ 10 The Document Map and Thumbnails ........................................... 11 Counting the Words ........................................................................... 12 Closing Word ......................................................................................................... 12 Adding References ............................................................................................... 12 Further Help and Tips .......................................................................................... 14 Introduction The aim of this document is to show you how to make the best use of Microsoft Word when writing a thesis. It's important that you use certain features, right from the first paragraph. These then make it much easier to bring all of the component parts of a thesis together and allow you to produce things like a Table of Contents or List of References automatically. Some features are only dealt with in brief in these notes and you may need to work through some of the Advanced Wordprocessing Topics to gain a deeper understanding of how they work. IT Services
Further Help and Tips .......................................................................................... 14
Introduction The aim of this document is to show you how to make the best use of Microsoft Word when writing a thesis. It's important that you use certain features, right from the first paragraph.
These then make it much easier to bring all of the component parts of a thesis together and allow you to produce things like a Table of Contents or List of References automatically. Some features are only dealt with in brief in these notes and you may need to work through some of the Advanced Wordprocessing Topics to gain a deeper understanding of how they work.
This document assumes you are reasonably familiar with Word. See the documents Microsoft
Word 2007: An Essential Guide and Microsoft Word 2007: An Intermediate Guide if you are not.
The Rules and Page Setup The Rules for the Submission of Theses for Higher Degrees specify the required format for a thesis (see Section 4). They are published on the WWW at http://www.reading.ac.uk/Exams/ThesesRules.pdf. In brief, they state:
The length should not exceed 90,000 words (for a PhD) or 60,000 (for an MPhil)
The paper size must be A4 (30cm x 21cm)
The text should be spaced to ensure legibility (ie one-and-a-half or double spaced)
The left (binding) margin should be at least 35mm, with the other margins at least 15mm
The margins should not include the page number
Pages containing any table etc must be numbered in sequence with the rest of the thesis
Printing should be on one side of the paper only, except where a table, graph or illustration faces text
to which it refers (these can also be placed in a pocket at the back of the thesis)
There's further information about the contents of the title page and what to do with other material such as maps and CDs, which can't be bound with the text.
To comply with the Rules, the following changes should be made to the Page Setup:
1. Start up Microsoft Word 2007 as usual, beginning with a new document
2. Move to the Page Layout tab on the Ribbon and click on the [Page Setup] arrow (on the far right of
the Page Setup group heading) - the following dialog box appears:
3. On the Margins tab, check that the Top: and Bottom: margin are set to at least 1.5cm - the default
settings of 2.54cm (one inch) are fine
4. Adjust the Left: margin to at least 3.5cm and check that the Right: margin is at least 1.5cm
Tip: To keep the overall typing area the same as other documents, increase the Left: margin by (for example) 1 cm to 3.54cm and decrease the Right: margin by a corresponding amount to 1.54cm.
5. Click on the Paper tab and check that the Paper size: is set to A4 - if it isn't, change it
6. Click on the Layout tab and under From edge: increase both the Header: and Footer to 1.5cm to
Note the [Default...] button on this and the other tabs. You can save your new settings by clicking on this button BUT this will affect all your new documents. It's better to create a special thesis template, which you just use for documents which form your thesis.
7. Press <Enter> for [OK] to close the Page Setup dialog box
Creating a Thesis Template A template is a file which holds a host of settings, which are used when you open a document based on that template. The default template is called normal.dotx but you can create your own very easily. To save your current settings in a template:
1. Click on the [Office Button], choose Save As then click on Word Template
It’s a good idea to create a special folder in which to store all your thesis work:
2. Click on the [Create New Folder] button on the Save As window toolbar (or press <Alt 4>)
3. For the Name: of the New Folder type Thesis then press <Enter> for [OK]
4. Finally, supply a File name: for your template (eg mythesis) then press <Enter> for [Save]
Note: If you want to be able to open your file with the previous version of Word (and haven’t installed a converter), turn on the Maintain Compatibility with Word 97-2003 option at step 4.
Your file is now called mythesis.dotx, as shown at the top of the screen. However, there are various other settings you should change before you use it to type your work.
