In Word Essentials training we talk about one time saving option in the References tab, the automatic Table of Contents.  If you thought that was cool, you are going to want to go back in time and redo all of your high school and college papers using the Citations and Bibliography features in the References tab.

Exercise File

To follow along, download the exercise file here:  CitationsExercise

This document contains a lovely writeup about Microsoft Word that needs a couple citations (indicated by placeholders that read Source 1 and Source 2), and it also needs a Works Cited/Bibliography section. The two concepts go hand in hand, as we will see in the exercise. The yellow text box contains the source information for these citations. But enough back story, let’s jump in.

The Ribbon

For this exercise, we will work from the References Tab, Citations and Bibliography Group

Step 1: Choose a Citation Style

In the Style dropdown, select the desired citation style; e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago.

• The style you select will guide the fields that will appear in your Works Cited section

Step 2: Insert Citations

1. Remove the bold placeholder text that reads Source 1, and place your cursor at the end of the sentence where the placeholder text had been. Wherever your cursor is flashing is where the citation will appear.
2. From the References tab, Citations & Bibliography group, select Insert Citation, Add New Source
3. For Type of Source select Article in a Periodical. Complete the fields that appear in the prompts by using the information in the gold text box. Press OK.
   • Notice the Citation inserts where your cursor was:
     
4. Now replace Source 2 placeholder text the same way, only select Journal as the Type of Source.
   • There are a couple additional fields you might want to add: Volume and Number.
   • Even though that doesn’t appear in the Fields list, you can check the box next to Show All Bibliography Fields and scroll down to see more fields and enter this additional information.

Step 3: Insert a Bibliography or Works Cited

Now the easy part!

1. Either remove the text box or click underneath it. The Works Cited will insert wherever your cursor is flashing.
2. Go to the Citations & Bibliography group and select from the list of options.
3. A Works Cited list will appear where your cursor was.

Making Adjustments: Managing Sources

I see a typo from my data entry, so I want to change my source and update my Works Cited.

To edit or manage sources:

1. Go to References tab, Citations & Bibliography group, select Manage Sources.
2. Select the source to be edited and select Edit to make changes (optional).
3. If any sources are edited or added, the Works Cited will need to be updated, just like the automatic Table of Contents we created in Word Essentials. The process is the same: right click over the Works Cited and select Update Field.

By the way, this is just the beginning of what you can do working with citations. There are also ways to transfer sources from old documents to new documents, to change citation styles mid paper, and so much more… but I promised a bite sized piece of information, so I must stop myself here!

 

I think you should go back to school and take a class or two just so you can play with this amazing feature in Word. I know a place where you can take some classes…