Damn You, Microsoft Word

This post can help you avoid the tears and/or pure fury
associated with some problems in Microsoft Word.

Since we've been talking about revamping CVs, the next logical step would be discussing what happens when you try to make neat little columns in Word. You know, you have the job that you had on the left of the line, all neatly lined up, and then you want the date you worked all the way on the right.

Something like this....

Research Assistant for Dr. Joe Schmoe, "Intro to Brain Surgery"

Fall 2008Research Assistant for Dr. Jane Main, "Underwater Basketweaving"

Spring 2008

(ironically, in blogger, I can't put them on the same line...but you get the idea)

You'll want "Research Assistant" flush against the left margin, and "Fall 2008" on the same line, flush right.

So you manually space the date all the way to the right margin, and it looks great!

Until you print it out. And for some reason, all the dates are slightly off, so it looks something like this:

Fall 2008

Spring2008..

Spring 2009

And it is maddening.

And then you try to make columns, and suddenly, words are jumping all over the page in every place but where you want them...

Research Assistant for Dr. Joe Schmoe, "Intro to Brain Surgery"

Fall 2008

Research Assistant for Dr. Jane Main, "Underwater Basketweaving"

Spring 2008

You start fiddling around with it, get evil messages like "The number must be between 1 and 45," and the stuff you want on the right column is still on the left no matter how many times you hit return, and you scream,

"I JUST WANT THE DAMN DATES TO BE ON THE RIGHT!"

So here's help.

How to Make Columns

If you need one thing on the line to be justified left, and one thing on the line to be justified right, the solution you need is to put the text into columns.

Highlight the text, then go up to "Format" and select "Columns." From there, you can choose if you want 2 or 3 columns. But what if your left hand column needs to be bigger, to fit more text, and your right hand column just tiny, for dates only? Well, funny you should ask...

How to Make Columns Different Sizes

1) Go up to the top of the screen, where it says "Format." Open the pull-down box.

2) Click on "Columns."

3) Deselect the check box that says "Equal Columns Width."

4) Now you can change the width of the boxes.

Formatting problems can seem so meaningless and small...
and yet insanely frustrating

How to Get the Stupid Column Things to Work

When the Words Are Bouncing All Over the Place

1) Put everything into 1 column first. Highlight the body of the text that you want in columns. Don’t highlight empty lines above or below text.

2) Go up to "Format."

3) Click on "Columns."

4) Choose either 1, 2, or 3 columns, or Left (2 different sized columns, with the one on the left being shorter / thinner than the one on the right) or Right (shorter on right)

5) Now once your text is in columns, put the cursor where you want the first column to end.

6) Go up to "Insert."

7) Get the pulldown menu and select "Break..."

8) Click on "Column Break"

9) Put the Column Break in at the end of Column 1!

Work-Arounds for the Problem of Merging Files

Recently, a dissertator wrote to the Writing Center, desperate for help:

"This is a formatting problem: when I put all my chapters together into one document, I got some dotted lines which, no matter how hard I try, I can not remove. They look like page breaks or something. Please help!"

The matter of whether or not to save individual chapters as individual word document files or to merge them into one big file has come up in the Dissertation Workshop before. Because this problem happens from time to time, here are some suggestions that might be useful:

1) You might consider not merging all the files into one file. One woman in the Dissertation Workshop who just passed her defense mentioned that she never merged her files into one file. What she did was save all the chapters as their own files, then she used the page function in Microsoft Word to get the pagination correct.

For example, say Chapter 1 is 32 pages long. Then you'd go into Chapter 2 and tell Microsoft Word to number the pages, starting with 33. It may be a little cumbersome, but if you're pulling your hair out over

2) Try talking to someone in IT at the Help Desk. Help Desk - helpdesk@cgu.edu, or toll free at (800) 630-8893, local number (909) 621-8174 or 18174 on campus. Sunny (Training Manager, sunny.chau@cgu.edu) is really helpful!

3) Have you talked to Edris Stuebner, the Registrar? Even if she can't help you specifically with this problem, you'll have to meet her anyway when you're ready to submit, so may as well stop by. She might be able to refer you to someone else who can help.

