The following guidelines are on this page:
1. How to Use The Ruler
2. How to Use Commas
How to Use The Ruler
Word’s ruler can be a helpful device when you need to format an academic paper. If the ruler
does not display when you open Word, go to the Main Toolbar (This is, most probably, the very
top toolbar on the screen. This is the one that starts with File then Edit) and click on View. A
drop-down list should display; somewhere on that drop-down list should be the word “ruler”.
Check that. The drop-down list should disappear and a ruler will appear at the top of the
document.
The ruler should be set to fit the generic margins Word considers to be the default margins.
These margins are generally one inch on both sides and at the top and bottom. If you need
different margins, you will need to set those margins. That can be done on the ruler itself or at
Format --> Paragraph --> Indentation. You can also set line spacing in that window as well.
Back to the ruler itself: On the left side of the ruler, you will see a small icon that somewhat
resembles an hourglass standing on a small block. On a blank document, practice moving the
different parts of that little icon. You may see some tool tips that display when you put your
cursor on the individual components of this icon. The top part of the icon – a five-sided figure
that points downward – is called the “First Line Indent Marker”. The middle section is the
“Hanging Indent Marker”. The little rectangle on the bottom is called the “Left Indent Marker”.
You should also see a little five-sided figure on the right side of the ruler, at a point separating
the white ruler and the shaded margin area. This is called the “Right Indent Marker.”
You will notice that the top ruler will have marks on it, much like a “real” ruler. You should be
able to distinguish the half-inch point interval. Generally, the ruler is set to zero for the left
margin and 6 for the right margin. You can set margins on your document by moving the right
and left indent markers to the positions you want/need the margins to be. If you want two inch
margins, for example, you will put your cursor on the “Left Indent Marker” and drag it over to the
“1” mark on the ruler. You will then put the cursor on the Right Indent Marker and drag it over to
the “5” mark on the ruler.
If you are creating some headings to your pages, a cover page, or a page other than the first
page of your actual text, create and modify those pages first. Check the ruler to make sure that
the margins are where you want them to be. When you are reading to start typing the text of your
document, put the insertion point (You may call it the cursor.) at the left margin on the line on
which you want the text to start. Move your mouse pointer to the “Left Indent Marker” and drag it to
the half-inch mark. Return to the cursor and start typing. Continue typing your entire paragraph.
When you are finished with your paragraph, hit the “Enter” key. The cursor should automatically
go to the half-inch indented point so you can begin typing your second paragraph.
You may wonder “Why bother? Why can’t I just use the tab key like I always have done?” Well,
you can. That does work. Remember, however, the times you have wanted to change a
paragraph and added (or deleted) material, and then you had to rearrange the paragraph
because that tab key made your paragraph look odd? If you use the ruler, a new paragraph will
be formed each time you hit the Enter key. You can change a paragraph a hundred thousand
times, if you want, but you won’t change the beginning of the paragraphs. This fact will be more
easily appreciated when you work on your references for your bibliography.
To create a Reference/Bibliography page, start on a clean page. You can do that by going to a
point below your text and simultaneously hitting the Ctrl + Enter keys. This should create a
forced page break. You can return to your document and add, subtract, multiply or divide it, and
the References will always remain on separate pages – unless, of course, you delete that
forced page break. If you want to delete that, put your cursor at the beginning of the line that
indicates the forced page break and hit the delete key. The page break should disappear and
your references should now be on the same page as your cursor. This will depend, however,
on how far down the page the cursor is.
Back to the reference page: Center the heading then hit the Enter key. At the point your first
citation will begin, check your ruler. If the “First Line Indent Marker” is at the half-inch point, move
it back to the left margin line. Move the cursor to the “Hanging Indent Marker” on the ruler. Drag
that ‘Hanging Indent Marker” to the half-inch point. Be careful that you only move the “Hanging
Indent Marker” and not the entire icon, or the “Left Indent Marker”. Now, simply type your citation.
You will not have to worry about hitting the enter key at the end of the line. You will not have to hit
the tab key. If you have correctly moved the “Hanging Indent Marker”, your citation should
automatically be indented on the second, and subsequent, lines. Once you are finished with
your citation, hit the Enter key. The cursor should now return to the left hand margin.
