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COMM 6000 - Introduction to Graduate Study (Prof. Thomas Corrigan): Paper Formatting 7E: Student Paper

A course guide for COMM 6000

Printable PDF Guide to Student Paper Formatting

Steps to Formatting a Student APA Paper, 7E (Word ed.)

  1. Open Microsoft Word and under the Home tab, turn on visible formatting marks.carriage return.

 

Carriage return circled in red in MS Word 2010+

 

  1. Ctrl+A to highlight all, and choose your font. If the instructor has not specified, you may choose between Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucia Sans Unicode 10, Times New Roman 12, Georgia 11, or Computer Modern 10.  The default in Word is Calibri 11. Drop-down of font styles and sizes.

 

  1. Ctrl+A>Home and set to double spacing.Drop-down menu of double spacing

 

 

 

  1. In the same drop-down, select Remove Space After Paragraph.Drop-down to remove extra space after paragraph

 

 

 

 

  1. Under the Insert tab, click Page Number>Top of Page > Plain Number 3.   
  2. While the page number is highlighted, correct the font and size as necessary.Drop-down to add page number in header

 

 

 

 

  1. Click Close Header and Footer.Drop-down for number plain number 3

 

 

 

  1. Ctrl+A and Ctrl+E to highlight and center the carriage return mark. Then hit <Enter> 3-4 times.Close Header and Footer button

 

  1. Type: Title of the Paper in Title Case. If there is a long title AND a sub-title, type a colon, then <Enter>, then type the sub-title in title case.

 

  1. Hit <Enter> 2 times.  There must be one carriage return mark between the title and the author.

 

  1. Type your name and hit <Enter>.

 

  1. Type the department sponsoring the course, a comma, then the school’s name: California State University, San Bernardino. Hit the <Enter> key.

 

  1. Type the abbreviated course name in all caps (ENG 1001), a colon, a space, and the name of the course in title case as it is found in the syllabus or campus’s Bulletin of Courses. Hit <Enter>.

 

  1. Type the professor’s name as it appears on the course documentation, such as a syllabus, with their chosen title (e.g. Prof., Dr., Professor). Hit <Enter>.

 

  1. Type the due date of the paper, such as April 7, 2020, then hit Ctrl+<Enter> to create a page break.sample of formatting following numbered instructions

 

  1. Scroll back up to the title, highlight it, and Ctrl+B  to bold only the title (and sub-title, if present) of the paper.

 

  1. Ctrl+C to copy the title (and sub-title, if present).

 

  1. Scroll to page 2. Highlight the cursor and Ctrl +V to paste the title (and sub-title, if present). The title should remain bolded, centered, and in title case.

 

  1. Placing cursor before the carriage return under the title, hit Ctrl+L, then <Tab> one time, and type: Introduction begins here. Do not use an introduction heading.  

 

  1. Hit <Enter> and type Method, two carriage returns, Results, two carriage returns, Discussion, two carriage returns, Conclusion, two carriage returns. These are level 1 Headings. Heading word choice is not as important as the correct formatting.

 

See section 2.27 for more on heading levels 1-5.

 

  1. Highlight each Heading 1, and Ctrl+E and Ctrl+B  to center and bold each one individually.

 

  1. Tab the carriage return mark under each Heading 1, so you are ready to start typing.

 

  1. Placing the cursor before the final carriage return mark, type Ctrl+<Enter> to create a page break.

 

  1. On page 3, type References, then <Enter>.  Highlight References heading, Ctrl+E,  and Ctrl+B to center and bold.

 

  1. Highlight the carriage return below References and type Ctrl+T to format a hanging indent.

 

  1. Save the document as APA 7E Student Paper template and …

 

You will never have to worry about the basics of APA 7E student paper formatting.