4) Have you tried printing out a dotted-line section to see if it only appears on-screen? It's possible that they're just showing on screen but won't print.

Still Need Help?

If you're still having a problem, please don't e-mail the Writing Center about tech issues. We don't know either!

You might try posting your tech problem on Yahoo Answers. Surprisingly, tech questions on there are often answered within minutes.

If any of you have run across solutions that have helped you in Microsoft Word, please post 'em!

Wrapping It Up

Graduation cake of Dr. Sara Moslener, CGU Religion Ph.D. '09

Wrapping it up. There are still a few steps left in submitting your dissertation after a successful defense.

Edris Stuebner (Assistant registrar) came to one of our sessions (see April 7th blog) with a handout containing instructions for turning in the dissertation to the registrar, format, fees, microfilming, binding, etc. I tried to follow the information on the handouts to a T, and this helped on the day I actually submitted my dissertation to Edris (and yes, she does count all the pages!).

The handout can be located at http://www.cgu.edu/PDFFiles/Office%20of%20Records%20forms/Forms/Prep_Dissertations.pdf

On the day I decided to turn in my dissertation, I took one copy to Edris for her to ok before I made the second copy (no point in having 2 copies with mistakes). She okayed the format, etc. and I went to make the additional copy and fill out all the forms (there is a national survey and forms for microfilming and copyrighting).

I also needed a personal check and a cashier's check. One of the options is to copyright your dissertation. I decided to do this and therefore needed a $65 cashier's check with an expiration date later than 7 months from that day's date.

This was one of the most challenging aspects of the final wrap up.

Bank of America's cashier's checks have a 90 day expiration date (although they claim they can be cashed after the date, but I didn't want to take any chances). U.S. Bank's cashier's checks have a 6 month expiration date. Chase bank's cashier's checks have no expiration date, so I opened an account on the spot (with cash, or else my personal check would take 7 days to clear before I could access my new account and get the free cashier's check).

When I returned to Edris for final submission I mentioned how hard it was to get a cashier's check with a late expiration date and she said Stater Brothers (the grocery store in Claremont) would do them for a fee of $1. Had I known that, I would have saved myself the hassle of running around to 3 banks.

I also chose not to have the same company that officially microfilms and binds your dissertation, bind my personal copies. I chose Kater-Crafts in Pico Rivera to bind my copies. Their minimum charge is $75, but that binds three dissertations. The other "official" company that microfilms your dissertation charged something like $147 for two copies. Plus, Kater-Craft's turn around time is 4-6 weeks (much quicker than the "official" company). They accept dissertations in person, by mail, or by email.

I also should mention that I wished I had done my dedication and acknowledgments much sooner than after my defense (perhaps in one of those lulls when I couldn't seem to get anything written). By the time I was done with the defense, I just wanted to turn in my dissertation to the registrar, and never see it again. Instead, I had to take a couple of extra days to complete these items.

(note from Tara: this is a guest post by Margaret MacKenzie, newly minted Ph.D. Thanks for the great advice, Margaret! For more of Margaret's tips, see here).

Edris Stuebner: Submitting Your Dissertation Q + A

Thanks to Bennett for the ultimate organized procrastinator supplies

During our last meeting, we invited Edris Stuebner, Assistant Registrar, to come and talk about the nitty gritty details of submitting your dissertation for final approval.

You may think that this is a step that is in a galaxy far, far away from where you are right now, but having this information at the beginning of the process can be really useful and help you to avoid last minute craziness at the end.

Without further ado....

Edris can be your beacon of hope to help you to the finish line!

Notes from Edris

How long does it take students to go through the whole Ph.D. process at CGU?

4 years is about the quickest I've seen a student go through the entire Ph.D. process....the longest has been 20 years.

What types of things do you do at CGU?

I order the diplomas, check to make sure you've got all your units and reached all your milestones, take the dissertation, and put your name in the convocation program.

I have an open door policy and I'm happy to talk to anyone.

