Word processing is undoubtedly technology's greatest gift to the writer since the printing press; students should be aware, however, of the hazards and pitfalls that can make the word processor more trouble than it's worth. Consideration of the following thoughts and suggestions can allow you to avoid common problems in word processing, while allowing you to reap the benefits of writing with a computer. Many of the ideas herein were adapted from a wonderful (and brief) treatise on formatting, The Mac Is Not A Typewriter (fhsf), which I highly recommend; there's a version for non-Mac computer users called The PC Is Not A Typewriter.

One of the advantages of word processing is the ability to turn in a perfect paper (at least technically and stylistically, that is). You can eliminate typographical mistakes and errors in spelling, grammar, and mechanics before your words appear on paper. You will then have an ideal finished product; the reader will be free to deal with the ideas embodied in your work, rather than becoming distracted by the annoying mechanical and cosmetic imperfections of your paper.

Using a computer to write will free you up to deal with the ideas in your paper, as well. The word processor is more than just a glorified typewriter. The real advantage of this process of communicating is found in the ease of editing process; the drudgery of manually copying and revising the multiple drafts of a paper, only to have to type it in the end anyway, is eliminated through the miracle of electronic storage. The labor involved in reworking and typing the finished product is greatly facilitated by advances in computer technology and accessibility. I have found "hard copies" of drafts most useful for editing (see Exhibit I). It is important to take a break from cursor on screen, easier to lay out the paper and see how the work looks as a whole.

One space between sentences when using fonts with proportional spacing, such as Helvetica, Palatino, and Times.

When printing on a LaserWriter or similar printer, never use a city-named font.

Know the difference between serif and san serif typefaces. use serif

Use real quotation marks and apostrophes.

Know the difference between hypens (-), en dashes (-), and em dashes (-), how to generate them on the keyboard, and when to use each. In general, a hyphen is used to hyphenate or link words. an en dash is used to indicate duration, and an em dash is used as punctuation setting off a clause in a sentence. no spaces on either side are used.

create fractions as follows

accent marks and other diacriticals

avoid using the underline; italics or boldface is better

Justification: This is the alignment of the text to the margin. For the most part, all papers should be aligned to the left and only to the left. Centering text or justifying it to both margins is stilting to the reader's eye.

Margins: Keep consistent margins of about 1"

Spacing: Double space.

Fonts and point size: The emergence of the "Macintosh approach" to computer and printer technology has given the writer's having many more stylistic options in presenting his or her words on paper. Choices can be made in typeface, point size. Indeed, newcomers will find it fun to play around with various looks. For academic use, however, let restraint be the guiding principle. Don't make a point of impressing an instructor with the range of unique typefaces available to you. This looks messy and is distracting. Remember that formal academic assignments should look professional, like a book. Choose a "look" that works and stick with it. In terms of point size, 10 or 12 is acceptable. Don't try to artificially lengthen or shorten a draft by altering the point size. You're cheating yourself by taking an artificial shortcut in the difficult process of editing and re-working your own writing, and you're paper will suffer for it.

Use smart quotes (activated on Microsoft Word in "Preferences" dialog box to get quotation marks and apostrophes (exceptions: inches) Be careful, the "smart quotes" are not all that smart sometimes. for example, if you abbreviate class year in school you're likely to get the wrong mark: Class of '94 should be Class of '94 (to get this type a letter before hitting the apostrophe mark, then go back and delete the letter)

Only one space between sentences when using most LaserWriter fonts (except Courier)

The dangers in recording your ideas electronically are found in the loss of power, damaged disks, etc. back up...save your work...no breaks--you have been warned. Following the guidelines enumerated below will save you grief and anguish and will facilitate your writing process.

1. Save often and always before spell-checking or printing. Never write more than a paragraph without saving your new work. If you haven't saved and you accidentally turn off the machine or power is cut, you will lose all the work you've done since you last saved. Be sure to save before you use a printer.

2. Print a copy of your work when you finish a writing session. gives you an opportunity to edit and re-write while you're away from the computer. This will give you a hard copy of your work to fall back on in case of disk trouble. It is always easier to re-type your paper than it is to recreate it from scratch. Hold onto these rough drafts at least until your paper is returned to you.

3. Keep multiple versions of your paper on disk. Every time you... It is easy to save your new work in the same file. But if you do this, then if your disk crashes and you lose the file you're working on, you won't have lost your entire paper. You will just have to re-enter the data since the last version you saved. Also, you can restore text accidentally edited out of your current file. Finally, this is a check against plagiarism; that is, if questioned, you will be able to show the steps you went through in creating the paper. If you have only one version of your paper on your disk, you will have no way to prove you didn't copy the paper. The consequences are severe.

4. Back up your files on a separate disk. Although it is a bit time-consuming, this is really the best safeguard against losing work. Disks crash all the time, for no particular reason. In this case, you will not have to start at the drawing board all over again.

The perils of temptation are increased with the ease of duplicating words in an electronic medium. From another...from an electronic database...from another of your own works.

Finish with a pithy quote about technology.