Assignment #3 - Due Thursday, April 5th

In this assignment you will be working extensively with Microsoft Word 2000 in order to practice word processing skills. You will be formatting an existing text document, writing and formatting an original research paper, and creating a series of form letters. Read the entire assignment before you begin.

Create a new folder named Assign3 on your floppy diskette. All of your work for this assignment should be saved in this folder.

The first task is to clean up and format your text-only resume from Assignment #1.

1. Place a copy of the resume.txt file from Assignment #1 in your Assign3 folder.
2. Launch Word, open the resume.txt file, and save a copy as a Word document named resume.doc.
3. Remove any extraneous spaces, tabs, and empty paragraphs that you may have used to align the text and space the lines in the text-only form of the resume. This is likely to be easier to accomplish if you show the marks.
4. Reformat your resume using the formatting features of Word so that it looks good enough to submit to a prospective employer. The specifics of the format you choose are up to you, but you should meet the following minimum requirements:
• Change the top and bottom margins to something <= 0.75 inch or >= 1.25 inches and the left and right margins to something <= 1.00 inch or >= 1.50 inches;
• Adjust the left and right indents to offset some of the paragraphs at least 0.25 inch from the left and right margins;
• Use tabs and non-default tab stops to align the text within at least three different paragraphs;
• Adjust the spacing between the paragraphs so that there is at least 6 points of space without adding any empty paragraphs;
• Use at least two different fonts and at least two different font sizes;
• Use bold, italics, and underlined text; and
• Use a border along at least one edge of at least one paragraph.
5. Use the spelling checker and your own eyes to check the resume for errors.
6. Save your changes and print out a copy of your resume.

Next, you will need to write a short paper on some aspect of computer technology and its impact on society. You should have already selected the topic in the process of completing Assignment #2. You should utilize and cite at least the five on-line resources you identified using AltaVista in Assignment #2. If you would like to supplement these resources with others (either on-line or printed), feel free to do so.

Write the paper first without applying any formatting to your text. Without formatting, your paper should be at least 4 full, single-spaced pages.

When writing your paper, organize it into several logical sections and subsections each with an appropriate heading. Do not include any blank lines between paragraphs (including before and after your headings). The spacing will be added later as part of your formatting.

You will receive a separate grade based solely upon the quality of your writing, so invest significant effort in composing and proofing your work before proceeding. Insert your name into the footer and save your unformatted paper in a Word file named plain.doc. Print a copy of the paper in this form before proceeding.

When your paper is complete, format it to suit your tastes while meeting the following minimum requirements:

1. Do not use a title page. Instead display the title as a WordArt image at the top of the first page. The specifics of the WordArt image are up to you, but it should complement the rest of your formatting choices. (Your name will be added to the footer later.)
2. For the first body paragraph, fully justify it and indent the first line by 0.5 inches. Change its font to a serif font other than Times New Roman and a size of 11 point. Add at least 6 points of space before the paragraph.
3. Define a new style based upon the first body paragraph. Use your own last name as the name of this style and apply it to the entire document.
4. For each cited fact or quote, insert a footnote indicating the source. In each footnote include (as appropriate and available) the author or sponsor’s name, the title of the document, the URL, the publication or last modified date, and the page number.
5. Apply heading styles to the heading paragraphs as appropriate. Use at least two different heading levels.
6. Redefine the heading styles you have used, changing both the font and font size to something other than the default. Use a sans serif font other than Arial.
7. Let Word autonumber the headings within your document using whole numbers for section headings and fractional values for subheadings. For example: 1, 1.1, 1.2, 2, 2.1, 2.2, 3, etc.
8. Add a title and your name as two separate but subsequent paragraphs at the beginning of the document. Use paragraph spacing (rather than empty paragraphs) to create appropriate space around both of these paragraphs. Choose a sans serif font for these paragraphs that is different from that used for the heading styles. Set the sizes of these paragraphs such that both are larger than the largest heading font you have used and the title is larger than your name. Center both the title and your name.
9. Following your name, insert an automatic table of contents listing the headings in your document and the page on which they can be found. Choose a format for the table of contents that complements the rest of your document.
10. Arrange the everything following the table of contents into two columns.
11. In the header of every page except the first, display the page number, the word “of,” and the total number of pages in the document (all center aligned). Format this text to use the same font and size as the body paragraphs.
12. In the footer of every page including the first, repeat the title of your document (left aligned) and your name (right aligned). Format each to use the same font and size as the body paragraphs.

Save your formatted paper in a Word file named fancy.doc and print a copy of your finished paper.

Finally, you are going to prepare to submit your resume and your paper (as a sample of your writing) to various potential employers by generating a series of cover letters using Word’s mail merge capabilities. (Note that it’s generally not advisable to send form letters to prospective employers, but we’ll make an exception for the sake of this assignment!)

1. Create a data source that contains at least five records. Each record should contain at least the following fields: FirstName, LastName, Title, Company, Address, City, State, ZipCode, and Position (where “Position” contains the name of the position for which you are applying). Feel free to make up the values for these fields and add any others that you feel are appropriate. Save your data source as a file named datasource.doc.
2. Create a main document that will act as a form letter to convey your resume and writing sample to each prospective employer in your data source. Be sure to follow formal business letter formatting conventions. (I’m not too picky about the specifics here, but you should have been exposed to some sort of formal business letter format in high school. If not, try searching the Web — perhaps starting with the resources suggested in Assignment #1 — for an example.) Make sure that your letter specifically mentions both the company name and the position for which you are applying in the letter body. Save the main document as a file named main.doc.
3. Preview your merge and correct any obvious problems.
4. Merge to a new document and check the results again. If everything looks correct, save the results as a file named merge.doc and then print the contents of this file.

Submit the printouts of your resume, both copies of your paper, and your form letters along with your diskette.