Let Us Learn : Christmas days Lesson 05 Dec ,25, 2014 Sub: Improve your writing: Part 05a. ( this part has two subdivision part 05a & part 05b) ♣♣Improve Your Writing Basics of Writing (Composition)♣♣ In this part of the series post on Improve your writing : Basic of Writing I would like to discuss about Documents Design Issue Document Design Issues An essay or any piece of writing should look pleasing. This is achieved by paying attention to the many factors that contribute to pleasing the eye. First of all, it is important to be consistent in all choices—layout and format, headings, lists and tables, the presentation of visuals, and the style you have chosen for it. It should be readable, so choice of font is important. This may be dictated by your teacher or the entity that will publish it. If you are writing an essay for the teacher, make certain you know what she wants. Some fonts are easy to read and some present a barrier to reading. For example, Times-Roman is a popular font that has serifs because it is easy to read. However, Arial, which has no serifs, is a popular font because it, too, is readable. The choice of font will also determine how long your essay is. If the assignment calls for five pages, the font may determine where you end the essay. ★Layout and Format ★Headings ★Lists and tables ★Visuals: graphs, charts, and diagrams ★Formatting and citation standards ★MLA formatting and citation style ★APA formatting and citation style ★Chicago/Turabian formatting and citation style ♠♠Layout and Format♠♠ The computer program (Microsoft Word, for example) you choose for laying out your paper will play a role in how much flexibility you have in layout. If you choose to lay it out in Microsoft Publisher, you have many more choices. Make certain you are familiar with whatever program you choose. When it comes to format, will you space between paragraphs or will you indent each new one? Will you single space or double space or compromise and use line-and-a-half spacing? How long will your lines be? What about margins? Will your paper be bound? If so, you need to leave an extra inch of space on the left in order for the text to be centered after it is bound. Do you want to lay your paper out to look like another one that you like? Then get your ruler out as well as a table of type fonts so you can match that paper. ♠♠Headings♠♠ You need to determine ahead of time what pattern you will use for your headings. For example, are you going to number them—1, 2, 3, 4? Or are you going to use letters? In either case, you will need to decide what pattern you will follow for your subheadings. Some examples are centering major headings and left-blocking sub-heads. But what about if it goes to three or more levels? You must decide what will work for your paper. Remember that what you are trying to achieve is readability and an attractive appearance. In some cases, these matters will be determined for you by the person who assigned the paper or the entity that will publish the writing. What is important is that you have a plan and that you be consistent. Do not do it one way in one part of the paper and another way in another part. ♠♠Lists and tables♠♠ Lists and tables require special consideration and planning. Will they run in the text or will they appear on a separate page and have a reference in the text? Will they be blocked left or will they be centered. Should the font be the same as you are using for the text? If your teacher has made specific his requirements, then follow those guidelines consistently. If he has not specified those guidelines and you must choose on your own, just remember that the first principle is to be consistent. Consider appearance and ease of reading. If a table is confusing to the reader, you have lost the opportunity to make your point. Can you copy a table from another source? You can do that if you have the appropriate permissions. If only one copy is being made, such as handing it in for a grade, you probably do not need any permission. If, however, you are going to distribute it, you will need to contact the publisher and find what is required. This is often stated somewhere either in a publication or on a website. If you do need to get permission, use the telephone or e-mail and ask the publisher to send a written and signed statement of permission. ♠♠Visuals: graphs, charts, and diagrams♠♠ Many of the same guidelines apply to graphs, charts, and diagrams as for lists and tables. However, there are some considerations that are peculiar to these audiovisuals. For example, what kind of graph will make your point the best? You can make a bar graph vertical or a bar graph horizontal. Line graphs are popular and often used in population graphs. This is usually determined by the kind of information you are graphing. Also, where will the numbers be and how wide the scope? This, too, is determined by the information. The scope of the numbers, for example, may be 1 to 100, especially if you are portraying percentages. However, they may be in the millions also. If the scope is too large, you will need a scheme for scaling the numbers. For example, a line can represent a million or 5 million, whatever the case may be. If the scope of time is too large, the same principle can apply. Charts follow many of the same rules. However, the pie chart is often used to show percentages and compositions. For example, the US Senate composition could be charted as a pie very effectively. These can play a very significant role in making a point. Diagrams are often more complex. They are two-dimensional geometric symbolic representation of the information. Colors are often used to help with the understanding of the information being portrayed or the point being made. The software program you are using may have ready-made graphs, charts, and diagrams to help you create some of these. (Parts to be continued.....
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 13:59:54 +0000
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