Training Room 2

Training Room 2: Letters

 

Time to Practise

 

Don't forget to do the following as you work through this Time to Practise:

• Study the content, exemplars, graphics, and demonstrations presented in this training session, and review the previous training sessions if necessary.
  
  
• Keyword-search the Help menu and online help references, such as Microsoft Online Help and How-to, for additional software tips and training.

Practice 1

 

You never know when the perfect job opportunity is going to present itself. Whether you are starting to think about getting a job, already have a job, or haven’t given it much thought, preparing a cover letter is a valuable exercise in taking stock of your assets. If you have already written a cover letter, now is your chance to give it a second look, to update and improve it. A cover letter is a work in progress that changes and develops as you gain more skills and experience. Your cover letter should be updated regularly and should be stored on your home computer as well as on a zip drive, memory stick, or a back-up hard drive.

 

Step 1: Use the Basic Competencies Checklist in Project 2 to help you evaluate and write about your skills in your cover letter. Make note of skills you would like to develop as you continue through this course.

 

Step 2—Scenario: You want to get a part-time job to earn extra money for a trip you will be taking during spring break. Upon scanning the classified ads in your local newspaper, you come across the following job. Use this job ad to create a cover letter. If you are applying for jobs at this time, you may choose to write a cover letter for a job you may actually be considering (provide the job ad if possible).

1. If you have already prepared a cover letter, work from that document and make appropriate updates and changes as necessary.
   
2. If you haven’t prepared a cover letter, use the exemplars provided or available Letter templates to guide you in writing a cover letter.

Include all appropriate letter parts.

Use full-block format and two-point punctuation style.

 

Spelling and grammar check, and proofread your document.

 

Save as “Cover Letter” in your INF2050: WP 2: Letters folder.

 

Practice 2

 

Hooray‚Äîyou got the job! Your new boss has discovered that you have word-processing skills and wants you to prepare a promotional letter to send to Music City’s preferred customers.

 

Step 1: Open the file “Form Letter1.”

 

Step 2: Use the Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard to create a letter from the current document. Select Type a new list of mailing recipients to Create a new data source.

 

Step 3: Customize the columns with the following fields. Delete unnecessary fields. Add the following customer records.

 

Title	First Name	Last Name	Address 1	City	State	Zip Code	Genre
Ms.	Janet	Bingham	11555 Sorrento Valley Road	Edmonton	AB	T5H 6Y1	Country
Mr.	Warren	Moskal	9952 Canyon Rd.	Spruce Grove	AB	T3L 2G2	Top 40
Mrs.	Skylar	Wicks	8315 25 St.	Edmonton	AB	T8K 6T1	Rock
Mr.	BJ	Entrup	53 Sunset Blvd.	St. Albert	AB	T8N 0N7	Hip Hop

 

Step 4: Save your address list as “Address 1” in your INF2050: WP 2: Letters folder.

 

Step 5: The content of the letter is already written, but you will have to add the recipient information to your letter by replacing the highlighted “place holders” with the fields you created in your data source (“Address 1”).

 

HINT:  Make sure you add the necessary spaces between your fields. An example of where you will need to include spaces is between the <<Title>> and the <<Last_Name>> of the salutation.

 

Step 6: Preview your letter and make any necessary changes. Ensure the spacing of the letter is correct.

 

Step 7: Complete the merge.

 

Step 8: Edit individual letters, and merge all of your customer records.

 

Step 9: Save your merged letters as “Letters1” in your INF2050: WP 2: Letters folder.

 

Practice 3

 

Now you’ll need to prepare envelopes to send the letters you created in Practice 2.

 

Step 1: Open a new document.

 

Step 2: Use the Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard to create Envelopes.

 

Step 3: Click Next to start your document.

 

Step 4: Set the envelope options to Size 10.

 

Step 5: Type your return address for Music City in the top left-hand corner of the envelope.

 

Step 6: Select your recipients by browsing for your data source, which has been saved as “Address 1” in your INF2050: WP 2: Letters folder.

 

Step 7: Arrange your envelope; place the Address Block in the text box in the middle of the envelope.

 

Step 8: Preview your envelopes.

 

Step 9: Complete the merge.

 

Step 10: Edit individual envelopes, and merge all of your records.

 

Step 11: Save the file as “Envelopes” in your INF2050: WP 2: Letters folder.

 

Ready?

 

 

Take some time to assess your skills and understanding of the concepts presented in this training room.

 

Self-check each practice session against the exemplars and answer keys.

 

Compare your cover letter to the Cover Letter Exemplar. Your assignment will of course be personal to you, containing your specific information.

 

Compare your Letters1 to the Letters 1 Answer Key1.

 

Compare your Envelopes to the Envelopes Answer Key.

 

How do your practice activities compare to the exemplars and answer keys?

• If your practice activities look like the exemplars and answer keys, move on to the next training room.
  
  
• If you had difficulty with the practice activities, review the information in this training session. You can also use Help to find additional training and demonstrations if necessary. Be sure to ask your teacher for help options.

Check Point

 

 

Check your understanding of the concepts presented in this training room by answering the following questions:

1. Can you identify the differences between a personal business letter and business letter?
   
   
2. How can built-in software features save you time in document production?
   
   
3. What are some benefits of using the Mail Merge Wizard?

Use the Software Skills Checklist and check off the skills you are confident in demonstrating.

 

1 © svetlin rusev/shutterstock

 

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