Do you read all those dissertations that come in?

No. I check margins, pagination. I even had a case where a student spelled his own name wrong. Simple things can be missed, so that's why my eyes are there before it gets too far.

How many copies do we need? What are they for?

You make 1 original, with original signatures, and 1 copy.

I sent a copy to the library, then release one to Ann Arbor. It takes 7 months to process that copy into ProQuest.

Some day, this whole process will be electronic. But for now, you need these copies. Ann Arbor will go through it all again and check it. The most common problem they find is a missing page. So please, check pagination.

I will count your pages.

I send the original back to the library, then send it out for binding, then they put one copy in archives. If someone steals a copy off the shelves, they'll make a copy from the original.

That's the reason for the 2 copies.

What's the deal with the margins? What size should they be?

The binding is 1 and 1/2 inches on the left. I get 1 and 1/4 from students lots of times. I don't know why. They'll swear that their computer program was set to 1 and 1/2, but when you measure it with a ruler, it comes out to 1 and 1/4.

This is especially important for appendices.

Tables - remember, you don't want your table chewed up in the margin. You can reduce it to make it fit or have a foldout.

Can I use color?

Absolutely. It looks beautiful. Color graphs, color photographs.

What font should I use? What font size?

Type: At least 10 point, 12 is better. Times New Roman is best.

What about justifying the text?

Justified left, not necessarily the right.

What about running headers?

Running headers are okay.

How should I do the page numbers?

50% of all dissertations that I take in have the pagination wrong, usually in the first part. Look at page 3 of the handout.

Small Roman numbers look like this: i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii. They go on the Acknowledgements (optional), Preface (optional), Table of Contents, and Table of Figures (optional).

Arabic numbers look like this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. They begin on the Introduction (optional) or Chapter One (if there isn't an Introduction).

Usually if I see this kind of error (goofing up the pagination), I will accept the dissertation temporarily. I don't want someone not to graduate because of page numbers. But I'll send them home to fix it.

Where you start putting numbers on the pages --> the Acknowledgements page
at the bottom, center bottom

Personally, I would like to see all pagination centered at the bottom. Why? If you make it into a book, its easier. But as long as whatever you use is consistent, I'll accept it. Ultimately, go by whatever your committee tells you.

Once, it took a gentleman 5 hours to figure out his pagination.

There are two ways to do copyright in terms of pagination - either on the title page or its own page (count it, but don't put a number on it)

Remember to double space everything. The abstract, Acknowledgements, etc.

Chapter One / page 1 ------> Arabic page 1

Don't take off from the preliminary pages. I see this happen about once a year.

Is there a way to format the margins and pagination from the very beginning so I don't have to fix all this stuff the week before my defense?

It's good to know that for some students, there is a discrepancy between what their software says is the margin size and what it actually prints out. It's always better to trust a real ruler and the page in front of you rather than assume the software is doing what it says it is.

Remember, there's the preliminary pages versus the text. Make two different files! Don't have a different document for each chapter, but make one document that has the Small Roman pagination, and one document where the Arabic pagination begins.

Margins should be: 1 and 1/2 on the left, 1 inch on the other three sides each.

I don't measure the right, but the left is extremely important for binding purposes.

Why is this all so complicated?!

You know, when you're at the end of the process, you're tired, you start reading into things, seeing things that aren't there.. Sometimes, it's a lot more simple than you think.

Title page - you count it, but you don't put a page number on it.

What's the format for the title page?

There's a sample title page on page 6 of the handout.

Title - The title of your dissertation does not have to be in all caps, but you should follow the usual guidelines for capitalization of words in titles.

Your Name - Watch out for this. I've received title pages that have "Your Name" instead of the student's actual name on them.

Name of Field - For example, you may be in Women's Studies and Religion, but you write down just "Religion." The degree is Doctor of Philosophy in Religion. You might think, "my degree is Urban Studies and Blah Blah Blah." Nope. It's Education. It's the school you're in. And it should be capitalized.

Just a note, if you are doing a degree in Music, the title pages are different. Music students turn in a project.