Setting up Styles By far the most important feature provided in Word, which you should be using when writing a thesis, is styles. Styles are simply different types of formatted text and include settings such as font, font size, bold/italic/underline, justification and paragraph spacing. It's better to use them rather than setting up a particular format manually for several reasons:
You don't have to keep clicking on the Ribbon buttons to activate and de-activate the settings
If you alter a style, text defined in that style changes throughout the whole document
You can create your own styles
Even more important, for a thesis, are heading styles. They are useful for three main reasons:
You don't have to remember how different section and sub-section headings are set up
You can use the Document Map facility to easily move around your document
And, vitally, heading styles are used to generate a Table of Contents
The first of these points ensures all your headings look the same, no matter which chapter of your thesis you are editing. If you decide you don't like the way that the headings look then you can just redefine the style and all your headings in all your files will be redrawn. By displaying the Document Map, you can move directly to any heading without having to scroll up and down to find it.
The third reason is even more important. If you don't use styles for your headings then you can't generate a Table of Contents automatically. Instead, you will have to go through your thesis to work out which page each section or sub-section is on and then manually type in the table. This can be very time-consuming and inaccuracies inevitably creep in.
In Microsoft Word you have different heading styles already set up for you (but you can easily redefine these if you want to use a different font, font size or bold etc):
1. Move to the Home tab on the Ribbon and note the Styles group towards the right
2. Click on the [Heading 1] button to create a title which is bold and in larger letters
3. Type the title of your work - eg Chapter One - Introduction
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4. Press <Enter> and you automatically revert to the Normal style of text
You may have noticed that Heading 1 is a different font (Cambria) to Normal text (Calibri) and is dark blue in colour (if not in compatibility mode). This is deliberate (it makes the headings stand out) but you might not like it or might prefer a different font completely. You might also prefer a different font size and black letters. It's easy to redefine the style if you don't like its characteristics:
5. Right click on the [Heading 1] button and choose Modify…
6. Change the font, font size, colour, justification, bold etc to what you prefer - eg [Center] it and set the [Font Colour] to Automatic (ie black)
7. Click on [OK] to close the Modify Style dialog box
Note: It's important that you redefine styles like this rather than manually format the text. This is particularly important if you are using your own PC and have the Keep track of formatting option turned on. With this, a new style is created each time you manually format (and you end up with hundreds). To check this option is turned off, click on the [Office Button] then on [Word Options] and choose Advanced – Keep track of Formatting is one of the Editing options.
Numbering Headings The default heading styles do not include any numbering. If you want your sub-section headings numbered (eg 1.1, 1.2 etc) then you need to use a Multilevel list. An added benefit is that it lets you include the chapter numbers in your page numbering and figure/table captions (if that's what you want).
1. Click anywhere on your main heading (to rest the typing position) then on the [Multilevel list] button
– the third in the top row of the Paragraph group on the Home tab of the Ribbon
2. From the List Library, select the numbering style required (choose one associated with heading styles -
the right one in the middle row is a good choice)
To customize this further:
3. Click on the [Multilevel list] button again but this time choose Define New Multilevel List…
4. In the dialog box which appears, click on [More>>] to see all the available options:
You will see that you have 9 pre-defined heading levels, which gradually build up the numbering from one level to the next. Word lets you customise Number format - for example you could add the word Chapter before it:
5. Click in the Enter formatting for number: box then press the <Home> key (to move the typing before
the shaded number 1) and type Chapter (+ a space)
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Note that Number style: (immediately below Enter formatting for number) allows you to choose a different numbering system (eg i, ii, iii or One, Two, Three), but this then feeds down to the next numbering level. You certainly won’t want One.1.1 but you may want Roman numerals for your Table of Contents etc. Note also Start at: (you'll need to set this for each chapter) and [Font...] (which allows you to set the font characteristics for the numbering, such as its size or bold/italic) .
By default, a tab character separates the numbering from the rest of the heading, which can cause problems. It’s better to have a space (or a hyphen or colon). You can change this as follows:
6. Using the list arrow provided, change the option Follow number with: to Space
7. If you want a different character (eg a hyphen or colon), choose Nothing then type the character after
the shaded number 1 in the Enter formatting for number box
8. Press <Enter> for [OK] to enforce your changes and close the Define new Multilevel list dialog box
9. End by deleting the excess words Chapter One from your title - take care not to delete the space
following the numbering (use [Undo] if you go wrong)
Your heading style has now been reset. Next time you use it, it will have the new characteristics. The updated style will be the default for any new document based on the template; for an existing document, there's an option you can set to update all the styles to reflect the latest version of the template. Note that if you don't want a particular heading numbered but want it to appear in the Table of Contents, simply turn off the numbering for that heading (but keep the Heading style).
