Unit Information

Unit content
1 Understand the purpose of different document types
Types of document: short eg memo, email, letter, order form, invoice, agenda, minutes; extended eg article, newsletter, report, user guide; graphical eg illustrations, charts, flow charts, diagrams; promotional eg advertisement, leaflet, web page; informal documents eg texting, email, creative writing; formal documents eg agenda, report

Purpose: to meet the needs of the audience eg to inform, to query, to advertise, to record Audience: types eg commercial customers, individual adults, internal staff, children, friends, the public at large

2 Know appropriate software to present and communicate information
Applications: text based eg text editors, word processors; graphics based eg graphic tools in packages, standalone graphic packages; presentation based eg desk top publishing, PowerPoint; other software eg text on mobile phones, email, multimedia

Features: interface eg WIMP, GUI; voice recognition and voice output options; integrated packages; variety of outputs, eg audience notes, speakers’ notes, different file formats; automated procedures, eg wizards, short cuts, use of templates, mail merge

Information: types eg text, numbers, images, graphics, charts, tables; structured and unstructured information

3 Be able to produce appropriate documents for different audiences
Appropriate documents: in a style which meets the needs of the audience

Document types: short; extended; graphical; promotional; informal; formal

Style: use of language eg formal/informal, spelling, punctuation; layout eg use of white space, presentation techniques

Presentation techniques: choice of font, font size; use of colour; layouts eg columns, tables, headers, footers, styles, titles, headings, bullets; graphic images; advanced formatting eg tables of contents, indexes; speaker notes

Formatting and editing tools: formatting text eg characters, paragraphs, pages; editing text eg insert, edit, delete; formatting graphics eg basic shapes, images, charts, tables; editing graphics eg draw, resize, align, rotate, flip; use of copy and paste; inserting special characters; advanced tools eg crop, paste special, arrange, paragraph styles, animation, racking; combining information; other tools eg readability tests, netiquette, summaries, templates

4 Be able to review documents
Review: use of media eg choice of packages, choice of techniques, choice of tools, layout; quality of finished document eg accuracy, functionality, aesthetics, spellchecking, grammar checking, thesaurus; fitness for purpose; proofreading

Adjust: gather user feedback; act on user feedback