Jan's Library

Tips and Tutorials for New Authors

By: Jan K., The Proofer

Depending on how computer-literate you are, and how much experience you have using Word, you might find that writing the paper is actually much easier than facing the prospect of having to format the paper. For academic papers (such as a term paper, thesis, or dissertation), you may need to follow specific styles and specific formatting required by your instructor. For papers written for publication, there are usually style guidelines to follow.

On the other hand, many people have the most trouble with just trying to figure out what to write about. If you are one of these folks, then here's a couple of tips for you:

What Should I Write About?

Academic papers are generally written to satisfy the completion of a class, course, or post-graduate degree. The subject matter or general focus of the paper is usually specific to the class, course, or degree, although in most cases you can select a topic (such as selecting The Great Depression as your specific topic for a 20th Century American History course of study).

Within the confines of the topic, you should choose a more-specific topic that you find personally interesting. There's nothing worse than having to write a paper about something in which you have zero interest. When the general focus of the paper isn't your most favorite subject, use the most interesting aspect of that focus as your topic. If 20th Century American History isn't a subject that really knocks your socks off, and what you are really interested in is photography, then find the name of a photographer who lived during one of the historic events of the 20th century and research how his/her work was affected and shaped by that event.

The more "uncommon" the subject matter that you choose, the more difficult it may be to find authoritative source materials (books, magazines, newspapers, online resources, video). This may limit your ability to write an extensive paper about the subject. However, while reviewing what materials there are available, you might find a new avenue to pursue that is even more fascinating!

For papers that are written at the graduate or post-graduate level, the subject matter and focus are more narrowly defined---and you've probably already gotten a good feel for what it is you are going to research and write about.

Formatting in Word

A tutorial that covers everything and anything that you could be faced with, in terms of the mechanics of formatting your Word document would be exhaustive---and your eyes would glaze over far before you got to the middle of it. Rather than subject you to that type of all-inclusive, one-size-fits-all tutorial, I've broken down the essential elements of standard publishing punctuation guidelines and various Word formatting tools into separate tutorials, most of which are accompanied by screen-shot illustrations (to help you visualize the icons, tools, drop-down menus, and the nuts-and-bolts steps required).

In order to make it as easy as possible to choose and select the tips and tutorials that are most pertinent for your needs, I have created an index that provides a brief description of each free tutorial available. Go to:

Jan's Tips and Tutorials for New Authors