Word Processing
This domain tests MS Word skills used in the PSEB practical and theory paper: creating and saving documents, formatting text and paragraphs, page setup, tables, headers and footers, find and replace, spelling and grammar, printing, and mail merge.
Core rules
- Character formatting changes selected text (font, size, bold, italic, underline, colour). Paragraph formatting changes the whole paragraph (alignment, line spacing, indents, bullets and numbering).
- Alignment options are left, centre, right, and justify. Justify aligns both edges and can create uneven word spacing.
- Page setup controls margins, orientation (portrait/landscape), paper size, and columns. A header/footer repeats on every page unless you choose different first page.
- Insert > Table creates a grid; use Merge Cells to combine cells and Split Cells to divide them. Tab moves between cells; Enter adds a new paragraph inside a cell.
- Mail merge needs a main document and a data source (such as an Excel list). Insert merge fields, preview results, then Finish & Merge.
Worked example
To print 50 certificates with each student's name: create the certificate as the main document; connect the student list as the data source; place the cursor where the name should appear and insert the «Name» merge field; use Preview Results to check the first record; choose Finish & Merge > Edit Individual Documents or Print. Reasoning: the fixed text stays the same, while the merge field changes per record. Typing 50 names manually would risk errors and is not mail merge.
Traps that cost marks
- Pressing Enter for a new line inside a paragraph: Enter starts a new paragraph; Shift+Enter inserts a line break.
- Applying bold to a whole paragraph when only one word was selected.
- Confusing a page break (Ctrl+Enter) with a section break.
- Using Replace All without checking, which can change unwanted matches.
- Saving as .docx but assuming older .doc software will keep all formatting.