Examples of Point Sizes

While teaching computer classes I often have assignments that have has instructions to use a specific font size on sections of the assignment. Font sizes are described by "point" numbers. A point is 1/72 of an inch on the printed page. Pitch is another aspect of typing on the monitor and printing and is related to how the letters are in a manner of speaking thrown (pitched) onto the screen or page. Sometimes the assignments will tell students to use a specific font (which may not actually be available). Different versions of word processors can easily have different fonts available. Some types of fonts are: Times New Roman, Gothic, Script etc.

I would have students type a sheet like the one in the graphic and print it out to get a better idea of what the different font sizes (points) would look like when printed on paper. If they only look at the font sizes on the monitor, they can get the concept of how they will look relative to other things on the page, but only when printed can they really fully see how everything looks when printed. Many of us will also use too many fonts in any one document. Some manuals suggest that more than three types of fonts in any one document is an upper limit and the number of font sizes should also be limited.

If you should need to use a very small pitch, then certain fonts will look better. A script font often looks better in a larger pitch. Sometimes the clarity of a font is greatly affected by changing it to Italic or bold. This can even make it so hard to read that you may have to change the font. In most word processors you can also change the color of the font and you can even highlight the font.

One time a student called me to their computer and said that whenever she typed something, noting would appear on the monitor. I looked at the monitor for a few seconds and tried to type on the keyboard. It took me just a short time to figure out that the "Font Color" was set to white and so of course when she typed it was on the monitor, but a white font on a white background was naturally not visible. Such situations also teach the instructor about what problems can cause great difficulty for a student not familiar with how to solve such problems. It gives the instructor an important new concept to discuss with the entire class.

On another occasion a teacher called me to their room and when they typed accent marks were appearing on top or on the side of certain letters. I didn't have time to correct the problem right then but came back at the end of the school day and discovered that the teacher had changed to a different default in another language which I think was French. I reset it back to English and everything was fine.

I have also found that students often have no idea of just how many fonts may be available. In addition many have no concept of the "wingdings" and "dingbats" which are other forms of fonts that create a wide variety of graphics. They also do not often know how to insert special symbols such as copyright or trademark symbols or how to use superscript and subscript (Sometimes these symbols of graphic fonts look better in a larger point.)

Having students type out a sample "Point Size" page is one part of the learning process. I also ask them to type out at least 10 very short sentences that simply say: "This is Times New Roman Font in 12 point."; then they press the enter key and on the next line they type a similar sentence in another font and point size etc. I require them to do at least one short sentence in "Wingdings" or "Dingbats" depending on which is available. That sentence will not look like a normal sentence because it will be some type of graphic for each keystroke. They must also be told and experiment with these unusual graphics when they use upper or lowercase keystrokes and go beyond the use of the alphabet part of the keyboard.

You can make up some sample sheets yourself that show point sizes and font types to hand out along with a specific assignment to help them properly select the fonts and pitch you want them to use in an assignment. You should check to be certain that the computers you are using have the fonts you want them to use, but be careful because you may not have the same fonts on every computer in the classroom. Having sample sheets also helps the instructor remember to cover the important points about "point" sizes and other topics to "pitch" about the use of fonts.