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If you bought your computer in another country

Last Friday, I strongly recommended using Google Docs to write your papers; HOWEVER, I am going to change that suggestion for people who bought their computers outside the USA. (Really the issue is whether you bought your word processing program in another country because a copy of Microsoft Word that is set up for writers in Japan or Germany is very different from what you would get in the USA.)

If you got your software in another country, the online version of Microsoft Word would probably work better for you because its grammar and spelling matches USA usage and the format it uses to print things (paper size and typeface) also match what we do in the USA.

Here is what you need to know:

  • Getting into Microsoft Word the first time: Go to Get started with Office 365 for free. Sign in with your Ashland email and password, and tell them that you are a student.
    • The next time around (if you are using the same computer) just go to www.office.com. The system should remember who you are.
    • If you are using a college computer, you can get in by giving your email address and password.
  • Making a paper: This is an instruction sheet for making an MLA paper (similar to the ones I gave out for the other word processors on Friday). Just follow the instructions. (You might find it convenient to print a copy to refer to.)
  • Managing your files: (This is the part that Microsoft makes very unclear and confusing). Follow this link for instructions to help you navigate Microsoft’s OneDrive Cloud Server.

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