Well it looks like there has been an update to the style requirements in the APA standards, 6th edition. For those of you who are using the APA guide for creating a paper or a thesis, there is a style change that will impact standard style application in MS Word!

The updated Heading styles, levels three through five, now require two different style traits in a single paragraph. This can be achieved by applying a character or linked style to the actual header text but the challenge is then one of displaying only the selected text in the TOC or Navigation Pane (Document Map).

To achieve the correct display without compromising any MS Word automation, apply the built-in Heading 3 style; modify and update it as required. To join the following paragraph to this heading without altering any of the style attributes, press CTRL-ALT-Enter at the end of the heading text. Of course the same instructions apply for Heading styles four and five.

Just a heads up, APA templates do not include predefined styles for the new changes – they only include up to Heading 2 so if you want more information on this, contact its.training@usask.ca or better yet, sign up for a Styles and Outlining seminar on the ITS Training website.