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Book: Plastic Viking Helmets
Coming back soon:
Virtual Adam
Introduction
Do you have green fingers? typing skills considered
Preparing the ground background research
Planting the seeds getting ready to plan
The green shoots a plan
Feeding and watering developing the plan
Weeding working on the first go
Useful tools helpful features in the word processor
Style individualism in writing
Pests and diseases dangers and problems with word processor writing
The harvested crop an example essay
Introduction
This is intended as a guide for students who do, or wish to, write essays on a word processor. Whatever your reason for using one, it is best to get the most out of the machine; it can do much more than make your work look neat.It is not a technical guide in the sense of using the computer hardware or software, but should help you to use the potential of a WP so that it is not simply used as a typewriter. Effective use of a WP can speed up the essay writing process, and can help to develop a good discipline of planning.
Nor is this a general guide to writing essays. I will not deal with aspects such as note taking, how to produce a plan etc, as these are adequately dealt with elsewhere. My concern is rather to bring the two sets of skills together.
My early experience was of getting the essay into a fairly advanced stage on paper before plugging in the WP, sometimes just typing out a finished essay. I have discovered that by involving the WP at an early stage I can 'grow' the essay so that a basic plan evolves into the essay on screen.
What I hope to do is show by example how a WP can be used, by dealing with an actual essay and explaining the stages of development.
Briefly, I start on the WP with an essay plan, and gradually replace each bit of the plan, on screen, with the paragraph or section which it represents. This is what I mean by 'growing' an essay. When I am half way through you would see an odd mix of polished text and half baked notes. There are no 'best' ways to use a WP. Please use the ideas flexibly. This is a method which suits me, you should find one which suits you.
I have some experience of different word processors, and am especially familiar with WordPerfect (DOS and Windows versions), MS Word for Windows (V6 and 97), and Locoscript 1 & 2 (used mostly on Amstrad PCWs). Most of the advice given here, though, can be followed with any word processor. Some of the more exotic features, such as grammar checking, will not be available in all packages, but the features needed for 'growing' an essay are present in even the most simple and inexpensive processors.