News Archive

News archive

Writing tips: Using Word's Outline view

The first step in a big writing project should always be to organise your thoughts by creating an outline.

Most of us do this by opening a new Word file and jotting down ideas, without thought to how we are viewing the page onscreen. Word users typically work in Print Layout view, which is how the printed page will look. However, there’s a much quicker, easier and more flexible way to build and organise an argument, and it's just a few clicks away.

Using Word’s Outline view, you can easily:

see your main ideas as headings
group secondary, related ideas as subheadings
organise all the ideas in your document in cascading levels of headings
move headings (and accompanying text) around
consistently format all headings and subheadings by using styles
collapse and expand headings (which shows or hides the text beneath the heading) to quickly see how the document is organised.

The video below demonstrates the basic features of Outline view, using Word 2003. If you can't extrapolate the demonstration for your version of Word, let us know your Word version and we’ll provide other instructions.

Ode to spell checkers

What could be simpler than pressing a button to check all your spelling?

Sounds fine in theory, until you realise that the document has plenty of wrong words spelt the right way, words incorrectly split and missing words. Some wag has composed this ode, to bring home the practical limits of spell checkers.

I have a spelling checker

I disk covered four my PC.

It plane lee marks four my revue

Miss steaks aye can knot see.

Eye ran this poem threw it.

Your sure real glad two no.

Its very polished in its weigh,

My checker tolled me sew.

A checker is a blessing.

It freeze yew lodes of thyme.

It helps me right awl stiles two reed,

And aides me when aye rime.

Each frays comes posed up on my screen

Eye trussed too bee a joule.

The checker pours o’er every word

To cheque sum spelling rule.

Bee fore wee rote with checkers

Hour spelling was inn deck line,

Butt now when wee dew have a laps,

Wee are not maid too wine.

And now bee cause my spelling

Is checked with such grate flare,

There are know faults in awl this peace,

Of nun eye am a wear.

To rite with care is quite a feet

Of witch won should be proud,

And wee mussed dew the best wee can,

Sew flaws are knot aloud.

That’s why eye brake in two averse

Cuz Eye dew want too please.

Sow glad eye yam that aye did bye

This soft wear four pea seas.

Author Unknown

11/11/11!

11 November 2011 was a big day for Get it Write!: our launch day. Months of preparation to provide public sector and business professionals who write with planning, writing, support and editing services finally paid off.

Get it Write! is the new business name of Smart Strategic Services Pty Ltd. For more than 15 years, we have planned and managed projects on behalf of clients to convey information, shape attitudes and encourage behaviour change. Get it Write! is expanding to offer more training and coaching services as well as a bigger pool of editors and writers to help our clients make a success of their writing projects.

We hope you enjoy the experience of visiting our new website and we look forward to hearing from you!