A Few Tips to Help When Writing a

Paper Using a Word Processor

Composing on a Computer

1st Ideas,2nd Composing

Jot down ideas, do research then start composing free style (worry about proper sentence structure and correct spelling later).

If the paper you are writing is about your experiences (when no research is necessary)…

…type short words or phrases about what you want to say. Next, go back and fill in the detail.

Content First, Pretty Later!

Type what you want to say and don’t worry about font, font color, font size or text alignment until the very last stage of your writing.

NEVER use the Backspace key to navigate back to correct an error in your document!

It’s the long, hard way to make a correction. Instead, finish the initial draft, then move the cursor to the word that

needs to be corrected and make the change.

Don’t Waste Time Thinking of a Title!

Type your paper first and add the title later. Don’t get blocked because you can’t think of a title…just keep writing.

Unless your teacher wants a specific title!

If you see a wavy red underline, it means the underlined word is spelled wrong. Move the mouse pointer over the

word, click the right mouse button and you can select the correct spelling from the pop-up list (of possible words) that appears. The words listed may not always include the correct word.

If you see a green wavy underline, it means there is a grammatical error in the text. Move the mouse pointer

over the underlined text and click the Right Mouse button. Word may suggest some changes, but the solution is to reword your text.

Quick Keys for NavigationTo move quickly through a document using keystrokes

• Ctrl + Left Arrow jumps to the beginning of the previous word

• Ctrl + Right Arrow jumps to the beginning of the next word

• Ctrl + Home jumps to the beginning of the document

• Ctrl + End jumps to the end of the document

Questio

ns?