Writing on a Computer

Like most students entering college today, you probably have grown up writing on a 电脑. You know the features of your 电脑's software and hardware. 然而, given the pressures of writing college papers and the stress of deadlines, you may find these practical suggestions helpful.

1. Plan ahead for an assignment. Have enough printer paper, check your printer's ink cartridge or ribbon, and keep a supply of diskettes formatted for your personal 电脑.
2. Always back up and save your work. Even if your 电脑 automatically saves your files, you should save a back-up copy of important work on a diskette.
3. Don't wait until the last minute to print your paper. Give yourself plenty of time to make sure you have printed a clear copy to give to your professor.
4. Make sure you're using compatible diskettes for your 电脑, especially when working in a public 电脑 集群. Check to see that you have PC-formatted diskettes for a PC 集群 and Mac-formatted diskettes for an Apple 集群.
5. When using the College's public 集群 电脑 facilities, avoid last-minute work. These facilities include Harder Hall, the Lanzit Center for Computers and Writing in Palamountain 302, Scribner Library, and residence hall lounges. 大学工作人员 work hard to maintain these 集群s, but public access 电脑s are more susceptible to 电脑 viruses than your own 电脑, and printers are more apt to be out of 纸、碳粉或墨水. Never save your work permanently on a hard drive in a public 集群. Anyone can read it, and there is no guarantee that it will be saved on the hard drive when you return. Always save work done in a public 集群 on your own diskette and run a virus check on your diskette.
6. Be cautious when you use error-checking tools. The built-in grammar and style-checkers are far less reliable than spell-checkers. When using a spell-checker, remember that your 电脑 will not catch incorrect homonyms (It'shts, affect/effect). 用你的 word processor's Search function to locate specific types of usage errors (it's/its, 你/你).
7. Proofread both on the screen and on hard copy. Some online editors suggest that you start at the bottom of a file and read backward, one sentence at a time, so that you do not get caught in the flow of ideas and can spot errors.
8. Use a reasonable point size. Your professors will know you are padding a paper by 使用16号字体. Neatness is important, but do not substitute slick graphics 为内容.
9. Remember that you must cite work that you take from the World Wide Web. 在部分中 on 文档, you'll find information about correct citation.
10. Learn to evaluate what is available on the World Wide Web. Not everything on the 互联网 is appropriate for college work. Remember: anyone can set up a Web page with information that looks authoritative. As you search for material on the Web, pay attention to the source or sponsor. The library staff is a good resource to help you evaluate material 及网站.
11. Number pages and separate scrolled paper.

The Center for Information Technology Services in Harder Hall maintains a help desk to assist you with 电脑 questions.

电子邮件: helpdesk@kadinuobeier.com 或拨打X5900.