DOCUMENT STRUCTURE

A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, knowledge, experience or achievement in a structure and format such as fonts, colors, and images that may be preserved or represented in order to serve as evidence for some purpose.

A written, printed or engrave record often the manifestation of fiction or non-fictional content used to denote written proof useful as evidence of a truth or fact, which can be transmitted in hard or softcopy.

A document is a record or a capture of relevant information which can be written, made with pictures and record as sound. Also, a document is a form of information put into an electronic form and stored in a computer as one or more files.

A document is a unit of saved work. Each document is saved as a uniquely named file. Examples of document are sales invoices, wills and deeds, newspaper issues, individual newspaper stories, oral history recordings, executive orders, product specifications etc.

TYPES OF DOCUMENT

• Academic Document: including manuscript, thesis, paper, journal etc.
  1. Business Document: including invoice, proposal, contract, packing slip, manifest, report, spreadsheet, financial statement, etc.
  2. Civil Document: government laws, applications, briefs, certificates, commissions, constitutions, forms, licenses, manifestos, summons, white papers, etc.
• Media Document: mock-up, script, etc.

DOCUMENT LAYOUT

The graphical arrangements of information in a space for effective communication of facts. There are three types of document layout namely;

1. Page Layout. Arrangement of document on a page.
2. Graphic Layout. Graphic industrial documents and public signs.
3. Simple Layout. A draft by an author, clerk or transcriber.

CHARACTERISTICS OF DOCUMENT

The Characteristics of document can be physical or intellectual.

Physical Characteristics

1. Nature: can be printed, handwritten, photocopy, slide, book, non-printed or audio-visual.
   1. Materialistic: i.e. paper, clay, wood, palm leaves, iron sheet, stones, bricks etc. used for document layout.
   1. Production Process: the activity of authors, writers, communicators, typist, editors, publishers, etc. towards creating document.
   1. Periodical: time bound
   1. Method of publication: getting it to the target audience
   1. Size: a good document should have a standard file.
   1. Weight: Every document has a weight because it is made of different materials.
   1. Layout: a document should have a physical layout.

Intellectual Characteristics:

1. Purpose: Definition of need
2. Content: Description of the usability of the main document
3. Author: the creator or compiler of the document
4. Subject: Specific and meaningful matter of concern.
5. Source: origin from where it was formed or collected.
6. Validity: relevance tied to time.
7. Writing style
8. Accessibility: Ease to use
9. Structure: Attractive feature

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DMS)

This is a system used to track, manage and store documents. This make combination of paper and digital files easy, as physical document or paper sizes are scanned and digital formats are imported.

 Document Management System is essential in all sectors; commercial, banking, non-banking, finance and insurance, government and non-governments, research and development and many more. Document management system programs include; word documents, excel, spreadsheets, power point presentations, PDF files etc.

CHARACTERISTICS OF DMS

1. Cross-Platforms Functionality: Compatibility with all devices such as desktops, laptops, smart phones, tablets etc.
   1. Document scanning capabilities.
   1. Powerful search features
   1. Easy to use interface
   1. Increase productivity
   1. Maximum security
   1. Model processes.

STRUCTURE OF DOCUMENTS

Document structure is the systematic and technical ordering of information to form a document or file. This consists of standards or elements that help typist and writers organize their information in a clear manner. The structure of every document can broadly be divided into three namely; the Front matter, the Body and the End matter.

THE FRONT MATTER

This is the most important part of the document structure. It introduces the reader to the Title, Author, Topic, issue solved, method used and the overall purpose of the document. Front matter of any document must include the following elements.

1. Title Page: This bears the title, author and date of the document. Titles are usually short sentencing which summaries the entire document. It should be both clear and detailed enough so that readers could easily grasp the idea of what is covered.
2. Abstract: A summarizing statement of about 70-150 words providing general information about the topic, methods used, main results and conclusions of the document. An abstract should be clear and straightforward so as to communicate the purpose of the document.
3. Table of Contents: A list of the subject headings and sub-headings usually provided in long documents such as reports, proposals, and other administrative and research documents. Table of content help the read to navigate through the document having been provided with pages of main content.
4. List of Figures: Figures in document are illustrative diagrams; graph or pictures which help readers understand a theoretical explanation. It comes in form of visual contents such as screenshots, charts, and pictures. List of figures are like table of content which show title and page numbers of figures used in the document.
5. List of Tables: Table is the systematic display of facts and figures in columns and rows. List of table contain all tables used in the document, their title and page numbers which also make navigation very easy for the reader.
6. List of Terms: The orthographic presentation of terminology, acronyms and abbreviations specific to particular field of knowledge or the content or nature of the document which may confuse the reader if not given a preview of what they mean in relation to the particular document. A list of terms therefore contains such terminology and other contextual meanings.
7. Acknowledgement: An expression of gratitude to contributors such as colleagues, fellow typist or writers and programmers who assisted in the development of the document.

THE BODY

The body of document contains materials, sections or parts presented in the Front matter with steps to take and methods to use in order to resolve the issue presented in the abstract. The body of every document is arranged in sections which include the following:

1. Introduction: A definition of subject matter, scope, purpose and statement of problem in every document.
   1. Background/Preface: Historical information about the subject matter, summary of previous research and the reasons that birth the present document.
   1. Theory: A section in comparatively long document that describes all the formulae and technique used for compilation of the document.
   1. Design Criteria: This section includes proposals, feasibility reports, and recommendation reports with a possible design of a product.
   1. Materials and Apparatus: A description of software, hardware or tools used for experiment and sorting or measurement of data.
   1. Procedure: Description of methods used for gathering of data.
   1. Work plan: description of personnel who participated in the project, equipment, budget and so on.
   1. Results: sum up of date of the whole document. It can include charts and figures to visualize the results in an effective manner.
   1. Discussion: sometimes combined with the result section comments on results.
   1. Conclusion: A summary of the main results and other key points of the document usually longer than a conventional abstract and can even be shorter in some cases. It is a statement of personal deductions considering the content of the document.

THE END MATTER

This provides useful information and materials outside the main body. Such includes;

1. References: A list of sources used.
   1. Appendix: include materials that are not essentially parts of the text like additional diagrams, tables, lists, etc. containing information that is important to but not the main idea of the document.
   1. Index: An alphabetical listing of items and their location.