Sylvania Computer Resource Center InfoBits -
News and Information about the PCC/Sylvania Computer Labs
What’s “Normal” in Office 2007?

As students start working on their term papers, they’re going to find that the “normal” (default) style settings in Word 2007 are even further removed from MLA and APA standards than before. If students are planning to type out a term paper based on these standards in the CRC, they’ll need to change several formatting settings.

First, Word 2007’s default font is a sans serif font called Calibri. MLA and APA style generally call for a serif font like Times New Roman or, in the strictest definition, a uniformly spaced, typewriter-like font such as Courier. Both of these fonts are still available in Word 2007. Students need to select the font when they begin their paper.

The default line and paragraph spacing has also changed in Word 2007. Students need to reset both of these to conform to the standard styles. All of these settings are available in Word’s “Home” ribbon panel.

Students can download pre-formatted document templates that incorporate basic MLA and APA style rules from Microsoft and a number of educational institutions. We’ve also posted a brief Survival Guide for Microsoft Office 2007 on the Sylvania CRC web site that gives some idea of where a lot of the common commands have moved. The following are links to some Office 2007 templates that can be freely downloaded. You should make sure they adhere to your requirements before recommending them.

Links…

MLA, APA and other academic templates from Microsoft: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT101172711033.aspx

Strict/Traditional MLA and APA format templates from Wright State University: http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/rptemp.htm (useful for any word processing program)

Sylvania CRC’s Office 2007 Survival Guide: http://www.pcc.edu/resources/computer-labs/sylvania/documents/Office_survival_guide_000.pdf

About the Sylvania CRC

The Sylvania CRC has 119 computers (PCs and 7 Macs) available for currently-enrolled students.

Find out more about the lab by going to http://www.pcc.edu/crc/ and clicking on the “Sylvania” link or by calling us at Ext. 4325.

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