Prepare Your Headings (Screencastify)

Read the key points, and then watch the video.

Key Points:

Note: The video starts by asking you to create a new Google Doc. Skip this step! You do not need to create a new document, because I have created one for you.
You can find your doc on my website's splash page, by going to "Our Class Writing Portfolios."
Format your title and your Works Cited page headings.

Written Instructions

Create a Google Doc

Let's start at the very beginning, by creating a Google Doc.

Lesson Steps

1	Login to your Google Account.
2	Create a Google Doc.
3	Give your document a proper file name. At the top left corner of your document, there is a box that says "Untitled Document." Click on the box and give your document a proper file name. I suggest a title something like this: Sweden (pro)
4	Close your document and log out of your account. Now log back in and find your document again. Were you able find the document you created?

Check Your Settings

Sometimes, for mysterious reasons, your computer will do funny things like give you an extra large gap between paragraphs, or give you an extra wide left margin or an extra tiny font. These problems can be fixed by changing the settings in Google Docs.

The problem is that many students wait until after they have finished writing their paper before they try to fix their settings, and often, by then, the problem has become more complicated. In fact, some students are forced to do hours of extra work "undoing" bad formatting. It's smarter to check your settings before you start.

1	Check your margins. Go to File, then Page Setup. Make sure your margins are set at the following values: Top = 1 Bottom = 1 Left = 1 Right = 1
2	Check your font. Set your font style to Calibri. Set your font size to 12.
3	Check your text alignment. Make sure that the Left Align icon is selected.
4	Check your tab space. Put your cursor at the left margin. Tap the tab key once. Your cursor should jump to the right exactly .5 inch. If it doesn't, fix it or ask for help.
5	Check your line spacing. Click on the Line Spacing icon. Select Custom Spacing. In the box for Line Spacing, make sure it says 1. (If it says 1.15, change it to 1). In the boxes for Paragraph Spacing, put the following values: Before = 0 After = 0

Delete and Backspace

On a full-sized keyboard, the delete key and the backspace key do two different things.

The backspace key deletes characters to the left of the cursor.
The delete key deletes characters to the right of the cursor.

But perhaps you have noticed: Chromebooks don't have a delete key!

Don't worry. There's a trick that allows you to turn your backspace key into a delete key (and thus allows you to delete characters to the right of the cursor).

Hold down the alt key, then tap the backspace key.

This trick will save you time and frustration.

1	Type a random sentence into your document.
2	Put your cursor at the end of the sentence and erase it using the Backspace key.
3	Now type in another random sentence.
4	This time, put your cursor at the beginning of the sentence and erase it using the Delete key. Remember: If you're using a Chromebook, use Alt + Backspace in order to delete letters to the right of the cursor.

Your Title

A good title gives the reader a hint of what your thesis is.

Nobody likes to guess at the contents of a paper. Imagine, for example, that you are doing research on the affects of global warming on the Great Barrier Reef. You start by doing a Google search for "Global Warming," and Google gives you more than 55 million results. Where do you start?

Which of these titles would you click on first?

Global Warming: The Affects of Climate Change on the Reefs of the South Pacific
Global Warming and the Growth of Pine Beetle Populations in North America
Global Warming

The first two titles are helpful because they are specific. The third title is too vague to be of much help. You would have to click on the link and browse through the article to decide if you can use it. And who has time for that?

Likewise, one day other researchers may be reading your papers in order to further their own understanding of a topic. And they, like you, will want to see at a glance if your paper is going to be useful. That is why a good title is fairly specific.

To achieve this goal, many good titles contain a main title, followed by a subtitle. Typically, the main title and the subtitle are separated by a full colon.

For this assignment, you do not have to come up with an original title of your own. In fact, I would prefer if you didn't. Here is the exact title that I want you to use (with France as an example):

France: A Wonderful Vacation Destination

At the top of your writing portfolio (right below the main title that says "Writing Portfolio") write the title of your country report.

Don't get creative. The title of your paper should be:
- France: A Wonderful Vacation Destination
Obviously, you will substitute the name of your own country for "France".
Each word in your title should start with an upper case letter, except for articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions.
- Do capitalize the "A" that comes directly after the colon, since this is the first letter of your subtitle.

Apply Heading 1 to your title.

Put your cursor somewhere in your title.
On the tools bar, click on the icon that says "Normal text".

Hover your mouse over Heading 1 and then choose Apply Heading 1.

Did you capitalize every letter in your title?
Only capitalize the first letter of every word in your title, with the following exceptions:

Articles (a, an, the) do not get capitalized unless they are the first word in a title or subtitle.
Prepositions (on, in, for, etc.) do not get capitalized unless they are the first word in a title or subtitle.
Conjunctions (and, but, or) do not get capitalized.

Did you apply Heading 1 to your title?

Did you italicize your title?

Titles do not get italicized.

Did you use a larger font for your title than for the rest of your paper?

Your title should be in the same 12 pt. font as the rest of your paper.

Works Cited Heading

Next, you're going to write the heading for your Works Cited page.

Create your Works Cited heading.

Put your cursor after your title.
Tap the Enter key about 10 times to put your cursor about half way down the page.
Write the words Works Cited.

Style your Works Cited heading.

Put your cursor somewhere in your Works Cited heading.
Click on Normal text and then choose Heading 1.

Did you create a separate file for your Works Cited page?

Do not keep your Works Cited page in a separate file. Your entire document should be in one file.

Check your work.

Your paper should now look very much like this:

France: A Wonderful Vacation Destination

Works Cited

Congratulations! You're done with this lesson.