IGCSE ICT: Document Production — Practice Questions

These questions cover Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 Topic 17: organising page layout, formatting text, find and replace, navigation with bookmarks and hyperlinks, and the purpose of breaks (pagination) and gutter margins. Document production is assessed practically in Paper 2, so Section C contains practical-style tasks with examiner-style checklists.

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs — Cambridge International holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or Cambridge directly.

Related: Document Production revision notes · Document production study guide

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Section A: short answers

1. Name the four types of tab stop in the syllabus. [4]

2. State the purpose of a column break. [1]

3. Give one example of text that should be formatted as subscript. [1]

4. State the purpose of a gutter margin. [1]

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Section B: structured questions

5. A magazine article has a title across the full page width and the body text in three columns.

(a) Explain why a section break is needed after the title. [2] (b) The second column ends half-way down the page with only one line of a paragraph at the bottom. Describe how a column break could improve this. [1]

6. A price list contains these values: 4.5, 125.99, 18.25.

(a) Name the tab that should be used to align them and describe its effect. [2] (b) The list also includes item names. Describe how a hanging paragraph could be used for long item descriptions. [2]

7. A student uses find and replace to change every occurrence of “Ali” to “Aliya”.

(a) Explain why she should select whole words only. [2] (b) Explain when match case should be used. [1]

8. A 40-page booklet will be printed on both sides of the paper and bound.

(a) Describe how the margins should be set. [2] (b) The booklet has a contents page. Explain how bookmarks and hyperlinks could help a reader of the electronic version. [2]

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Section C: practical-style tasks

9. Open any document of at least two pages. Set it to A4, landscape, with all margins 2.5 cm. Change the body text to 1.5 line spacing with 6 pt after each paragraph. [4]

10. Create a numbered list of five steps, then change it to a bulleted list. Make the first word of each item bold. [3]

11. Insert a bookmark called Summary at the last heading. Create a hyperlink from the word “summary” on page 1 to the bookmark. Then delete a hyperlink you did not need. [3]

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Worked answers

1. Left (1), right (1), centred (1), decimal (1). [4]

2. To force the following text to start at the top of the next column. [1]

3. Any suitable example, for example the 2 in H₂O or in CO₂. [1]

4. To add extra space on the inside edge of the page for binding, so text is not lost in the binding. [1]

5. (a) The title must be in one column and the body in three columns (1); a section break allows different column settings in different parts of the same page (1). [2] (b) Insert a column break before the line so that the whole paragraph starts together at the top of the next column (removing the orphan). [1]

6. (a) Decimal tab (1); it lines up the numbers on their decimal points so that units, tens and decimals line up in a column (1). [2] (b) The first line (the item name) starts at the margin (1) and the remaining lines of the description are indented, so each item name stands out at the left (1). [2]

7. (a) Without it, “Ali” inside other words (for example “Alice” or “quality”) would also be changed (1), producing errors such as “Aliyace” (1). [2] (b) When only text with exactly the same capitals should be changed, for example “Ali” but not “ali” in a different word. [1]

8. (a) Set mirrored margins (inside and outside) (1) and add a gutter margin on the inside edge for the binding (1). [2] (b) Bookmarks mark the start of each section (1); hyperlinks in the contents page jump straight to those bookmarks, so the reader can move to a section without scrolling (1). [2]

9. 1 mark each: A4 size; landscape orientation; all four margins 2.5 cm; body text 1.5 line spacing with 6 pt after (both needed). [4]

10. 1 mark each: numbered list of five items created; changed to bullets (no numbers remaining); first word of each item bold, nothing else bold. [3]

11. 1 mark each: bookmark named Summary at the correct heading; hyperlink from “summary” goes to the bookmark (tested); unwanted hyperlink removed (text remains, link gone). [3]

Frequently asked questions

Why not just press Enter until text moves to the next page? Extra blank lines move when text is edited, so the layout breaks. A page or column break keeps the text in the right place, and examiners look for correct use of breaks.

Which paper tests document production? Paper 2 (Document Production, Databases and Presentations), a practical test of 2 hours 15 minutes worth 70 marks.

Is a gutter the same as a wide left margin? No. A gutter is extra space added specifically on the binding edge; with mirrored margins it is always on the inside of each page.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International, Cambridge IGCSE Information and Communication Technology (0417) syllabus for 2026, 2027 and 2028, Version 3, Topic 17 “Document production” and section 4, Paper 2.