In French courses at Central, students are assigned short compositions throughout the semester that must be typed, double-spaced, and in a size-12 font. Microsoft Word is accessible on any lab computer (Start, Office, Word). You may want to open a browser in order to save any work and e-mail the *.doc file to yourself for later access. Please do not leave any files of your own on the lab hard drives. As accents are a part of spelling, they must be included in your writing. To create them on a PC, once inside Word, use the following steps:

à  hold down CTRL, then ` (near the escape key), let go of both, then choose vowel

é  hold down CTRL, then ’ (apostrophe), let go of both, then choose vowel

ê  hold down CTRL, then ^ (shift & 6), let go of all three, then choose vowel

ç  hold down CTRL, then , (comma), let go of both, then c

ï  hold down CTRL, then : (shift & semicolon), let go of all three, then choose vowel

For upper case version, hold down shift key before the last letter in each of the steps above.

There are also other ways to create accents. For example, in the Keyboard or Regional and Languages Options settings of the Windows Control Panel, you can change the language to French, leaving the keyboard layout as International. You can then create the same accents as above (once you toggle into the French keyboard) using steps like those above, but without shifting and hitting CTRL. You can also open the Windows Character Map under System Tools. From here, you can copy and paste any symbol you need.

Once in Word on a Macintosh computer:

à  hold down option, then `, let go of both, then choose vowel to accent

é  hold down option, then e, let go of both, then choose vowel to accent

ê  hold down option, then i, let go of both, then choose vowel to accent

ç  hold down option, then comma, let go of both, then choose c

ü  hold down option, then u, let go of both, then choose vowel to accent

For upper case versions, hold down shift key before the last letter in each of the steps above.

Before printing a composition to be turned in, check to make sure the basic visual form of the document is correct (Typed, Size-12 font, Double-spaced, Paragraph indentations, etc.). Be certain that: all sentences start with a capital letter and end with an appropriate mark of punctuation, sentences have at least a subject and a verb that agree and express a complete thought, all adjectives are where they belong in relation to the noun they modify, all adverbs are where they belong in relation to what they modify (usually verbs), articles are used correctly, obligatory contractions have been made where necessary, and all aspects of the topic have been explored and exhausted using the vocabulary and grammar specific to the text, chapter, and lesson at hand.

While resorting to the dictionary once or twice in a composition is natural, DO NOT translate something you’ve written from one language to another. If you do have to look up something in the dictionary, look it up in both directions to make sure you've got the right word or expression. In general, however, stick with what you know or are expected to know how to do. You are not studying the art and science of translation, itself an entire discipline! DO NOT use online translators as they will yield nothing but incomprehensible garbage to which your instructor might react by marking the paper with an F. NO COMPUTER can do what you can: you can brainstorm in French, you can organize personal thoughts into a logical narrative, you can feel and express that emotion in language appropriate for a student at your level. What you write is a part of you, so let that shine through! Trust yourself enough to make mistakes in the learning process, and leave the error correction to yourself and your instructor.