Unit 2: Working With Documents

Memorandums:

Memorandums or memos are documents used to communicate within the organization. Memos are short (typically they're 1-page long), and they sum up a topic in a direct and brief style. Memos typically include instructions, internal issues, decisions, and new and revised policies.

Word processing software enables you to prepare business communication documents that appear consistent and formal. You can also use these software programs to create other documents, such as research papers, school assignments, and college projects.

Some of the popular word processing software programs are Microsoft Word, WordPro, Open Office Writer, WordPerfect, and Google Docs. You can use word processing software to create, edit, save, format, print, and perform many other such functions. The template feature of the word processing software simplifies some of these functions.

A template

is a format that you can use to create your document. It already includes your desired format, and therefore, you will not have to make frequent changes to the document. These templates have predefined format and design elements, such as margin size, spacing, style, header, and footer. You can use these templates multiple times, because the word processing software only stores the changes made on your current template document, and not on the main template design.

cursor:(blinking vertical line on your screen) in the upper left corner of the document. As you enter data, the cursor keeps moving ahead to the next location where you need to enter text.

navigation

Control keys: The control (Ctrl) keys consist of keys that are used mostly in combination with other keys to perform specific actions. For example, Ctrl + A will select all the information on your screen. Similarly, Ctrl + C will copy the selected text, Ctrl + X will cut the selected text, and Ctrl + V will paste the selected text. Function keys: The function keys, labeled F1 to F12, perform specific tasks in a word processing program. For example, in Microsoft Word, the F1 key will open the Help menu. Similarly, the F5 key will pop up the Find and Replace dialog box, and F7 will select a paragraph and run the Spelling and Grammar test on it. Navigation keys: The navigation keys enable movement within documents for browsing or editing. They include the arrow keys, and the Insert, Home, Delete, End, Page Up, and Page Down keys. For example, Page Up and Page Down will help you quickly scroll through the pages of your document. Similarly, the Home key will move the cursor to the beginning of a line. Numeric keypad: The numeric keypad consists of number keys, similar to the ones you find on a calculator. On some computers, this keypad is located on the right side of the keyboard. With numeric keypad, it is easier for you to enter numbers. For example, you can enter quick mathematical equations with the help of the numeric keys.

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Creating a New Document with a Template

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Entering Data in Documents

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Headers and footers generally contain information such as document title, page number, data, and name/logo of a university or an organization. For example, if you create a school project in a document, you could put the project title and your name as header elements, and the date and page number as footer elements on every page. Orientation One of the page layout options enables you to set the orientation of your document. You can have it either in the portrait mode or in the landscape mode. The portrait mode has vertical dimensions, and the landscape mode has horizontal dimensions, depending on your page printing preference. Size You can adjust the size of your document to match the type of document that you want to create. For instance, if you opt for the legal size (8.5" x 14"), you will notice that the document length is a greater than the length for a regular A4 size (8.27" x 11.69") document.

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When you write a business document, make sure you are clear about the purpose and objective of your communication. Ensure that your readers can understand your message. Business documents typically follow certain guidelines that ensure a formal, professional look and feel. Let's take a look at some of them.

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Writing Effective Business Documents

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Identify the scope of your document:

Before you write your business document, identify and understand the objective of your communication and do not shift your focus. Do not confuse your reader by straying away from the objective of your communication.

Business Documents

Business communication depends on various kinds of documents, such as emails, reports, memos, and proposals that contain important messages. Organizations use these documents as records for internal and external communication.

Business documents also have legal implications. Organizations can use documents in a court of law as evidence, if required. It is therefore important to create and use all formal documents in a clear and professional way.

Business documents have a distinctive style, which sets them apart from other documents. These documents are concise and easy to comprehend, and convey messages in the most effective way. You notice a formal tone in most business documents.

Business letters:

Business letters are the most formal means of communication, because they follow a predefined format. Typically, they are written in a block style, with the body text aligned along the left margin. They are either in a printed form or handwritten, and are typically used for external communication. Example of business letters are letters of sales, letters of recommendation, and letters of inquiry.

Internal Communication

Communication between employees and within teams and departments of an organization is called

External Communication

Communication with the public, business stakeholders, the government, and so on is called external communication.