Using the “Hanging Indent Marker” can simplify citations. As long as you have set your hanging
indents properly, you can modify an individual citation countless times, and the format for the
reference will not change. If the format does change, immediately look at the ruler. You have
probably hit the Enter key, or placed your cursor outside the area of a specific reference.
You also can simply add your references as you go. Once the references are all entered,
highlight ALL the references, but do not highlight the page heading. Go to the Table on the Main
toolbar, find “sort” on the drop-down list, and click on that. Word will automatically alphabetize
your citations and retain the formatting. If something is out of sequence, it probably is out of the
ruler settings for the hanging indent.
How To Use Commas
There are generally three classes of people in the world:
1. People who know how to use commas.
2. People who don’t know how to use them and don’t use them at all.
3. People who don’t know how to use them but sprinkle them profusely throughout their
documents.
The first group seems, by far, to be the smallest. As far as I can tell, the other two groups are
about equal in size!
If you belong to one of those last two groups, let me see if I can simplify life for you. I find four
major uses of commas. There are other places commas need to be used, but I have found that,
if people can conquer these four items, most comma usage can be simplified.
The Big Four:
1. Using commas in a series
2. Before introductory words, phrases or clauses
3. To identify words that don’t have to be in a sentence
4. To separate independent clauses joined by a conjunction
1. Using commas in a series
The first one is the simplest, since most people seem to remember learning that. If there is a
list, or series, of items, and there is no joining word (conjunction) between the items in the list,
use a comma:
I bought milk, eggs, butter, and bread at the store.
If those items are connected by conjunctions, don’t use the comma.
I bought milk and eggs and butter and bread at the store.
Some people have been taught not to place a comma before the and in that example sentence.
Many style manuals, Chicago and APA for example, “strongly suggest” that the comma be used
prior to the conjunction, so you might want to start doing that in any academic or formal writing.
2. Before introductory words, phrases or clauses
This, too, is simple, if one thinks about what is being written.
Yesterday, I went to the store. (a word before the basic sentence)
In the morning, I will go to the store. (a phrase before the basic sentence)
When I have the time, I will go to the store. ( a clause before the basic sentence)
These sentences can be re-written to put the introductory words elsewhere. That usually
means the comma will be discarded:
I went to the store yesterday.
I will go to the store in the morning.
I will go to the store when I have the time.
3. To identify words that don’t have to be in a sentence
Frequently, writers add information to their work. If the information does NOT change the
sentence, and if the information comes in the middle of a sentence, put commas around the
sentence. This is a sign that the material can be removed and the meaning of the sentence will
not change.
My supervisor, Terry Brown, is a hard worker.
“Terry Brown” is information that is added to the sentence for clarity. It can be removed and the
sentence still makes sense. The meaning of the sentence will not change if the phrase is
removed.
My supervisor is a hard worker.
Now, think about the following sentence:
The individual who is standing by the file cabinet is my supervisor.
This sentence implies that there are several people in the area when that statement is made.
The phrase who is standing by the file cabinet is used to indicate which person is the
supervisor. If that phrase is removed, then the sentence will still technically be a sentence, but it
won’t make much sense.
The individual is my supervisor.
This sentence does not give anyone any additional information; therefore, it needs to be in the
sentence WITHOUT commas around it.
4. To separate independent clauses joined by a conjunction
An independent clause is a series of words that has a subject and verb and can make sense all
by itself. A dependent clause has a subject and verb, but can’t make sense by itself.
When I go to work
This is a dependent clause. It has a subject (“I”) and a verb (“go”), but it doesn’t mean much by
itself. Another idea needs to be added to make sense of this statement.
When I go to work, I usually get to the office before the rest of the staff.
This sentence is complete. It also has an independent clause, as well as a dependent clause.
The independent clause is the
I usually get to the office before the rest of the staff
That statement makes sense and can stand alone, unlike
When I go to work
If a statement is
I usually get to the office before the rest of the staff and use that time to check my mail.
This is a sentence with a single subject and a compound verb:
I get to the office and check my mail.
Compare that to
I usually get to the office before the rest of the staff, and I use that time to check my mail.
Now there are two independent clauses in that sentence, joined with the conjunction and. A
comma is placed before the conjunction.
If the sentence follows this construction but is short, a comma does not have to be used:
I left the house and I returned quickly.
This is a very simple guide to using commas. I hope it helps.