Tip: If you would like Chapter 1 to appear on a separate line above the rest of the heading, press <Shift Enter> after the number for the new line. This gives you a new line but not a new paragraph. Also use this key combination whenever you want to split a long heading at a particular place (you may need to reset the Hanging Indent to zero to get things to line up properly). It can also be used in a list when you want a second paragraph under a single bullet point or numbered item.
Sub-Headings Now that you've set up your numbered headings, it's time to see them in action.
1. Press <Ctrl End> to move to the end of your text
Currently, only a few styles are showing; to see the other heading levels you can either use the scroll bar attached to the styles (on the right) or the More button below this or the Styles Window arrow:
2. Click on the [Styles Window] arrow on the far right of the Styles group heading – the available styles
are shown in a new window
3. Choose [Heading 2] – you’ll find your paragraph is automatically numbered 1.1
4. Type some text as a heading then press <Enter> - the style again reverts to Normal
5. Type in a first paragraph (a couple of lines is sufficient) then press <Enter> again
6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 except choose Heading 3 to see how this style has been set up
Tip: You can also set which heading level you require by choosing any heading level and then pressing <Tab> to move down or <Shift Tab> to move up the heading levels. To change the level for an existing heading, the insertion point (typing position) must be at the start of the heading – press <Home> before using <Tab> or <Shift Tab>.
If you don't like the way the default Heading 2 and Heading 3 styles are defined then you can redefine the styles as you did previously for Heading 1 - for example, you might prefer your headings to be in a slightly different or larger font:
7. Right click on [Heading 2] in the Styles window and choose Modify…
8. Select the required font, font colour or font size – eg turn off italics
9. Click on [OK] to close the dialog box
Another way to do this is to make the changes to an existing heading and then set that as the style:
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10. Click three times on an existing heading to select it
11. Set the required font, colour and/or font size (using the buttons in the Font group of the Home tab on
the Ribbon or by right clicking on the selection to see a local copy of these)
12. Right click on the selection and choose Styles then Update Heading ... to Match Selection
The Body Text (Normal Style) Your ordinary paragraphs are known as the body text. The current Normal style doesn't meet the criteria specified in the Rules and needs to be reset. These stipulate that the text should be spaced legibly and suggest one-and-a-half or double spacing. Most theses seem to be double-spaced but you can reduce the spacing if you think that looks better. Indeed, any spacing which is at least one-and-a-half would seem to be acceptable (you can make use of this to fit your text neatly onto the pages). The other setting you can customise is the font and font size. Again, as long as it's legible, the choice is yours.
1. Right click on the [Normal] button in the Styles window and choose Modify...
2. If you don't like Calibri, select a different Font: from the list provided
3. If you prefer a different font Size:, select one from the list or type in the value
Next you need to set up the line spacing. Three line spacing buttons are provided (single, 1.5 and double); however, to see what other settings are possible:
4. Click on [Format] and select Paragraph... - the Paragraph dialog box appears:
5. Change the Line spacing: to Double (or 1.5 lines for one-and-a-half spacing)
Tip: If you want your lines somewhere between one-and-a-half and double spaced, change this to Multiple At: (for example) 1.8.
You could spend some useful time investigating the other settings on this and the Line and Page Breaks tab. When you've seen enough:
6. Click on [OK] to close the Paragraph dialog box and enforce the changes to the style
Again, you could explore the other Format settings but few users will need to amend any of them. If you are writing a thesis in more than one language, then use Language... to set up separate styles for each language.
7. Press <Enter> for [OK] to close the Modify Style dialog box
Note how all your paragraphs are reformatted automatically.
