How to create references in Word X for Mac
I’m currently writing my master’s thesis and have learned a thing or two about Word X in the process. One of the most useful techniques that I learned is how to create scientific style references.
I started out by using Word’s footnotes, but I quickly realized that I couldn’t style my reference numbers using the standard scientific journal format, like this [1]. I knew that I could manually style the citations numbers in the body text and bibliography, but if I rearranged the text, I would have to manually rearrange the citations — something I wanted to avoid if possible.
With the help of Ann Blandford, I found a way to create manageable references: cross-references. Here’s how to use them.
- First, you’ll need to create a special style for your bibliography. Do this by selecting Format - Style… Select New… from the dialog.
- Next, name the style “Bibliography.” Leave everything else the same.
- In the same dialog, select the Format menu and select Numbering… Select any of the number styles and then click Customize…
- In first text box, there should be a number, for example 1. First, edit this text so that the number has no following period and is surrounded by square brackets, like this [1].
- Then, make sure your list starts at 1 by entering 1 in the Start at: text box.
- Click OK to close the Formatting dialog, then click OK again to close the New Style dialog. Finally, click Apply to apply the newly created style.
- When you’re ready to add a reference, create a new list by clicking the numbered list button. Then select Format - Style…
- “Bibliography” should be near the top of the style list. Select it and then select Apply… Voila, your references will now look like they came out of a top scientific journal.
- Now, you need to link the references to your text using the cross-references feature of Word X. After the text that you would like to reference, select Insert - Cross-reference…
- Under reference type, select Numbered Item, and under Insert reference to:, select Paragraph number.
- Then in the list of numbered items below, find the appropriate reference, select it and then select Insert.
- You now have a hyperlinked cross-reference to a specific numbered item in your bibliography.
That’s it. If you insert new references out of order, you’ll need to update all of your cross-references by selecting the entire document (command-A) and pressing F9. (F9 may be mapped to an Expose shortcut. If it is, you’ll need to temporary disable Expose.)
- 21 Jul 04
- ann blandford, howto, microsoft, software, writing
Go back to the top of this entry ↑
Comments