Identify your target readers:

Direct your business document at a particular set of readers—your target audience. You'll need to understand your readers' background, level of knowledge, and interest in the subject in order to draft your business document effectively.

Emails:

Emails are the most widely used form of business communication. They have a conversational tone, and are not as formal as the business letters. You can address an email to a single recipient or to multiple recipients at a time. Although the primary use of the email is to convey a message or information, you can also use the attachment feature of emails to facilitate the transfer of files.

Improving Typing Speed

Ensure that you use both your hands for typing. Before you begin typing, position your fingers on the middle row of the alphabetic keys on the keyboard. The F and J keys have bumps on them to help you recognize when your fingers are in the correct positions. Maintain good posture when you type. Adjust the height of your chair so that the monitor is at your eye level. Keep your elbows close to your body. Ensure that your elbows, palms, and wrists are in line with each other and parallel to the floor. You should also ensure that you place your fingers correctly on the keys of the keyboard. Although it may be difficult at first, you must practice using only the correct fingers for typing. Avoid looking at the keyboard when you type. This method of typing is called touch-typing. For effective touch-typing, you'll need to rely on your memory to locate the keys accurately.

Financial documents

Financial documents serve as the financial framework of an organization. They include budgets, statements of accounts, proposals, taxation laws, the payroll documents, and records of other financial activities of an organization. These documents are usually prepared by the finance or accounts departments and used by the management to make, or record, financial decisions. Other forms of business documents include presentations, cover letters, resumes, and newsletters.

Elements of a Template

Fonts: In the template document, you can choose to change the characteristics of the font typeface, font size, font case, font effects, and so on. Text: To enter text in the template, replace the placeholder text with your own. A placeholder is a temporary symbol or variable that you can replace subsequently with another element. Pre-filled data: Some templates will automatically add your name or initials to your document. This is known as prefilled data/information. You can change this information with the Options dialogue box of your word processing program under the File menu. Clip Art images: Some templates (such as those in Microsoft Word) suggest visuals. In such cases, you may want to use the predefined Clip Art library. It includes images or graphics in different formats and styles. You can choose to delete or replace it with a visual image of your choice.

Be precise

Keep the business documents concise and to the point. Do not add trivial and unimportant information to your documents.

Ensure information accuracy

Make sure that the information you are sending is accurate. Check your information and ensure that it is factual and up to date.

Using Spell Checker and Macros for Accuracy

Most types of word processing software provide a spelling and grammar checker. This feature points out the spelling and grammatical errors in your document. For example, in Microsoft Word, a misspelled word is underlined with a red wavy line. A grammar mistake is underlined with a green wavy line. Keep the spell checker on when you type. It will help you correct spelling and grammar errors. Most word processing software has a feature that completes a word with alternate suggestions as soon as you type the first few letters of a word. This feature is called a macro. Macros save time, especially if the word you want to type is long. They prevent spelling mistakes, because a macro usually suggests the correctly spelled word. You can also customize your macro for frequently typed words. For example, if you use the word opportunity several times in a page, you can create a macro opp for it. Whenever you type the letters opp, the macro will replace them with the word opportunity. This eliminates the need to type the entire word every time, and thereby helps you save time.

Proofread:

Once your business document is ready, proofread it to ensure that it is grammatically accurate. Also, check if the document has consistently formatted elements, such as alignment, spacing between paragraphs, and so on.

Steps

Open your word processing program, click the File menu, and select New. The opened dialog box will display a variety of templates, divided by category. Click a category to view the templates it contains. Select the template that you want, and click Create. You get the same result if you double-click the template you have chosen. A new document with appear with your chosen template. In case, you do not find a template that fits your needs, you can download more templates from the software provider's online gallery. Other template options in Microsoft Word enable you to: create a template with a blank document, and create a template based on an existing document.

Reports

Reports are documents that present crucial business information in an organized way. They are often longer than business letters, and convey more factual data that helps facilitate the decision-making process in an organization. Reports consist of several elements, such as graphs, statistics, charts, case studies, and images. The most common types of reports are progress reports, comparison reports, periodic reports, and annual reports.