What's the deal with the abstract? How long should it be?

Abstract - You might be confused because on page 8, it says the abstract should be no more than 350 words, and later on it says 775 words. Why? I get a thousand phone calls about this!

It changed about a year and a half ago. I called and asked. 350 words...is that everything? Just text? Does it include your name? It includes everything. The title, your name, etc. It even includes the words "Abstract of the Dissertation."

The 350 word abstract goes in the Abstract Indexes. Then they take 20 pages, microfilm them, and publish them for the world.

I recommend doing the 350 words abstract and forgetting about it. If you do the 775 word abstract, they're going to truncate it anyway. When if you're working up to a great thought and -blip!-.

The abstract that you turn in at the proposal stage just goes into the CGU file. It does not get published.

On page 5 of the ProQuest handout, it has an optional copyright registration form. Do I need to copyright my dissertation?

I get this question a lot. You have to make the decision for yourself. I don't know what you'll do with your work after you leave here. If you have further questions, call UMI (the company that provides the service) and ask.

It's really copyrighted already, the date, defense. But if you have to go to court, you need a copyright. It's there for litigation reasons. It costs $65 to get the copyright. Once you have it, you can move the copyright to a publisher.

How many students opt for the copyright at CGU?

It's about 50 / 50.

What if you want your own copy of your dissertation?

The only school at CGU that allows this is Psychology. The other programs and schools do not. So if you want a bound copy, you're on your own.

Go to a book binder (there's one in Pico) to have it done. We do not have this service on campus. If we did, it would be through the library and they don't have the staff for it.

Wait...who is ProQuest again?

ProQuest - the people you send your dissertation to - It's good business for you. But you have to fill the forms out. You can opt out...but why would you?

You absolutely need this thing filled out for the dissertation to go to Ann Arbor. If I don't get it, it doesn't go on record with ProQuest.

I know when you see this packet of information, your immediate reaction is: "More reading! Legal stuff! Oh my gosh, what now?!" I sympathize.

Dissertation Submission Form
If you're going to do copyright, page 5.
Money order or cashier's check ONLY!

Wait - can't we pay by credit card or check?

$65, no credit cards, no personal checks.
Why is this? Because the whole process can take 7-8 months to clear.

Where can I get my own bound copies of my dissertation?

Bound copies of your dissertation - you can order them on the ProQuest form. It will be the size of a book. But it takes a long time. What if you want a copy of your dissertation to give as a gift to your advisor, your chair? You don't want to wait 6 months for the copy. And usually your school wants a copy too.

There are several book binders in the area, including Kater-Crafts in Pico Rivera. Any of the dissertation copies you see in the library are from there.

Go right to the source and call them. They're really nice people.

One of my committee members lives out of state. How am I going to get her signature?

As of now, I will take a fax if I have to for the Dissertation proposal signatures, but not for the dissertation. You need original signatures on the form for the dissertation.

If you have a committee member off-campus, send the form to that person first - send it overnight express. Then once it comes back to you, take it to the members of your committee that are on campus.

If you absolutely have to (for example, in the case of a committee member passing away after the form has been signed), you can have original signatures on different pages.

If I'm graduating, when do I have to start worrying about my student loans?

If you are planning on a summer degree, you should know that if you have loans, you will not be considered a student over the summer. If you're planning on a summer degree and it's July first, and you start wondering, "Why am I not getting an in-school deferment?" It's because you have to be enrolled to receive a deferment. As of May 16, your loans are going to kick in. During the summer, you're not a student, even if you're going for a September degree!


Thank you, Edris, for coming and talking to the Dissertation Workshop!


Please note, all of the handouts from today's talk are available online.

Intent to Receive a Degree form

Information Concerning the Preparation and Submission of Doctoral Dissertations (10 page packet)

Timelines / Deadlines for May 2009 degrees

ProQuest: Publishing Your Doctoral Dissertation with UMI Dissertation Publishing (14 page packet)

Lorie also noted that the AIS (Association for Information Systems) website has a page of information for doctoral students that is really helpful.