Office Productivity Software (Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Presentations)
This domain tests your ability to use a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation tool to produce correct, well-formatted output, and to explain what each feature does. Practical marks usually come from a document, a sheet with formulas and a slide deck.
Core rules
- Word processor: separate content from formatting. Styles keep headings consistent; mail merge needs a main document plus a data source (table or spreadsheet); track changes records edits; PDF export fixes layout.
- Spreadsheet: every formula starts with =. A cell address is column plus row (B4). Operators follow BODMAS. Relative references (A1) shift when copied; absolute references ($A$1) do not; mixed (A$1) locks only the row or column.
- Functions: =SUM(B2:B10), =AVERAGE(), =COUNT() counts numbers only, =COUNTA() counts non-empty cells, =IF(condition, true, false), =MAX(), =MIN(). Charts need a data range and clear labels.
- Presentation: slide layouts and the Slide Master control consistent design; transitions run between slides, animations run objects within a slide; speaker notes are not shown to the audience.
Worked example
A1 = 100, B1 = 200, A2 = 150, B2 = 400. Cell C1 contains =A1+$B$1. Copied down to C2, the formula becomes =A2+$B$1 = 150 + 200 = 350, not 550. Reasoning: A1 is relative so it moves one row down to A2; $B$1 is absolute so it stays fixed. Had you written =A1+B1, C2 would give 550.
Traps
- Typing 100+200 without = , so the cell stores text, not a result.
- Thinking $ is currency formatting; it is a reference lock.
- Using COUNT on a column with blank or text cells instead of COUNTA.
- Confusing transition with animation in presentations.
- Running mail merge without a data source, or with mismatched field names.