Structure your document

The structure of your document should be appropriate to the type of communication you create. A lengthy communication needs a structure that answers questions such as these: Who is the recipient of my mail? What is the message I need to convey? Who do I represent when I communicate the message? and so on. On the other hand, a short communication needs a structure that includes merely the recipients' name, the message, and your signature.

Typing (alphanumeric) keys

The typing keys consist of the letters, numbers, symbols, and punctuations placed exactly as they would be on a traditional typewriter. Typing keys also consist of the Enter, Caps Lock, Tab, Shift, Spacebar, and the Backspace keys. These keys are important because they also form a part of the keyboard shortcut combinations. For example, you can use the Shift key along with a number key to get the symbol shown on the upper part of the key. Similarly, the Tab key will move your cursor to the next predefined tab stop of your document.

Saving and Sharing Documents

The word processing program enables you to save your document so that you can reuse it, share it, email it, and transfer it any number of times. For example, in Microsoft Word, the File menu gives you two options to save your document: Save and Save As. If you are creating your document for the first time, use the Save As option. With this option, you will be able to name your file and store it in your preferred folder. You can also use this option to save the existing file with an alternative name. You can use the Save option to save the changes made to an already existing document. You may also need to share your business document with others. To share a document, place it in a common shared folder to enable multiple users to access it. You can also email the document copies to the users.

You can manually enter text, numbers, and certain symbols in your documents either using a physical keyboard or a touchscreen. The keyboard is one of the most important input devices on your computer. It allows you to press keys to enter data. Similarly, touch devices such as smartphones and tablets have touch-sensitive keyboards.

Touchscreen keyboards have a simple design with the letters arranged in the QWERTY layout, the same as a physical keyboard. Some touch keyboards may have the same layout as a physical keyboard. However, most tablet keyboards allow you to tap the key to type what is shown as well as long press to show other options.

Achieving Keyboard Accuracy

While it is good practice to improve your speed when you type on a keyboard, it's also important to maintain accuracy. You may finish typing a document in record time. However, if the document is full of errors, you will spend more time correcting those errors. An efficient typist balances speed with accuracy. Accuracy is a ratio of the correct entries to the total entries that you type. For example, in the sentence How to improve accuracy there are 23 characters including spaces. Let's assume that you missed the character w in the word How when you typed this sentence. Therefore, you typed only 22 characters. To maintain typing accuracy, it is important to be relaxed. If you sit in an uncomfortable position and suffer strain injuries, you will not have accuracy in typing. Consider investing in an ergonomic keyboard. These keyboards help you improve your accuracy because they reduce strain on your hands. Your typing accuracy will also improve if you plan what you intend to type. Without a plan, you'll typically spend more time toying with the keys. Also, ensure that you make fewer spelling and grammatical errors when you type.

Page Layout Options

Word processing programs offer a variety of page layout options that enable you to define the basic layout of your document. With these options, you can change the page margins, orientation, size, and so on, as you require. Let's study these options. Margins: Your document page has four margins: right, left, top, and bottom. These margins are the blank spaces around the edge of your document. You can change the margins for either a particular page, or for the entire document. By default, your document has a one-inch margin on all four sides. Headers and footers: Headers and footers usually show information that remains constant across all the pages. A header is the text that appears within the top margin of the document, while the footer is the text that appears within the bottom margin. These elements, however, do not form a part of the main body of your document.

Protecting Documents

Word processing programs offer the useful ability to protect documents from misuse. You can, therefore, password-protect your document, and restrict its access. Another option is limited access to the document. In this mode, any user can read the document, but cannot make any modifications to it. To password-protect your documents, you must ensure that you use a strong password. An effective password is a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters (for example, #, $, %, and *). Different word processing programs use different settings to protect documents. For example, OpenOffice Writer enables you to set access to the password when you save your file, but Microsoft Word takes you to a Permission section, and from there you can specify levels of access. Remember: The password is very important. If you forget the password, you will not be able to access the protected document.

Deliver value in your content

Your target audience reads your business document to gain information from your communication. Your document should, therefore, provide up-to-date, valuable information and address any of your readers' potential concerns.