Dear Write Site is a series that equips Athabasca University students with tips and resources to improve their writing—whether it's for an essay, research paper, or the next great novel. We feature advice from the Write Site, AU's academic writing support service, with answers to common learner questions.
Dear Write Site,
I’m looking for some suggestions to make formatting and writing smoother in Microsoft Word. What would you recommend?
—A Little Word Told Me
Dear A Little Word Told Me,
Word has many hidden features, shortcuts, and tools that can ease your formatting and support your writing. I’ve created several short video demos to help answer your question.
Dictation for brainstorming: Beat writer’s block!
If you’re having a hard time getting your writing started, try using the dictation tool to get your thoughts down through speaking. This feature, built right into Word, is a great tool to beat writer’s block.
If you would like to use dictation for drafting instead of brainstorming, you may want to seek a more reliable tool. The Talk&Type tool in Read&Write, which is free for AU students with your Microsoft 365 login, may be a good option. Both tools require you to add punctuation manually or through speaking.
Page break formatting for easier editing
Do not use the “enter” key to move to the next page. Instead, use a page break. Formatting your paper this way will keep your title page, first page of text, and references page in the right place, even as you continue to write or edit.
For example: Use a page break to move from your title page to the first page of text, or from the last page of text to the references. The keyboard shortcut for a page break is Ctrl+Enter.
Formatting page numbers in the header
Find the page number function under the “Insert” tab, which allows you to choose where the page number appears in the header or footer. For APA and MLA, choose the top right-hand corner of the header. For MLA style, add the page number before adding your surname in front.
Tip: Remember to change the header font to match the document font.
Create hanging indents correctly for references
Do not use the “tab” key to create a hanging indent for your references. Instead, use the hanging indent feature in the paragraph settings. There, you will find “special” options for indentation. Choose “hanging indent” from the drop-down menu.
Create clickable hyperlinks for references
Some reference styles, like APA, require hyperlinked URLs/DOIs. To hyperlink a URL or DOI, press the spacebar after entering the complete address (starting with http:// or https://).
Tip: To create a DOI link, add “https://doi.org/” in front of the DOI. For example: https://doi.org/10.1177/1177180120970938.
Changing case or capitalization for references
Reference generators may not always capitalize titles correctly. In MLA and Chicago styles, all titles should use title case (capitalizing all major words), but in APA, different capitalization rules apply based on the type of source or where the title appears in your paper.
You can use Word’s change case feature under the font options to easily switch between title case, sentence case, UPPERCASE, and lowercase.
If you have other questions about using Word better for writing and formatting, please email writesite@athabascau.ca to ask a question or request an appointment!
Sarah-Jean Watt
Write Site coordinator