Next, let’s look at adding and formatting text. You can do that by placing the cursor where you want it on the blank page and typing some text. The status bar at the bottom of the document shows the page and number of words you have so far, in case you’re trying to hit a certain word count.
To format text and change how it looks, select the text, and then select an option on the Home tab: Bold, Italic, Bullets, Numbering, etc.
To add pictures, shapes, or other media, simply navigate to the Insert tab, then select any of the options to add media to your document.
Word saves as you go so you don’t have to stress about losing your work in case you forget to hit save.
Cool stuff
Here are some of the advanced tools you can try out while using Microsoft Word.
Type with your voice
Ever just want to speak, instead of writing, your ideas? Believe it or not, there’s a button for that. All you have to do is navigate to the Home tab, select the Dictate button, and start talking to “type” with your voice. You’ll know Dictate is listening when the red recording icon appears.
Add punctuation by pausing or saying the name of the punctuation.
If you make a mistake, all you have to do is go back and re-type your text.
Finding and citing sources
If you need a head start on collecting sources and ideas for a big paper, find Researcher in the References tab of your document and try typing in a keyword.
Researcher uses Bing to search the web and deliver high-quality research sources to the side of your page. Search people, places, or ideas, and then sort by journal articles and websites. Add a source to your page by selecting the plus sign.
As you write, Researcher saves a record of your searches. Just select My Research to see the complete list.
Hate having to keep track of all your sources? Turns out, Word has its own, built-in bibliography maker. Simply navigate to the References tab.
First, choose what style you want your citations to be in. In this example, we’ve selected APA style.
Select Insert Citation and Add New Source.
In the next window, choose what kind of work you’re citing—an article, book, etc.—and fill in the required details. Then click OK to cite your source.
Keep writing. At the ends of sentences that need sources, select Insert Citation to keep adding new sources, or pick one you already entered from the list.
As you write, Word will keep track of all the citations you’ve entered. When you’re finished, select Bibliography and choose a format style. Your bibliography will appear at the end of your paper, just like that.
Make things look nice
When you want your report or project to look extra professional, try out the Design tab! Here, you can browse different themes, colors, fonts, and borders to create some work you feel really proud of.
What if you need to illustrate a concept with a chart or a model? Head back to the Insert tab and choose SmartArt. In this example, we chose Cycle and filled in text from the writing process to make a simple graphic. Choose other graphic types to represent hierarchies, flow charts, and more.
To insert a nifty 3-D model, choose Insert >
Invite someone to write with you
If you’re working on a group project, you can work on a document at the same time without needing to email the file back and forth. Select Share at the top of your page and create a link you can send to other students.
Word saves as you go so you don’t have to stress about losing your work in case you forget to hit save. Don't miss the chanceto chat with the experts.
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Once you’ve hooked a reader’s attention with your intro, you’ll want to keep it. Make sure each section delivers on the promises you made in your introduction.
Ready. Set. Write.
We’ve now guided you through all the steps to writing an effective white paper. With the information in this post, plus the included template, you should have everything you need to do the job right. Let’s recap quick:
- We discussed what a good white paper should (and shouldn’t) be . Offer your readers unique, valuable, and well-researched insights on one specific topic. Don’t slap together thin content, make it look nice, gate it behind an opt-in form, and then call it day.
- We walked through a complete writing process to produce the final document . From ideation all the way through design, every step of the process has been covered.
- We touched on what comes next once your white paper is published . Seriously, if you’re going to set aside the time to write a white paper (which could take days or weeks to produce), then get the most return on it you possibly can. Spin that sucker into as many content assets as you can think of.
This post was originally written on May 18, 2017. It was updated and republished on August 12, 2020.
About the Author
Ben Sailer
Ben is the Inbound Marketing Director at CoSchedule. His specialties include content strategy, SEO, copywriting, and more. When he's not hard at work helping people do better marketing, he can be found cross-country skiing with his wife and their dog.
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Friendly supportFirst of all, the writer made sure that he completely understood my assignment and all the guidelines before he began writing. My paper was finished very fast and well before the specified deadline. I thought it was written excellently. He definitely completely grasped the topic. Overall, he is a great writer and I couldn'
WONDERFULGreat Service! Use this when I truly need it! It has never let me down yet! I have to recommend the service to anyone who canʼt get there assignment completed when faced with difficult tasks.
I received a very good service.Prof. Alicia is very professional and I am happy about her work. She helped me a lot and saved me a huge amount of time. I will be very happy to contact her for future academic work again
Wonderful. Extremely pleasant and&hellipPaper was written before the deadline.I requested the editor as I wanted my essay to be proofread and revised following the teacher&rsquo
Wow! Exceeded my expectations!An essay was completed ahead of the scheduled deadline. It was very well organized and followed all the instructions. Thank you for the fast delivery and service.
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Edubirdie has been excessing my&hellip Edubirdie offers you a selection of professional writers who have years and years of experience in academic writing. You can see our team on the main page. Some writers are anonymous, for obvious reasons, while the others are open about their activity, so you can choose any of those. Once you’ve hooked a reader’s attention with your intro, you’ll want to keep it. Make sure each section delivers on the promises you made in your introduction.Ready. Set. Write.
We’ve now guided you through all the steps to writing an effective white paper. With the information in this post, plus the included template, you should have everything you need to do the job right. Let’s recap quick:
- We discussed what a good white paper should (and shouldn’t) be . Offer your readers unique, valuable, and well-researched insights on one specific topic. Don’t slap together thin content, make it look nice, gate it behind an opt-in form, and then call it day.
- We walked through a complete writing process to produce the final document . From ideation all the way through design, every step of the process has been covered.
- We touched on what comes next once your white paper is published . Seriously, if you’re going to set aside the time to write a white paper (which could take days or weeks to produce), then get the most return on it you possibly can. Spin that sucker into as many content assets as you can think of.
This post was originally written on May 18, 2017. It was updated and republished on August 12, 2020.
About the Author
Ben Sailer
Ben is the Inbound Marketing Director at CoSchedule. His specialties include content strategy, SEO, copywriting, and more. When he's not hard at work helping people do better marketing, he can be found cross-country skiing with his wife and their dog.
We also think you'll like.
How to Write Eye-Catching Headlines That Boost Engagement and Make People Click
What is your main goal when writing a headline for your article? You may say that the headline’s purpose is just to describe the contents of the article or to [&hellip
Owen Piehl
Article Writing Template: How to Craft Great Content Consistently
When the time to write an article comes, do you struggle with getting started? You have a solid idea, but getting it from concept to a draft is challenging. The [&hellip
Marijana Kay
What Can Writers Learn From Effective Magazine Headlines?
If you’ve been a writer in any capacity — whether a self promoter, lifestyle blogger, corporate marketing guru, journalist, or any other style of writing — you know one simple [&hellip What does a white paper usually look like? They're generally formatted as PDFs and look somewhat similar to an ebook or typical research report. Here's an example: