Technical Tips for Longer Writing Projects
Monday, June 19, 2017
Capstone Writing
,
Dissertation
,
Tech Tips
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Walden University
,
Writing Process
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I admit, I definitely have a love-hate relationship with MS
Word; while there are so many options for making the word processing simpler
and ensuring the finished document looks slick, there always seems to be some
quirk or default in the system that makes me feel more like I’m wrestling with
the document rather than revising it.
Once I started to dig into the various functions available
in MS Word and got over some of my fear and anxiety about the software, my
relationship with MS Word improved a lot. Now I recommend many of the functions
I used to nervously avoid, and there are several options I could not do without
when working with longer documents.
Word Support
Remember, there are people out there whose job it is to
help. Playing around with software or new functions you aren’t used to using
can feel intimidating, and sometimes you don’t even know what you don’t know or
what to ask. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the different MS Word resources available through the Academic Skills Center, and you will be
surprised at what you could learn that will help you later on.
If you scan down the menu to the left of the page and review
the resources available at some of those links, you may even recognize
solutions to problems you have encountered before. (I did not even know what a
dot leader was until I had to learn how to fix them.) Plus, you will have a
better idea what Word can do and how you can use it to compose your manuscript.
The Academic Skills Center offers one-on-one support, and
you can either make an appointment or send your questions to WordSupport@waldenu.edu.
Moving Swiftly yet Carefully in Longer Documents
Beyond the formatting tools are the specific editing
functions in MS Word. While you are not required to use it in your own revision
practice, all Walden students should be well-versed in how to use Track Changes
and the different options for viewing those changes in your document. Your
faculty (such as your chairperson and doctoral committee) will use these
functions to give you feedback on your drafts, and if you do not know how to
view their feedback or incorporate their changes, this can cause frustration on
all sides.
I cannot overstate the usefulness of the editing functions
of Find and Replace. You may want to use the Replace function less frequently
(the “Replace all” option can lead to some confusing and ungrammatical results
if you do not read over everything carefully first), but Find will be your
friend every time.
Scrolling through a document can get tedious, not to mention
hard on the eyes, and printing out your work and reviewing a hard copy will not
guarantee you catch every instance of a word or phrase. The Find function
(which you can access with the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+F” on a PC or
“Command+F” on a Mac) lets you navigate through your document with the greatest
of ease and ensures you locate everything you are looking for (provided you
spelled it correctly…).
You can use the Find function to update verb tenses, check
for acronym or abbreviation use, and locate the first time you cite a specific
source so you know when to use the abbreviation et al. Best of all, you can
quickly confirm whether or not your citations have corresponding reference
entries listed at the end of the document and whether you have only included
reference entries for those sources you directly cited. (Trying to check for
this without the Find function could take hours when you are dealing with
something the size of a dissertation or doctoral study.)
The Limits of Software’s Magic
You still want to avoid relying too heavily on software
options to generate your draft. Some students use citation management software,
for example, to help keep track of their reference and citation information.
None of these systems is perfect, unfortunately, and their adherence to APA can
range from the merely imperfect to the terrible, so make sure you know APA well
enough to proofread for errors, and try to avoid using a system that does not
let you add your own changes easily.
Do not be afraid to experiment with technical options for
revising and organizing your document. If you label files clearly and save
often, there is nearly no mistake you cannot undo, so be brave. If, for
example, you replace the wrong thing or delete something you meant to keep, you
can always undo it and move on. The more practice you have working with the
different technical options available to you, the more you can revise like a
professional.
Lydia Lunning is a Dissertation Editor and the Writing Center's Coordinator for Capstone Services. She earned degrees from Oberlin College and the University of Minnesota, and served on the editorial staff of Cricket Magazine Group.
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