• application software designed to input, format, edit and print text.
• helps the user produce letters, memos, reports, form letters, research papers, essays, novels.
• means working with words.

• Bold or boldface: A heavier typestyle used to emphasis and appearance.
• Bullets: Symbols used at the beginning of each line to highlight a list of items.
• Characters: The letters, numbers, symbols, punctuation marks that appear in a word processing document.
• Clip Art: A collection of picture files that can be inserted into a document.
• Copy: To make a duplicate of a highlighted section of a document.
• Curser (insertion point): A ing line or other mark showing where the next letter or character will be
  keyed. Sometimes the curser is an arrow or icon.
• Cut: To remove a highlighted section of a document.
• Editing: Changing or making corrections in a document.
• File: A document saved in the computer.
• Folder: A place to store a file. Also known as a directory or subdirectory.
• Font: A specific design for a complete set of letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Formatting: The way the text appears.
• Hard Copy: The printed copy.
• Hardware: The physical components of the computer system.
• Highlighting: To display, in reverse type, part of a word or a section of a document.
• Italics: Typestyle that is evenly slanted towards the right for emphasis and appearance.
• Line Spacing: The vertical distance between lines of text. The default setting is usually single spacing.
• Load or Launch: To enter a program or file into a computer's memory (RAM).
• Paste: To put the clipboard contents into another part of a document. Paste is used in conjunction with the cut and
  copy commands.
• Point: A unit of measurement of type. The larger the point size, the larger the type.
• Print: To make a hard copy of a document.
• Retrieve: To load a file that has been previously saved onto a disk.
• Save: To store a file on diskette or hard drive for future use.
• Search and Replace: Word processing function that locates words or character strings and allows the user to replace
  the selected words with a replacement.
• Soft Copy: Display of a document on a computer monitor or screen.
• Software: The applications/programs or operating system.
• Spell Check: Word processing tool that compares words in a document to its own disk-based dictionary to help
  identify and to correct misspellings.
• Text: The words.
• Thesaurus: Word processing tool that identifies synonyms for a selected word in a document.
• Typestyle: Features such as bold, italics, and underline.
• Underline: A horizontal line used for emphasis.

• When you create a new document, some of the document settings have already been made for you. These are called defaults.
• The default settings vary by software.
• The margins, line spacing, and fonts may be preset. (You may check your software to see your default settings.)

• All keyboards are not created equal.
• There are various arrangements of the special keys on the keyboard.
• Some keyboards have more keys than other keyboards.

• Text formatting features include bold, italics, and underline type styles.
• Various fonts are available to enhance the appearance of text.
• Page formatting features include margin settings, page orientation, line spacing, justification or text alignment.
• Advanced features, such as bullets, automatic numbering, borders, and tables may be available in your word processing program.

• Editing features include cut, copy, and paste.
• Cut removes selected text.
• Copy duplicates selected text.
• The cut or copied text is temporarily stored on the "clipboard" of the computer (in the memory.
• Paste moves text from the clipboard to the document.
• Edit undo can undo the last command selected.
• Special tools such as Spell Check, Thesaurus, Grammar Check, Search and Replace can help improve your writing.
• Highlighting a section of text is known as a "block."
• You may cut and paste a block of text.
• You may copy and paste a block of text.
• You may also use the "drag and drop" editing feature with a block of text. This method is faster when you are moving text a short distance.

• Proofing the soft copy - proofreading the document displayed on the monitor.
• Peer Editing proofing/editing a friend's work.

• Use special proofreader marks/symbols.
• Slow down and proofread word by word.
• Use spell check, but realize that spell check will miss MANY mistakes. (Homonyms, incorrect usage, proper names, etc.)
• Proofread for spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
• Proofread for meaning.

Reasons for sending personal business letters:

• Request information.
• Thank you letter.
• Letter of complaint.
• Letter of application.
• Folow-up to job interview.
• Resume cover letter.

Parts of a personal business letter:

• Return Address (your address)
• Dateline
• Inside Address, aka Letter Address or Mailing Address (the name and address of the one you are sending the letter to.)
• Salutation or Greeting
• Body of letter
• Complimentary Closing
• Handwritten Signature
• Keyed/Typewritten Name

Mixed Punctuation: Mixed punctuation is the most commonly used letter punctuation. With mixed punctuation, the salutation is followed by a colon (:) and a comma (,) follows the complimentary close.

Open Punctuation: Open punctuation is acceptable, but is less commonly used as letter punctuation. With open punctuation, the salutation and complimentary close are not followed by any punctuation.

Letter Writing Tips

• A personal-business letter should be short and to the point without sounding rude.
• In the first paragraph, explain why you are writing the letter.
• In the second paragraph, give the necessary details to explain the situation.
• The third and last paragraph is the closing. State what action, if any, you expect as a result of your letter.

Memorandums

• Memorandums, also known as memos are correspondence sent between people within the same business or organization.
• Memorandums are less formal than a letter. Memorandums can be keyed and printed on plain paper, created using a template or wizard, or printed on forms pre-printed with the guide words. (TO, FROM, DATE, SUBJECT). There are various acceptable styles of memorandums.

The Unbound Academic Report (MLA Report)

This report format is typically used for short academic reports.

• All margins, left, right, top, and bottom margins should be set to one inch (1").
• Double space the entire report.
• Center the report title in initial caps and boldface. Leave a double space after it.
• Name, date, and class information may be typed in the top left corner so that a title page is not necessary.

The Leftbound Report

Formatting:

• Set the left margin at 1.5 " and the right margin at 1". The wider left margin provides room for binding or stapling the report.
• Double space the entire report.
• Indent each paragraph one-half inch. (Tab one time.)
• Use page numbering on the second and succeeding pages.

Title Page: The title page is a cover sheet stating the title of the report, the author's name, and perhaps the date or the name of the class.

Works Cited Page (also known as Bibliography or Reference Page):

• The works cited page is a list of the references used in preparing the report.
• The references are listed in alphabetical order by author's last name.
• References from the internet should ALWAYS include the URL of the website where the information was found. The URL of the search engine is NOT adequate you must provide the URL for the end location. In addition, include as much information as possible about the web-site: The site sponsor, the title of the "article," the author, the date the site was accessed, etc.
• Each reference uses the hanging indent format, with periods separating the major parts of each reference.
  
  Example:
  Fynn, Meredith and Mandell, Steven L. Microcomputer Concepts, Skills, and Applications. St. Paul:
         West Publishing Company, 1991.