Cockeyed Optimist

There’s been plenty written about how to go about writing essays and other documents, and how to use a word processor, such as Microsoft Word, to best advantage.

Some (probably even all) of what I shall tell you can be found in very many other places. I should make it clear that I’m not talking about your topic, your content, your arguments or your logical flow here; I’m not even talking about what you should include or leave out – this is about the mechanics of constructing and writing the document – those other points are the responsibility of your professors or your supervisor.

So why listen to me?

There are some very good reasons:

• I have been correcting and polishing students’ work, ranging from 2-page essays to 70,000 word PhD dissertations, for over three years as a professional editor, and for many years as an academic before that. My clients have come from all over the world, but they have all been writing in English (or trying to). I work for BetterEdit, so if you need this sort of help …
• I have written a PhD thesis myself, on the Help facilities in Microsoft Word. I was awarded the Doctorate in 2006, so I know a bit about Word.

  [If you would like to download the thesis (it’s long - about 2 MB), click here.]

So what I shall tell you is all up-to-date, practical and usable.

How Is This Advice Organized?

As well as what you can read here, I have produced stand-alone versions of each chapter that you can download and keep.

They are free, all you have to do is ask for them.

The chapters are:

1. Don’t start writing until you’ve done all this
2. Have you read ALL the requirements for this piece of writing?
3. Why bother with Microsoft Word paragraph styles?
4. Do you need to include tables? If so, read on
5. Sensible uses for different page views
6. Right and wrong ways of spacing between your paragraphs

I will be adding these progressively, as I write them; they may not all be ready yet, so please be patient, and check back from time to time.

If you liked this, why not treat me to a coffee (or a bone for Kafka)? Thanks, mate!

This page has the following sub pages.

• 1. Don’t start writing until you’ve done all this
• 2. Have you read ALL the requirements for this piece of writing?
• 3. Why Bother with Microsoft Word Paragraph Styles?
• 4. Do you need to include tables? If so, read on
• 5. Sensible uses for different page views

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