8. Close the Styles window – you have finished setting up the main styles for your template
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Page Numbering Another setting you can save in your template is the page number - its position and format. To add a page number to your work:
1. Click on the Insert tab on the Ribbon and choose [Page Number] in the Header & Footer group
2. From the list which appears, choose whether you want the numbers at the Top of Page or Bottom of
Page and then select from the formats available
The page number now appears in either the Header or Footer and an extra Header & Footer Tools tab appears on the Ribbon. Note that the [Page Number] button is repeated here in the left group. If you want to change the format of the page number:
3. Click on the [Page Number] button and select Format Page Numbers… - the following dialog box
appears:
You probably won't need to change any of the settings here - just note what you can do. Number format: lets you choose Roman numerals (i, ii, iii ... for example) - you may need to use these when you come to write your introductory pages (table of contents/figures, acknowledgements etc). Include chapter number: lets you add this to your page numbering (eg 1 - 10). Finally Start at: lets you start at a particular number.
Tip: If you Start at: 0 and also set a [Different First Page] (in the Options group on the Design tab) then numbering appears to start on the second page - useful if you don't want a title page numbered.
4. Press <Enter> for [OK] to close the Page Number Format dialog box
Headers and Footers You might want a special header or footer, showing the main title of your thesis, for example. Note that if you want each chapter to show its chapter title then that is stored in each file, not in the template.
1. Click on the [Header] button (on the far left of the Header & Footer Tools tab) and choose the required
format (the first one, Blank, is probably sufficient)
2. Press <Tab> once for centre or twice for right justification (or use the [Center] or [Align Text Right] buttons on the Home tab)
3. Type in the main title of your thesis
To customise the format of your title:
4. Select the title text then make any font changes (eg size, bold/italic) required
5. Next, right click on the selection and choose Styles then Update Header to Match Selection
If this option isn’t showing, it may be because of a spelling or grammar error. Choose Ignore Once then repeat step 5. This will have redefined the Header style for your template.
6. When you have finished, either double click anywhere in the main body of the text or use the [Close Header and Footer] button on the far right of the Header & Footer Tools tab
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Saving the Template Once you have all your styles etc set up, you'll need to save them in your template. However, you won't be needing any of your text in the template - just the Page Setup and style settings.
1. Press <Ctrl a> to select all of your text (or use Select All from the [Select] button on the far right of
the Home tab)
2. Press <Ctrl x> or click on [Cut] to remove the text (and copy it to the Clipboard)
3. Now press <Ctrl s> (or click on [Save] on the Quick Access Toolbar) to save your empty file (in
mythesis.doxt)
4. Close the file (click on the [Office Button] and then [Close]) but do not close down Word
If you find you need to alter the template in the future, you can always reopen this template file and make the necessary changes. However, you can also redefine or create a style from within a document and add this to the template, as you will see later.
Creating a New File Using the Template Though it took a lot of effort to set up your thesis template, it's very easy to create a new file using all the settings. The alternative would be to set up each file individually, as you create it, which is even more time-consuming and can easily lead to inconsistencies.
To create a new file (based on the template):
1. Click on the [Office Button] and select New (DON'T use <Ctrl n> or the [New] button on the Quick Access Toolbar or your document will be based on the normal.dotx template)
2. A New Document dialog box appears - under Templates choose New from existing…
3. Select your template file (template.dotx) then press <Enter> for [Create New]
A new blank document will appear, ready for you to start typing your text. Note the Normal style reflects any changes you may have made to the font or font size and the document has a header/footer.
Tip: You can also create a new document simply by double clicking on template.dotx.
Though the text you typed in to set up your template was largely rubbish, it's useful to get it back here so that you have something to continue working on:
4. Press <Ctrl v> or click on [Paste] - your text should reappear
Note: It’s possible to create a new file based on the settings in an existing file – choose the file rather than the template at step 3 above (or just open the existing file, delete all the text and save it with a new name). With a template, however, you can change a style if you want and then apply it to existing files automatically.
Keeping your Work Safe and Secure A thesis is a very important piece of work. It's vital that you save it in a safe place and make regular backups of any files (including your template). If you are working on an IT Services computer and saving your files in My Documents then you can be assured that your work is safe and that it will be backed up regularly (a snapshot is taken hourly with a full backup each night). IT Services will have a backup copy of your files as they were yesterday, last week or even a month or year ago. It's a good idea to save your work to a specially-named folder within the My Documents folder (which is mapped to the N: drive on the public machines).
