Last updated 9/28/2016
Visual: Video opens to the title slide with the video’s title, then changes to show the home page of the Doctoral Capstone Form and Style website. As the speaker talks about what the tutorial will review, it is listed on the screen.
Audio: Welcome to the tutorial for using a Walden doctoral capstone template. In this tutorial we will review (a) where to find your program’s page on the Writing Center’s website and the resources on those pages, (b) how to download your program’s template, (c) best practices for how to use Walden doctoral capstone templates, and (d) where to find Microsoft Word assistance. You can use the doctoral capstone template for both your proposal and your final study, as the Walden templates help students prepare their document for final publication according to Walden and ProQuest specifications.
Each program’s template is available for download on the program page of the Doctoral Capstone Form and Style website. You can also find other relevant resources on those pages to help you write your study using APA style, including a form and style checklist.
Visual: As the speaker describes the steps for finding the program page, she moves the cursor over the Program main menu, then chooses “PhD Dissertation.” The screen changes to the PhD Dissertation program page. As the speaker discusses what the demonstration will cover, they are listed on the screen.
Audio: To find your program’s page, choose “Programs” on the Doctoral Capstone Form and Style page, then choose your program.
The Walden doctoral capstone templates include the required formatting elements for your study as well as detailed instructions and examples of APA heading levels, tables, figures, and reference entries. Read over the template carefully as well as the template’s instructions in the margins or, for some programs, in a separate instructions document on the program page.
For the purposes of this demonstration, we will be using the PhD dissertation template; however, each doctoral capstone template works in the same way, so if you are not a PhD student, the tips shown will work on the template you are using as well. This demonstration will cover (a) how to view hidden paragraph symbols, (2) copying and pasting into the template, (3) style tags, and (4) updating the Table of Contents.
The first step, of course, is to download the template. To do so, go to your program’s page on the Doctoral Capstone Form and Style website, in this case the PhD Dissertation page, and click the template link. The template will download to your computer, where you can then open and save it.
Visual: Screen changes to the first title page of the PhD dissertation template in Microsoft Word.
Audio: First we will talk about how to show paragraph symbols to avoid errors in the template. If you accidentally delete elements of the template, it can disrupt the formatting and cause errors in areas such as margins or page numbers.
Visual: The pilcrow button in the paragraph section of the Home tab in Microsoft Word is enlarged and the speaker clicks this button. Once she does, the formatting marks in the document appear. The speaker then scrolls through the first few pages of the document to demonstrate the different formatting marks that are now shown.
Audio: To avoid deleting anything important, make sure that all formatting is visible by turning on the pilcrow button, also called the paragraph symbol. You can now see things such as where the line breaks, page breaks, and section breaks are in the template. If you accidentally delete or paste over a page break, you can reinsert it; however, it is best to avoid doing so in the first place, and turning on the pilcrow button will help you see where these elements are in the template and help you avoid deleting them.
Visual: The screen changes to show the template’s first page of Chapter 1 in Microsoft Word. The pilcrow button is not turned on.
Audio: The next tip for using the template is how to copy and paste into the template. We recommend you start practicing with the template as soon as possible to save yourself time when preparing for final publication. You should develop a method of working in the template that works best for you: Some people choose to compose the text within the template itself, and others prefer to compose the text in a separate document and copy and paste into the template later.
Visual: The speaker enlarges the pilcrow button and turns it on to show the document’s formatting marks.
Audio: When copying and pasting into the template, make sure you do not delete or copy and paste over essential formatting elements, like section and page breaks. Having the pilcrow button on will help with this, but you should also copy and paste in stages, section by section, rather than all at once.
Visual: The speaker highlights the first paragraph on the page, being careful not to select the ending return, then pastes a document of a sample draft into the template using the shortcut CTRL + V.
Audio: When copying text from a document into the template, do not copy the last pilcrow (paragraph symbol). You may lose some formatting details, but it’s easier to restore those than to deal with formatting that is brought in with the information stored in the pilcrow.
Now that you have inserted your text into the template, you need to apply the appropriate style tags. Style tags are a quick way to correctly format headings per APA, but they are also how Microsoft Word knows which headings should appear in the template’s automated Table of Contents. With this automated Table of Contents, Microsoft Word will automatically update your headings and their page numbers, so while style tags may seem confusing at first, it is worth learning how to use them to save you time in the end and ensure the pagination of your document is accurately reflected in the Table of Contents.
Visual: The speaker shows each step in Microsoft Word as she explains it, finding the Styles Menu by clicking the downward-right arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Styles menu in the Home tab in Microsoft Word.
Audio: To tag a heading, highlight the heading and open the Styles Menu by clicking the downward arrow in the lower right corner of the Styles section of the Home tab. Then choose from the available styles and apply it to the text. Be aware that only APA Level 0, 1, and 2 headings appear in the Table of Contents, so only headings with those style tags will automatically update in the Table of Contents.
Visual: The screen changes to show the template’s Table of Contents, which hasn’t been updated yet. As the speaker explains each step, she demonstrates it in the template. Once she chooses “Update Field,” the Table of Contents updates with the correct heading titles and page numbers.
Audio: Once you have inserted your content into the template and tagged all headings, body text, block quotes, table titles (if you have any), and reference list entries, it’s time to update the template’s automated Table of Contents. To do so, navigate to the Table of Contents, right click on it, and select “Update field.” You can update the entire field, updating both the headings and page numbers, or you may choose to update page numbers only if you haven’t changed any heading titles since the last update.
Visual: The screen changes to show the template’s List of Tables. The speaker opens the Styles Menu to show the Table Title style tag.
Audio: If your document includes any tables, note that the List of Tables is set up in a similar way. For this to work, make sure any table titles have the style tag “Table Title.” More instructions for this appear in the template or in the accompanying instructions document for some programs.
Visual: The screen changes to the title page of the template in Microsoft Word. As the speaker discusses the resources available to help students, they are displayed on the screen.
Audio: While the template includes formatting guidelines and examples, the template itself is not the final guide for content; be sure you are using the many other resources available to help you write your study:
Note that the Writing Center does not offer Microsoft Word support, and there may be slight differences between what you see in this demonstration and what you see on your computer.
Visual: As the speaker discusses the Academic Skills Center’s tutorials and appointments, the Center’s website is shown, with the speaker navigating to the Software Assistance menu and clicking Microsoft Word. The Microsoft Word page shows the Center’s Word’s resources, an option to make an appointment, and the email wordsupport@mail.waldenu.edu.
Audio: For help working in Microsoft Word, we highly recommend using the Academic Skills Center’s tutorials and appointments, which can help you learn how to do important things like insert a section or page break, use track changes and comment bubbles, and automatically insert a hanging indent. If you are not able to locate a formatting feature discussed here or have trouble using the template, be sure to visit the Academic Skills Center’s website, make an appointment, or send them an e-mail at wordsupport@mail.waldenu.edu.
We hope you have found our tips for using a Walden doctoral capstone template useful. If you have any other questions about formatting guidelines in the Form and Style Checklist or any of the capstone formatting resources, please contact editor@mail.waldenu.edu.
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