TYPING YOUR FIRST LETTER
Have a look at the blank page on your screen, all that
white space. The first thing to notice is the flashing vertical line. This is
called the Cursor, or the Insertion Point. Its normal behavior is to flash on
and off.
The cursor is where all the action takes place. Try
touching one or two of the letter keys on your computer keyboard and watch what
happens. You should see the vertical line, the cursor, move to the right. Your
letters will appear to the left of the cursor. In other words, when you tap a
letter on your keyboard, the letter will appear where the cursor is. The cursor
will move across, ready for the next thing you type.
Before we start typing the letter below, there are three
keys on your keyboard that might come in very handy: the Backspace key, the
Enter key, and the Shift key.
If you have made a spelling mistake, tap the backspace key to get rid of
your unwanted characters. You can also click the Undo icon right at the top of
Word. Here's what the Undo feature looks like Word:
To get a
new paragraph, press the Enter key on your keyboard. Your cursor will move down
one line to the start of the new paragraph.
The
Shift key is held down if you want uppercase characters (capital letters). Keep
the Shift key held down then press a letter. It will then be a capital letter.
You also need to hold the Shift key down to get any of the characters on top of
another key. For example, to type an ampersand character (&) hold down your
Shift key. Keep it held down and press the number 7 (on a UK keyboard).
So, time
for your first letter. Type the following onto your new white page. Type it in
exactly as it is, spelling mistakes included. (You don't have to make your text
bold, though):
Dear Sir or Madam,
It has come to my attention that our local
counsil has decided to close down our one and only libary. While it is true
that no new books have been bought for seven years £12.50 was recently raised
in a local raffle. This is nearly enough for an entire Delia Smith! Do you not
think that your decision is a little premature?
Yours truly
Mr. Alphonse
Ok, you
can stop typing now. You've finished. So, how did you get on? There's a good
chance that you needed to use the backspace key a few times. And finding keys
like the pound sign and the exclamation point might have taken you more time
than you would have liked. But this is usual when you are first starting out:
it will come.
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