1. Press <Ctrl s> or click on [Save] on the Quick Access Toolbar
2. Check that Save in: is set to your Thesis folder and Save as type: is Word document (*.docx) - change this to Word 97-2003 document (*.doc) if you want the Word 2003 format
3. Finally, supply a File name: for your work (eg Chapter 1) then press <Enter> for [Save]
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Try to keep all the files for your thesis in this same folder - it makes finding and backing them up much easier.
Tip It's a good idea to keep each chapter in a separate file. If you do manage to corrupt or delete a file and haven't got a backup then at least you only lose the one chapter. It's also better for Word to work with smaller files rather than one big one (the possibility of corruption increases significantly with file size, particularly if charts and pictures are included).
If you are working on your own PC then always store your files on the hard disk (again, save your documents in a special folder within My Documents). Floppies, zip disks, USB pens etc can be used for moving files from one computer to another or for taking backups of files, but you should be aware that they can become corrupt and it's all too easy to lose weeks or even months of important work. AVOID WORKING DIRECTLY FROM SUCH MEDIA. Note that if you are working partly on your own computer and partly on a University one and change your template, you will also need to copy it to the appropriate folder on each system.
If you are using your own PC, it's vital to make regular backups of your work. Don't rely just on a single backup as it's possible for the current version of a file on the hard disk to be corrupted in saving. You might then copy this onto your backup disk, overwriting the only good copy of your file. Work on a grandparent/parent/child system, replacing the oldest (grandparent) version each time. Backups can be stored on floppies, zip disks, pens, writable CDs or similar such media but you should be aware that any of these can become corrupt and your work lost. They can also be stolen or damaged by fire or liquids, as can your PC. If you can, keep an extra backup in another location (eg at your parents' or a friend's house) then that provides additional security. Better still, make use of the University system to back up your work - bring your backups onto campus and copy them to My Documents on your N: drive. Don't forget to backup your thesis template too.
Tip: If you are moving your files between your own PC and the University system, it's important to label your media with your contact details. Each year, a large number of floppy disks, USB pens etc are left behind in the drives of IT Services machines and it's often impossible to trace the owners.
Typing the Text You can now continue writing your Chapter 1. Don't waste time trying to fit your work onto the pages until you have finished amending and correcting it. This is dealt with in Microsoft Word 2007: Finishing a Thesis.
Creating More Styles As you type, you may find that you need to create new styles (or amend existing ones) and this you can do from within a document. To see how, try typing a numbered list:
1. Check you are at the end of your work on a blank line (with the style set to Normal)
2. Click on the [Numbering] button, type in a short line of text then press <Enter>
3. Repeat step 2 for a second numbered list item
You may consider that your list is spaced too widely. To amend the style and add it to your template:
4. Click on the Styles group arrow to display the Styles window
5. Right click on the List Paragraph style (you may need to scroll down) and choose Modify…
6. Click on [Format] and choose Paragraph
7. Set Line spacing: to 1.5 lines to squash up your text a little
8. Turn on the Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style: option
9. Increase Spacing After: to 18pt to balance the gap between the last item and following paragraph then click on [OK] to close the Paragraph dialog box
10. Turn on the New documents based on this template: option at the bottom of the window
11. Click on [OK] to close the Modify Style dialog box – your list should look much better
Note: This will also squash up bulleted lists as they too use the List Paragraph style.
Next, try creating your own style for a table. First, insert a table to see how it could be improved:
13. Move to the Insert tab on the Ribbon and click on the [Table] button
14. Select a small table (2 rows by 2 columns would be sufficient)
15. Type a couple of lines of text into the first cell
As with the numbered list, the text is very widely spaced – this can prove problematic in a table where you may want to store as much information as possible in a limited space. Note also that the text isn’t centred very well vertically – it touches the top border of the cell but there is a gap below the text and bottom border. To rectify this:
16. Click on the [New Style] button (shown as AA in the bottom left corner of the Styles window)
17. Name the style MyTable (or something similar) and turn on
18. Click on [Format] and choose Paragraph...
19. Change the Line spacing: to 1.5 lines and change both Spacing Before: and Spacing After: to 6pt
20. Press <Enter> for [OK] to accept the changes
21. Turn on the New documents based on this template: option (to add the new style to your template) then
press <Enter> for [OK] to close the Create New Style window
22. Select the whole table and click on the MyTable style to apply it to the other cells
23. End by closing the Styles window – you have finished with it for now
Your table should look much better and you’ll be able to squeeze much more into tables when you choose this style. You’ll need to select it each time you create a new table (or you can apply it to an existing table, as in step 22 above).
