Other
Compared to manual typewriters, computers offer several benefits. The typed documents are very easy to revise without retyping the entire paper. Formatting may be quickly and easily altered. Many tasks (e.g., footnoting, pagination) are done automatically by the computer when instructed. Students can use a computer for composing the first draft instead of writing in longhand, or they may use a computer to type the final draft.
Word Processing Capabilities
Most word processing programs have the following capabilities that are useful for typing written assignments. Directions for using the tools differ from one program to another; refer to the software manuals or on-line help menus for instructions. But nothing can replace the human eyes and intellectual skills, so services like essay editing service are the best way possible to create and edit your assignment!
- automatic footnoting
- automatic pagination
- justification (right, left, both, centered)
- line spacing (single, space-and-a-half, double)
- headers and footers (information entered at the top and bottom of every page)
- word wrap (computer skips to next line automatically at the end of the previous line)
- tables, graphs, and charts may be added into the text
- multiple font sizes and styles may be used in one document
- spell checker, grammar checker, and thesaurus
- type print may be changed (e.g., italics, underlining, boldface, etc.)
- widows and orphans (single lines at the beginning or end of a page) are automatically moved to another page
Printing
After a document has been keyed into the computer and corrections made, the paper is ready for printing. Printing instructions that must be given to the computer include:
- number of copies
- print quality (draft, faster, or best)
- page orientation (horizontal or vertical)
- automatic or manual paper feed
- pages to be printed (all pages or a range of pages)
- paper size (8.5 x 11 or 8.5 x 14)
Words of Caution
- Save Your Work Often
- When working on the computer it is very important to save the document often, especially during electrical storms. If the power surges or goes out, all information that was entered or changed since the document was last saved will be lost forever. Some machines allow you to do automatic saves every so often, like every 10 minutes.
- Use Your Own Disks
- Save documents on your own personal disks when using public access computers. If you save on the computer hard drive, other people may access the document, stealing or changing it, or the document may be deleted by computer lab operators.
- Use Meaningful File Names
- Documents composed on the computer must be named in order to be saved. It is very helpful to use meaningful albeit brief names for documents. The name might include an abbreviation of the course and a one-word summary of the assignment or topic. For example, a critique and review of The Grapes of Wrath might be titled GrapesReview. A marketing take-home test might be named MarketTest1. Some programs allow only a certain number of characters (e.g., up to eight) in the document names; others do not allow spaces or symbols like # and &. Check the software manual or on-line help menus for specific guidelines.
- Make Back-Up Copies
- Because computer disks and hard drives sometimes "crash," erasing some or all of the contents, always make a back-up copy of the document on a separate computer disk. Put a label with one's name and address on the disks in case they are lost. Always make and keep a copy of the printed document as well.
- Start Early
- Begin the process of keying and printing the documents early in case there is an equipment malfunction or the terminals and printers are not available. This is especially important for people using public access computers or student computer labs during peak hours (usually 1:00 to 4:00 pm) and during critical parts of the term like before finals week.
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