Year 10 · ICT · Autumn 2

Networks; layout and styles · Lesson 5 of 5

Practical: styles and house style

Practical14.1 What styles are and what they control14.2 Create, modify and apply styles14.3 Corporate house style

Year 10 · ICT · Networks; layout and styles · Lesson 5 of 5

You will learn to

  • Explain what a style is and why it saves time.
  • Create and modify styles for headings, body text and captions.
  • Apply a corporate house style across a document and a presentation.
  • Explain why a consistent house style matters to an organisation.

Year 10 · ICT · Networks; layout and styles · Lesson 5 of 5

Success criteria

You have got it when you can say:

  • I can tell serif and sans-serif fonts apart.
  • I can change one style and see all the text that uses it update.
  • I can check my work against the style specification, line by line.

Year 10 · ICT · Networks; layout and styles · Lesson 5 of 5

Retrieval starter

Questions from before. Write your answers, then show them.

  1. Last lesson

    A WLAN is…

    A A wide area networkB A web linkC A wireless local area network

    C. A wireless local area network

  2. Last unit

    An advantage of an SSD over a hard disk is…

    A No moving parts, so it is faster and tougherB It is cheaper per GBC It has a bigger capacity

    A. No moving parts, so it is faster and tougher

  3. Earlier this unit

    A switch…

    A Sends everything to every deviceB Sends data only to the device it is forC Connects to the ISP's line

    B. Sends data only to the device it is for

Year 10 · ICT · Networks; layout and styles · Lesson 5 of 5

Key words (1 of 4)

Style
A named, saved set of formatting settings applied in one click.
Corporate house style
The rules an organisation uses so all its documents look the same.
Style guide
A document that sets out an organisation's house style rules.
Font face
The design of the letters, such as a serif or sans-serif font.

Year 10 · ICT · Networks; layout and styles · Lesson 5 of 5

Key words (2 of 4)

Serif font
A font with small strokes at the ends of the letters.
Sans-serif font
A font with no small strokes at the ends of the letters.
Point size
A measure of text height; 72 points is about one inch.
Enhancement
Emphasis added to text: bold, italic or underline.

Year 10 · ICT · Networks; layout and styles · Lesson 5 of 5

Key words (3 of 4)

Alignment
Where text lines up: left, right, centre or fully justified.
Spacing before/after
Extra space above or below a paragraph, measured in points.
Line spacing
The gap between lines inside a paragraph, such as single or double.
Bullet
A symbol placed before each item in a list.

Year 10 · ICT · Networks; layout and styles · Lesson 5 of 5

Key words (4 of 4)

Direct formatting
Formatting applied to selected text by hand, not through a style.
Template
A starting file that already holds the styles and layout of a house style.
Consistency
The same kind of text always having the same formatting.

14.1 What styles are and what they control · The explanation · step 1 of 13 · part 1 of 2

A style is a saved recipe for formatting

A style is a named set of formatting settings. For example, the style Heading might mean: sans-serif font, 18 point, bold, centred, 12 points of space after.

You apply the style to text in one click. All the settings are applied together.

If you later change the style, every piece of text using it changes too.

14.1 What styles are and what they control · The explanation · step 1 of 13 · part 2 of 2

A style is a saved recipe for formatting (continued)

e.g.Example
A school newsletter has 12 headings. Without styles, you format each one by hand: 12 × 5 settings = 60 changes. With a style, you define it once and click 12 times. To change the colour later, you edit the style once.
?Why?

Styles save time and stop small differences creeping in. Every heading matches because they all come from the same recipe.

14.1 What styles are and what they control · The explanation · step 2 of 13 · part 1 of 2

Serif and sans-serif fonts

A font (font face) is the design of the letters.

A serif font has small strokes, called serifs, at the ends of the letters. Times New Roman is an example.

A sans-serif font has no serifs. "Sans" is French for "without". Arial is an example.

Exam tasks often say "a sans-serif font" or "a serif font" instead of naming one. Any font of that type earns the mark.

14.1 What styles are and what they control · The explanation · step 2 of 13 · part 2 of 2

Serif and sans-serif fonts (continued)

TypeLookOften used for
SerifSmall feet and tails on lettersPrinted books, formal letters
Sans-serifPlain, clean strokesScreens, headings, signs, many dyslexia-friendly materials
!Watch out

Do not pick a decorative or handwriting font when the task says serif or sans-serif. Choose a plain, common font of the right type so there is no doubt.

