Style — a saved, named set of formatting attributes
A style is a saved, named set of formatting attributes applied to text in one action and updated centrally. It controls five groups: font (face, type serif/sans-serif, point size, colour); alignment (left/right/centre/justified); enhancement (bold, underline, italic); paragraph and line spacing; bullets (shape, alignment, spacing, indent). Apply a style to every heading and they match; edit it once and all text carrying it updates.
Text alignment — the four types
Four alignments, each with a precise effect. Left — lines start flush at the left margin; right edge ragged. Right — lines end flush at the right margin; left edge ragged. Centre — each line sits equidistant from both margins, so both edges are ragged. Justified — word spacing is stretched so every line EXCEPT the paragraph's last is flush against BOTH margins. The trap is confusing justified (straight on both sides) with centre (ragged on both sides).
Corporate house style — branding and consistency
A corporate house style is a fixed set of formatting features applied consistently across every document and page — a branding-and-consistency tool making an organisation's output recognisable and professional. Examinable features: the same font style/type throughout, a consistent background colour, the logo in the same position and size on every page, and headers/footers on every page. The syllabus names it directly, so it is examined as theory too.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
'Sans-serif' is a category, not a font
"Serif" and "sans-serif" are categories of typeface, not fonts. Serif fonts have decorative strokes on the letters (e.g. Times New Roman); sans-serif fonts have none (e.g. Arial). Told to "apply a sans-serif font", candidates write "sans-serif" as a font, or pick Times New Roman (serif) thinking it is sans-serif. Name a real font from the category asked.
Flagged w23 P02 Q5/Q6/Q13 — candidates confused the typeface category with a font name and applied Times New Roman (serif) when a sans-serif font was required
Don't edit a recalled style
Some tasks supply a saved style and say to recall and apply it without modifying it. A recurring error is changing it anyway — even a small tweak. It costs marks because every other text carrying that style also changes, breaking formatting the task never asked to alter. If a different look is needed, leave the recalled style untouched and create a new one.
Flagged w23 P02 Q1/Q15 — modifying a recalled style when told not to lost marks; the change altered every other occurrence of that style
Local formatting overrides the style
The most specific/local formatting wins. A colour applied straight to a word is local/direct formatting and overrides the paragraph's style — just as an inline style attribute overrides an external stylesheet in web authoring. A style edit then seems not to "take" there — the override masks it; clear the local formatting rather than re-editing the style.
Flagged s23 P13 Q12 — an inline style attribute overrides an external stylesheet because it is the more specific rule (higher precedence)
Justified is not centre
Justified and centre are easily muddled but look different. Justified stretches word spacing so every line but the last is flush against both margins — a straight edge each side. Centre sits each line equidistant from both margins, both edges ragged. Choosing centre where a straight edge on both sides is needed loses the mark; only justified does that.
House style: one-word answers fail
Asked to "state a feature of a corporate house style", a bare word — "colour", "font" — scores nothing. Name a concrete, specific feature: "the same background colour on every page", "the logo in the same position and size", "the same font style/type throughout", or "headers/footers on every page". The examiner must see WHAT is kept consistent.
Flagged w23 P13 Q9, s22 P11 Q16 — one-word feature answers ("colour", "font") scored nothing; a concrete house-style feature was required
A new style must be 'based on' default
When a new look is needed, create a new style based on the "normal"/"default" style — do not build one from scratch or format the text locally. Basing it on the default means it inherits the base formatting, so a later change to the base flows through automatically. A style with no base cannot be updated centrally, defeating the consistency styles exist for.
Flagged w23 P02 Q5/Q6/Q13 — candidates were expected to create/store a paragraph style based on the "normal"/"default" style
Recall unchanged, or create new?
Read the instruction first: must an existing style be recalled and applied unchanged, or a new style created? If new, build it based on the normal/default style; never edit a recalled style you were told to leave alone.
Format through the style, not locally
Apply formatting through the named style, not by changing selected text directly — local formatting will not update when the style is later edited. If a style is not showing on some text, a local override is masking it; clear it rather than re-editing the style.
Name fonts and features precisely
Be precise when naming. For a font, give the category (serif/sans-serif) AND a named font — "a sans-serif font such as Arial", never "sans-serif" alone. For a house-style feature, give a concrete answer ("same logo size/position on every page"), not a bare "colour".
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