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Cambridge IGCSE0417

Styles

Information Communication Technology 0417 Chapter Notes

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Styles
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In this chapter

  1. 1Creating and storing a style
  2. 2Font face, type, size and enhancement
  3. 3Spacing, bullets and applying the style
  4. 4Corporate house style

1. Creating and storing a style

A style stores a set of formatting settings under one name. Create it once, then apply it to every matching paragraph so the presentation is consistent.

Base a new style on the normal or default paragraph style. Give it exactly the name the question gives, with its dashes and capitals. Set only the formatting that is listed.

Examiner insight

“Common errors included capitalisation or typographical errors in the style name, an underscore used instead of a dash, or the style containing additional formatting not listed.” “The created style was sometimes based on another style which inherited additional formatting from the original style.”

Worked example 12 marks

Create and store the following style, basing it on the default/normal paragraph style:

Style nameFont styleFont size (points)AlignmentEnhancementLine spacingSpace before (points)Space after (points)
DB-titleserif32centreboldsingle09
  1. 1

    style created, named correctly (DB-title), based on normal/default [1]

  2. 2

    named serif font style, 32 pt, bold, centre, single line spacing, 0 pt before, 9 pt after [1]

2. Font face, type, size and enhancement

Serif and sans-serif are font types: categories of font with set attributes. They are not the names of fonts. The style needs a named font that belongs to the type asked for.

The other text settings are point size, colour, alignment (left, right, centre, fully justified) and enhancement (bold, underline, italic). A modified style keeps only the formatting the question lists.

Examiner insight

“Some candidates incorrectly entered ‘serif’ as the font name which is not a recognised named font style.” “A named font style with attributes of the serif typeface category must be selected and applied.”

Worked example 11 mark

The DB-subhead style has already been created. Modify the DB-subhead style so only the following formatting is applied:

Style nameFont styleFont size (points)AlignmentEnhancementLine spacingSpace before (points)Space after (points)
DB-subheadsans-serif14centreall capitals, italic, underlinesingle09
  1. 1

    open the DB-subhead style and modify it; leave it based on Normal

  2. 2

    named sans-serif font, 14 pt, italic, underline, all capitals, centre, single, 0 pt before, 9 pt after [1]

3. Spacing, bullets and applying the style

Paragraph spacing is the space before and after a paragraph, in points. Line spacing is the gap between lines, such as single. Bullets are set by shape, alignment, line spacing and indent.

Keep these settings in the style, not in hard returns. Apply it so the text matches. Text updates when its style is modified.

Examiner insight

“The GA-body style formatting applied to this paragraph was often lost in the move with the paragraph no longer justified, the 6 point space below the paragraph lost or the line spacing changed.”

Worked example 11 mark

Identify the five subheadings in the document and apply the DB-subhead style to each one.

  1. 1

    select each of the five subheadings in turn, and no other text

  2. 2

    DB-subhead style applied to the correct 5 subheads only, matches the modified DB-subhead style [1]

4. Corporate house style

A company uses a corporate house style for branding. It maintains a consistency of all documents in the company.

Documents are from the same company as they have the same format: font style, background colour, position of the logo.

Examiner insight

“Marks were not achieved for just giving an example of corporate house style as this did not answer the question.”

Worked example 12 marks

Tarn Valley Dental uses a corporate house style. Explain why a corporate house style is used.

  1. 1

    it is used for branding [1]

  2. 2

    it maintains a consistency of all documents in the company [1]

Recap

  • A style stores formatting under one name, for consistency of presentation.
  • Base a new style on the normal/default paragraph style, and name it exactly as given.
  • Serif and sans-serif are font types. Choose a named font of the right type.
  • Set spacing and bullets in the style, not with hard returns. Text updates when its style is modified.
  • A corporate house style is used for branding and keeps all of a company's documents consistent.

End-of-chapter exercise

Test yourself on the whole chapter. Work through these before moving on.

  1. State why a word processing document uses styles.1 mark
  2. A candidate creates a new paragraph style. State which existing style it should be based on.1 mark
  3. A style must use a serif font. A candidate types the word serif into the font name box. Explain why this is wrong.2 marks
  4. A style must be sans-serif and left aligned. A candidate sets Times New Roman and fully justified. Give the two errors.2 marks
  5. A style needs 9 points of space after each paragraph. A student presses Enter twice at the end of every paragraph instead. State why this is a poor method.2 marks
  6. A bulleted list must be in single line spacing with a 6 point space after the last item. State two other settings of a bullet that a style can control.2 marks
  7. The style HD-title is 24 point, bold and centre. It is applied to four titles in a document. A student modifies the style to 28 point, then starts to select each title to change its size by hand. Describe what happens to the four titles when the style is modified, and explain why the student's extra step is not needed.3 marks
  8. State two reasons a company uses a corporate house style.2 marks
  9. Three volunteers at Reedbank Wildlife Trust each produce one item: a newsletter, a slide presentation and a website. The three items look different. The director writes: ‘We need a corporate house style so that we look more professional.’ Explain why the director's reason is not the purpose of a corporate house style, give the purpose, and describe two features the house style should fix across the three items.5 marks
  10. A candidate must create and store the style RW-subhead, based on the default/normal paragraph style, with only this formatting: serif, 16 point, bold, centre, single line spacing, 0 points before, 6 points after. The style must be applied to the five subheadings. The candidate's screenshot has: name RW_subhead; based on Section-head, a style that is italic; font name Arial; 16 point; bold, italic; centre; single line spacing; 0 points before; 0 points after. The candidate applies it to the title and the five subheadings. Identify the six errors and give the correction for each.6 marks

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