14.1 What styles are and what they control · The explanation · step 3 of 13 · part 1 of 3

What a style can control

Cambridge lists these settings: font face, font size, colour, alignment, bold, underline, italic, spacing before and after paragraphs, line spacing, and bullets.

Point size measures text height. 72 points is about one inch (2.54 cm). Body text is usually 10 to 12 points.

Spacing before and after adds space above or below a paragraph. It is measured in points. Line spacing sets the gap between lines inside a paragraph, such as single or 1.5.

14.1 What styles are and what they control · The explanation · step 3 of 13 · part 2 of 3

What a style can control (continued)

SettingExample value
Font faceSans-serif
Size11 points
ColourBlack
AlignmentFully justified
EmphasisNone (not bold, not italic)
Spacing0 pt before, 6 pt after
Line spacingSingle

14.1 What styles are and what they control · The explanation · step 3 of 13 · part 3 of 3

What a style can control (continued)

?Why?

Spacing set inside a style is always the same size. Pressing Enter twice to make a gap gives uneven gaps when text moves.

14.1 What styles are and what they control · The explanation · step 4 of 13 · part 1 of 2

Reading the style table in a task

Cambridge often gives a table of styles to create, with columns such as Style name, Font, Size, Alignment, Enhancement and Spacing.

Work across one row at a time. Tick each setting on the question paper as you set it.

Enhancement means emphasis: bold, italic or underline. "None" means switch them all off.

14.1 What styles are and what they control · The explanation · step 4 of 13 · part 2 of 2

Reading the style table in a task (continued)

e.g.Example
Task row: Style name: J26-Head | Font: sans-serif | Size: 20 | Alignment: centre | Enhancement: bold | Spacing after: 12 pt You create a style called exactly J26-Head with all six settings.
!Watch out

Style names must match exactly, including capitals and hyphens. A style called j26 head does not earn the naming mark, and the examiner may not find it in your screenshot.

14.2 Create, modify and apply styles · The explanation · step 5 of 13 · part 1 of 2

Create a new style

In most word processors, open the styles list and choose new style. Type the exact name.

Base it on the default text style, then set the font, size, colour, alignment, enhancement and spacing from the task.

If the task says "based on" another style, choose that one. If it says the next paragraph should use Body, set that too.

14.2 Create, modify and apply styles · The explanation · step 5 of 13 · part 2 of 2

Create a new style (continued)

e.g.Example
Task: Create a style called Body with a serif font, 11 point, left aligned, single line spacing, 6 points after. New style → name: Body → font: a serif font → size 11 → align left → line spacing single → spacing after 6 pt → OK.
!Watch out

Many candidates format the text directly and forget to save it as a style. The text looks right, but there is no style to show in a screenshot, so the style marks are lost.

The explanation · 8 more steps

More on the lesson page

The lesson page has the rest of the explanation, step by step:

  • Modify an existing style
  • Apply styles to the right text
  • Bullets inside a style
  • Evidence and checks
  • What a house style is
  • Why organisations use one
  • Apply a house style
  • Consistency is what the examiner checks

Open the lesson page

Year 10 · ICT · Networks; layout and styles · Lesson 5 of 5

Quick quiz · 1 of 3

Landscape orientation is…

  1. A Square
  2. B Taller than it is wide
  3. C Wider than it is tall

C. Wider than it is tall

Portrait is the tall one.

Year 10 · ICT · Networks; layout and styles · Lesson 5 of 5

Quick quiz · 2 of 3

A gutter is…

  1. A A footer
  2. B The gap between columns
  3. C The page border

B. The gap between columns

Set it with the column settings.

Year 10 · ICT · Networks; layout and styles · Lesson 5 of 5

Quick quiz · 3 of 3

A section break lets you…

  1. A Change orientation or columns part-way through a document
  2. B Add a picture
  3. C Spell check

A. Change orientation or columns part-way through a document

A page break only starts a new page.

Year 10 · ICT · Networks; layout and styles · Lesson 5 of 5

Exit ticket

Answer on paper before you go. Then check.

  1. Header text appears…

    A At the top of every pageB In the margin of one pageC Only on page 1

    A. At the top of every page Your name and candidate number go here in the exam.

  2. A house style…

    A Is only for websitesB Keeps every document consistentC Is a type of font

    B. Keeps every document consistent Same fonts, colours and layout everywhere.

Year 10 · ICT · Networks; layout and styles · Lesson 5 of 5

Homework and the challenge

Homework

The ICT 4 quiz.

End-of-unit challenge

End-of-unit test: topic 4 theory plus a timed layout-and-styles task.