Adding Graphics In the same way that heading styles are used to generate a Table of Contents, Captions are used to generate a List of Figures etc. These are another special style, which you can customise if you want. Whenever you add a line of text above (or below) a figure or table etc, you must use the caption style for this. It’s best if you insert the figure first, and then add the caption:
1. Press <Ctrl End> to move to the end of your work
2. Next, move to the Insert tab and click on [Object] in the Text group then click on the Create from File
tab (for a picture choose [Picture] in the Illustrations group)
3. [Browse...] to find the file D:/Training/example.xls (on a lab PC, change Look in: to User (D:), double click on the folder Training and select example.xls)
4. Press <Enter> for [Insert] then press <Enter> again for [OK]
Don't worry if your Excel object moves to a new page - it may not fit on the current one.
This may or may not be the best method to insert an Excel chart. It actually pastes a copy of the Excel file into your document, which you can then activate and change as you will see in a minute. However, it also increases the size of the document making it more prone to corruption. If you use the Link to File option in the Object window instead, you must make sure the linked file isn't moved or renamed.
1. Double click on the inserted object to activate Excel
2. Right click on the chart and choose Move Chart…
3. Select New sheet: then press <Enter> for [OK] - only the chart is now shown
4. Click away from the chart to close Excel
5. Click on it again to select it then resize the chart using the handles provided
Tip: By far the best method is to paste a chart as a picture - use Paste Special… then Picture (a JPEG or GIF are fine). This can then be rotated, if necessary, to create a sideways (landscape) graph on an upright (portrait)
page, thereby keeping any header/footer information such as the page number in the correct place. If you need to make any changes, do so in Excel and then copy the updated graph back into your document.
Adding Captions to Figures, Equations, Tables etc It’s now time to add a caption to the figure.
1. Make sure your chart is selected (ie it should be surrounded by handles) before you add the caption
2. Move to the References tab then click on [Insert Caption] in the Captions group - the following
window appears:
The default caption is for a Figure but other captions are available (or you can create your own).
3. Using the list arrow attached to Label: select the type of caption required
4. Using the list arrow attached to Position: select whether you want the caption above or below
5. If you require a different label (eg Photograph), click on the [New Label...] button - type in your Label:
then press <Enter> for [OK]
The [Numbering...] button lets you change the numbering system (eg to Roman numerals) and you can include the chapter number if you wish. With [AutoCaption...], Word automatically gives you a caption each time you insert a particular type of object (eg for a series of equations).
6. Reset the Label: to Figure then click on [OK]
7. Complete the caption, here type Seasonal Variation in Temperature
You'll find the caption is added to your text in a new Caption style (which you can redefine, if you so choose). Using captions like this not only lets you generate a List of Figures etc but renumbers them automatically as they are moved around or as new figures are added higher up in the text.
It's important that a caption should appear on the same page as the figure or table to which it refers. This is set up automatically for you by the Caption style - another advantage of using captions. Headings are also set up similarly, so that they don’t appear isolated at the bottom of a page.
8. Next, add a caption to your table – click in it to place the typing position within the table
9. Repeat steps 3 and 4, this time choosing the Label: Table
10. Complete the caption by tying in some suitable words
Cross-Referencing Using captions to label your figures and tables has another advantage - you can refer to them using a cross-reference in your text. These cross-references update automatically to match the figure/table number if its numbering changes. To add a cross-reference:
1. Press <Enter> for a new line then type in some text
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2. Move to the Insert tab then click on [Cross-reference] in the Links group (this button is also available
in Captions on the References tab)
Note: Headings and numbered/bulleted lists can already be cross-referenced. For further entries:
3. Change the Reference type: to the type of caption required - eg Figure
4. Change Insert reference to: to the format required - eg Only label and number
5. Select the figure you wish to cross-reference (here, you only have the one to choose from)
6. Press <Enter> for [Insert] then <Esc> to [Close] close the Cross-reference window
7. Continue with the text: shows the monthly variation of temperature ...
The figure is referred to by a special field. Sadly the reference in the text doesn't update straightaway if another figure is added before the referenced one (or if the figure is moved to a different position in the text). If this annoys you, you can manually update a field code - right click on the text and choose Update Field… from the pop-up menu. The easiest way to update all your cross-references in one go is to Print Preview your work (via Print in the [Office Button]).
