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Digital literacy

About Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is a word processing and document creation program which is very commonly used to writing papers and other assignments. It is part of the Microsoft Office Suite which includes other programs such as Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. CSUDH students have free access to Microsoft Word on many university computers as well as online through our campus subscription to Office 365.

Accessing Microsoft Word

Web browser with text on the left and Office and PC on the right.
Office 365 for PC

Guide from CSUDH IT on how to access Office 365 , including Miscroft Word, on a PC.

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Web browser with text on the left and Office and Mac logo on the right.
Office 365 for Mac

Guide from CSUDH IT on how to access Office 365 , including Microsoft Word, on a Mac.

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Using Microsoft Word

A person holding a laptop stands in front of a board of documents and lists
Word (Office 365) Essentials training from Linkedin Learning

Video course from Linkedin Learning on the basic of using Microsoft Word from Office 365. Includes how to edit text, format your documents, change margins and spacing, creating lists,adding images, and more.

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Formatting Your Paper

How do I make a hanging indent in Word?

1. Highlight the citaiton with your cursor. 

2. Right click. 

3. Select Paragraph.

4. Under Indentation, select Special and Hanging.

Animated gif of creating a hanging indent in Word. Highlight the full citation. Right click. Go to Paragraph. To to the Special drop down menu, select Hanging. Select Okay.

How can I change the margins on my paper? 

Microsoft Word and Google Docs have a Format Painter tool that will copy and apply basic formatting to any text! 

1. Select the Layout tab from the top menu.

2. Select Margins.

3. Select the margins you would like to use from the preset options or, select Custom to set the width of your margins yourself.

Note: If using the Format Painter on the Reference List, you'll need to go back and add italics. 

Animated gif of changing margins in Microsoft Word

How can I save time formatting my paper? 

Microsoft Word and Google Docs have a Format Painter tool that will copy and apply basic formatting to any text! 

1. Highlight the formatting you want to apply. 

2. Select Format Painter

3. Highlight the text you want to change. 

Note: If using the Format Painter on the Reference List, you'll need to go back and add italics. 

Animated gif of using the Format Painter tool in Word.