Microsoft Word Essentials

This section will demonstrate how to add common elements to your assignments, such as lists, tables, hyperlinks and pictures.

Lists

To add a list, you first need to add a few items on separate lines.

For example:

Apples
Oranges
Strawberries
Pineapples

Once you have your list items, highlight them by clicking and dragging over the text.

In the Home tab, under Paragraph choose Bullets or Numbering.

You can change the style of your bullets or numbers by selecting the small arrow next to the Bullets or Numbering icons. This will allow you to add stylised bullet points, or to change the numbering style.

Tables

  1. Go to the Insert tab, and select Table. Word will provide a preview of what your table will look like as you hover your mouse over the grid provided
  2. Choose how many columns and rows you want, and click on the square that corresponds with your choice
  3. Alternatively, you can click Insert Table and manually enter the number of columns and rows you need.

Once you have created your table you will be able to adjust the design and layout in the Table Tools tab.

Note: The Table Tools tab will only show when you have the table selected. Underneath Table Tools you should see two tabs for Design and Layout.

Hyperlinks, or links, are useful for leading your reader to further information. To add a hyperlink to your document, add some text that describes the website or web page that you will be linking to, for example “Curtin Library Home page”.

  1. Highlight your text by clicking and dragging your mouse across it
  2. Right-click over your highlighted text, and select Hyperlink (or Link, depending on what version of Word you have)
  3. In the Existing File or Web Page window, type or paste the URL (web address) of the site you are linking to, for example https://library.curtin.edu.au
  4. Click OK.

Your text should now appear underlined and blue like this. Test your link by right-clicking on it and selecting Open Hyperlink.

Note: Check with your tutor whether it is okay for you to add links to your assignments — in some cases it will not be appropriate.

Pictures

There are a few different ways you can insert pictures into your document. The easiest way is to copy an image (right-click and Copy) from a website or other source, and pasting it (right-click and Paste) into your document. Two other methods for inserting pictures are outlined below.

Note: You should always try to source creative commons licensed images for your work wherever possible, and reference appropriately. Check out our online referencing guides for information on how to reference images in your assignments.

Insert online image

  1. Click on the Insert tab
  2. Select Online Pictures
  3. Type in the search bar what you are looking for, for example “dogs”
  4. Choose an image you like, and click to select it
  5. Click Insert.

Note: By searching in Word’s online image database, you can choose to filter for creative commons images. However, some images won’t be accompanied by their source information, which you will need to provide as a reference in your assignments.

Insert picture from file

Make sure you have already saved the image you want to use to a file on your computer (for instance, if you have taken a photo yourself, make sure you have uploaded it from your camera or phone and can access it on your computer).

  1. Click on the Insert tab
  2. Select Pictures
  3. Navigate to the folder where your image is saved and click to select it
  4. Click Insert.

Formatting your images

Once you have inserted your images, you can format them as you like. To adjust the size of the picture, click and drag from the corners. Holding down the Shift key while you do this will ensure that the image doesn’t get distorted. You can make further changes to the formatting (such as aligning the image, editing the colour, and cropping it) by right-clicking on the picture and choosing from the options available.