Making sure to properly create and insert citations into your Microsoft Word documents not only improve the overall quality of your documents, they also create and increase credibility of your work. In order to create citations in the proper format, some factors have to be taken into consideration. Here’s how you can achieve the end result in 5 steps:
1. Reference style
Save yourself from a lot of frustration by making use of reference styles as guidelines when creating your own citations. Microsoft Word comes with built in style guides that you can choose based on what you require and Microsoft Word will assist you in formatting accordingly. Make use of the references tab and choose the style under citations and bibliography.
2. Add citation sources
Cite or offer credit whenever you use information from different sources so as not to offend or infringe on any intellectual property. You need to include citations when you quote directly from the source as well. To add citations, look for the location you want to place it in and choose the insert citation option that can be found under the reference tab again. You will then be able to choose to add new source and see a dialog box opening. Fill in the requested information as best as you can before clicking OK- this will ensure that the citation will appear and the source is saved.
3. Insert
Once all sources have been added, you can create the bibliography by choosing the bibliography command. Select the style that you require and Microsoft Word will formulate the rest. Your bibliography should appear at the end of your Word document, formatted to match your style guide. Make sure to double check with your style guide to ensure that it has been formatted correctly through sources like Online Writing Lab.
4. Updating
In events that you need to add more sources, edit sources and remove sources, you will be required to update your bibliography. This is fairly straightforward since you only have to click on your inserted bibliography and choose Update to make the following changes.
5. Test
Make sure you regularly test and practise the habit of inserting citations. This is a healthy habit to be including in your Microsoft Word documents. Once you are able to pull it off smoothly, it will become second nature for you to source and credit. Not only is this professional behaviour, it also successfully safeguards you from getting into trouble.
