Word Specifications

Preparing Manuscripts in MS Word

Word process all essay assignments in Microsoft Word. This is particularly essential for papers that will be submitted as email attachments. Microsoft Word is the common word processing software for Clayton State University.

Defaults:

	Margins must be 1" all around.
	The paper should be left-aligned except for titles.
	Typeface should be plain (Times New Roman and Ariel are common defaults.)
	Type should be a 12 point height, regular, with no bold, italics, or underlining.
	Titles of books, journals, etc., should be underlined in MLA. (These are put in italics in APA.)
	Always submit paper assignments in black print on white paper.
	Always submit email attachments as Word .doc files.
	Double-space all essays unless otherwise instructed.
	Do not double double-space.
	Use the TAB key to indent new paragraphs.
	Do not use subheads in papers of appropriate length for ENGL 1101 (3-4 pages double-spaced).
	For all regular MLA papers, put identifying information at the top left of the first page. See Hacker p.371 for an example.

Special directives for research papers:

	The research paper also has the identifying information at the top of the first page. See Hacker p.371 for an example.
	Use the wizard in Word to create a "header" on the first page of text, and the header will appear on all pages.
	Use the command in the header tools to insert the page number, and following pages will number sequentially.
	Create a separate page for Works Cited. See the example in Hacker p. 377.