Tip: To cross-reference other pieces of text, select the text and then move to the Insert tab and select [Bookmark]. Supply a name for the bookmark then click on [Add]. To cross reference this text, repeat steps 2 to 6, as above, but at step 3 choose Bookmark and at step 4 the required format.
The Document Map and Thumbnails The Document Map is a very simple, yet immensely useful, tool for moving around your document. If you turn it on, Word displays a pane on the left of the screen containing all your headings. You simply click on the required heading in the map to move directly to it:
1. Move to the View tab and click on [Document Map] - a special pane appears on the left
2. Click on any of the headings to move directly to that section
3. Click on [Document Map] again, to hide the pane
You can modify the level of headings shown in the Document Map by right clicking in the pane. Captions may be included the very first time you ever use the Map but are generally not shown.
Another useful feature for moving around your thesis (and checking page layout) is Thumbnails:
4. Click on the [Thumbnails] button (under [Document Map]) – page miniatures appear on the left
5. Click on any miniature to move to that page then hide the pane by clicking on [Thumbnails] again
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Counting the Words When writing your thesis you should be aware of the number of words you are using. Remember that the total length should not exceed 90,000 words (for a PhD) or 60,000 (for an MPhil). It's a good idea to monitor your word count as you write each chapter, though you could leave this until all the chapters are written.
Word 2007 automatically gives you a word count in the Status Bar at the bottom left of the window. If this isn’t showing:
1. Right click on the Status Bar
2. Turn on Word Count – note the other options (Section might also usefully be added)
Closing Word You've almost completed the Starting a Thesis training now, but some of you might like to see how the EndNote software can be used for managing your references. Whether you do or not:
1. Close your document – click on the [Office Button] and choose Close
2. Save the changes both to your document and the template
To check that your template has also been updated:
3. Click on the [Office Button] and choose New
4. Select the template template - it appears in the list of Recently Used Templates
5. Press <Enter> for [Create] then click on [Heading 1] in the Styles group on the Home tab
6. Click on the list arrow attached to the right of the [Numbering] button and choose Set Numbering
Value…
7. Change Set value to: to 2 then press <Enter> for [OK] – you’re now ready for Chapter 2
8. Close Word - click on the [Office Button] and then on [Exit Word] or click on the [Close] button -
save the new file as Chapter 2, if you like
Once you have written some or all of your thesis, work through the second part of these notes - Microsoft Word 2007: Finishing a Thesis.
Adding References As you type in your thesis, you will be including references in your text. Word 2007 has its own referencing system, but this isn’t really adequate enough for a thesis. Instead you should be using the special bibliographic database program EndNote. As you do your research, you can use EndNote to build up your own library of references (either by typing them in or by downloading them from the University's Unicorn or other library catalogues). You then use this to add references and, simultaneously, create a bibliography at the end of your text. The Library produce written notes on using EndNote and give training on it; here, you will be briefly introduced to the software.
1. Load up Word and open the Chapter One file – click on the [Office Button] and select it from the list of Recent Documents on the right
2. Move to the EndNote tab then click on the [Go to EndNote] button
3. Open the File menu and choose New…
4. The New Reference Library window appears - type in a File name: (eg refs) and change Save in: to point
to your Thesis folder (double click on Thesis to [Open] it)
5. Click on [Save] to create the new library - the following window appears:
You could now start typing in your references by hand (by clicking on the green [New Reference] button or using New Reference from the References menu) or you can download them from a library catalogue. You have to be a little careful here or you can accidentally download hundreds of references into your own library. In the latest version of EndNote there are 3 modes of working:
6. Begin by moving to Online Search Mode – click on the [Online Search Mode] button (in Integrated
mode, all references are automatically copied into your own library)
7. Next, click on [Online Search] (the magnifier in the middle of the toolbar) or open the EndNote Tools
menu and choose Online Search – the Choose a Connection window appears:
8. Choose U Reading (at the top of the list) then press <Enter> for [Choose]
You are now linked to the University's Library catalogue, with a search screen waiting to be filled in. You can set your own search criteria if you prefer not to use the example below.
