There are two parts of writing a paper: a. knowing how to organize information and present it coherently with sentences and paragraphs and b. knowing how to use a software application work to record and format your words. You'll learn more about part a. in Lesson 5. For now, let's consider how to use a software application to write your paper.

Most students use a word processing applications to write their papers. These applications can operate on the internet, such as Google docs, or from your device, such as LibreOffice and Apple Pages. Some programs, such as Microsoft Word have both web and computer-based versions. Most computing devices have a word processing program already on them, including phones.

Sam needs a word processing application

In order to write is paper, Sam needs to use a word processing program. Below are images of the four most-popular applications. Please note a couple things:

• All program include a "Help" dropdown on the right-hand side. Students can often find answers to questions about how to use these programs there.
• All programs offer you formatting options to change what your words look like, including the size of the words, the style of the words (fonts), and how the words appear on the page (formatting).

<aside> ⚠️ Some professors are very specific about formatting, so pay attention to any formatting requirements in the syllabus or the assignments.

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• All programs have "File" as the first dropdown on the left hand side. It is from here that you save or export your file.

• All four programs save your file as different types of computer files and most HE-CMS can not read all these different files. Unless your professor tells you otherwise, save your paper in both the the default format (whatever the program choses) so you can edit it in the future and as a pdf (portable document format) to submit for assessment. To do this, click on the "File" dropdown and then select one of the following based on your program: Libre Office- Export as PDF; Word- Save As - chose PDF from the "File Formats;" Google Docs- Download PDF Document; Apple Pages- Export to PDF.

  • ➡️ Did you know? PDF format creates frozen document, much like a picture. What you see is what your faculty will see. Using this format can eliminate problems that come up when faculty and students use different software.

• All programs let you check your spelling and sometimes your grammar. Use these features.

• MOST IMPORTANTLY: You should spend most of your efforts clarifying your thoughts, analyses, words, and organization of your writings, not fiddling with formatting. A properly formatted paper full of nonsense is likely to earn a poorer grade then paper with strong ideas and minor formatting issues.

✏️ **Question:** What word processing program do you plan to use this year? Write one-sentence in your program and save / export your paper as a pdf. Share that pdf with your faculty and discuss their expectations for the course. 

Image of LibreOffice Document Writer bland document.

Image of Microsoft Word bland document.

Image of Google Docs blank document.