9. [Maximize] the window then, in the first box, change Author to Keywords, leave Contains as it is but type Computer Training in the third box - click on [Search]
10. A window saying how many references have been found appears - press <Enter> for [OK]
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The matching references are now returned to your screen. If you need to, you can refine the search by changing the online search criteria or you can perform a completely new one. With each new search, the default is for the current list to be cleared.
Having listed the possible references, it's time to copy the ones you want into your personal library.
11. Select the reference required by clicking on it (here, click on any reference then press <Ctrl a> to
select them all)
Note that you can also use Ctrl click to select several individual references or Shift click to select a range.
12. Now open the References menu, choose Copy references to… then select refs.enl - the references are copied into your own library
13. Click on the [Local Library Mode] button
Now start adding references to your thesis:
14. Click on the W [Back to Word Processor] button (or on your document) to move back to Word then
press <Ctrl End> to move to the end of your text
15. Type in some more text (any rubbish will do) then click on the [GoTo EndNote] button
16. Select the required reference then click on the [Insert Citation] (red arrow) button (or use Insert
Selected Citation(s) under Cite While You Write in the Tools menu)
You'll find the selected reference is added to your thesis, both in the usual abbreviated form in the text and in full below it.
17. Repeat steps 15 and 16 to add two further references - you'll find the list below the text is
automatically sorted into alphabetical order
18. Repeat steps 15 and 16 again but choose one of the references you already have in your text - you'll
find the abbreviation is added to the text but only one entry appears in full
19. Finally, locate a unique reference, drag through it to select it then press <Delete> - the full reference
will disappear automatically from the list below
TIP: To format your references with a hanging indent, move the typing position to immediately below your references; click on the [Format Painter] button then drag through your reference list (the empty paragraph has the required settings).
EndNote is a really useful tool when writing a thesis. It ensures you have a complete reference list building up as you write your text, with all references cited included (and no duplication). To learn more about it, ask at the Library Information Desk.
Note: You can purchase a copy of the software, at a special education rate, to install on your own PC. You can then take a copy of your refs.enl file (from the Thesis folder in My Documents) to put on your own PC. Without this, the references will not appear in your text (but the special codes will still be present and will activate when you next log on to a University PC). There’s also a free version of EndNote called EndNote Web.
20. End by closing Word in the usual way, saving the changes made to your file
21. Also close EndNote - press <Enter> for [OK] to discard any unused references from the library search and ignore any error messages which might appear.
Further Help and Tips The following tips are worth noting:
To get a copy of information on a web page, do a screen dump (press <Alt Print Screen>. Paste this
into a new Word or PowerPoint file then use the [Crop] button on the Picture Tools Format tab to
remove the surrounding test. Finally, copy the picture and paste it in to your thesis. Enlarge it by
dragging out a corner handle. Note that if you enlarge it too much, you may lose picture quality.
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Try to avoid using Printer Fonts. These are shown with a printer symbol at the side in the list of fonts.
Stick to fonts shown as TT (true type) as these should give exactly the same output whichever printer
is used
Be aware of the typing area (indicated by white on the ruler, if you have it displayed). Don't be
tempted to place text, a table or graphic so that it stretches outside this area into the margins
To insert a special character, move to the Insert tab, click on [Symbol] then choose More Symbols….
Select the Font: then double click on the required character. If you set the Font: to (normal text) then
the character appears in the font being used at that time
When you run the spelling/grammar checker, Word notes which passages of text have been checked.
In order to rerun the checker from scratch, click on the [Office Button] then on [Word Options] at
the bottom. Move to the Proofing tab then click on the [Recheck Document] button. You can now
run the spell checker again to check the whole document.
Don't forget that Word has a comprehensive on-line help facility. This is available via the [Help] button. Various guides to Microsoft Word 2007: Advanced Topics are also available on the WWW.
