Use mail merge to combine a main document with a data source, inserting merge fields to produce personalised letters or labels for many recipients

What this dot point is asking

This outcome is about mail merge, the feature that produces many personalised copies of one document automatically. You should know the two main parts (the main document and the data source), understand what a merge field is, be able to describe the steps to set up and complete a merge, and explain why mail merge is faster and more accurate than typing each letter by hand. In the written paper you explain the parts and the advantages; in the practical you may set up a simple merge yourself.

The answer

What mail merge does

Mail merge combines one document with a list of people so that the software creates one copy per person, with each copy personalised. Instead of editing the same letter 40 times to change the name and address, you write the letter once and the software fills in the details for every person on the list.

The two main parts

• The main document. The letter, email or label layout. It holds the wording that is the same for everyone, plus placeholders where the personal details should go.
• The data source. A list with one row per recipient and a column for each piece of information, such as Name, Address and Class. This is often a table or a spreadsheet.

Merge fields

A merge field is a placeholder in the main document that stands for a column in the data source. For example, you place a Name field where the recipient's name should appear. When you merge, the software replaces each Name field with the real name from that row. So the main document might begin "Dear «Name»," and each finished letter shows the real name.

The steps in order

1. Write the main document with the shared wording.
2. Connect a data source (the list of recipients).
3. Insert merge fields where personal details belong.
4. Preview the result to check a few letters look right.
5. Finish the merge to produce all the personalised copies, ready to print or save.

Why mail merge is better than typing each letter

• Faster. One template produces every letter at once.
• More accurate. Details come from a checked list, not retyped each time, so there are fewer mistakes.
• Reusable. The same list can be used again for a new letter or to print address labels.

Examples in context

Example 1. Report card covers. A school produces a cover letter for every student's report card. The main document is the standard letter; the data source is the class list with each student's name and class. Merge fields fill in the name and class, so one template prints a personalised cover for the whole cohort.

Example 2. Address labels. The same member list is reused to print address labels. The main document is the label layout, and the Name and Address fields fill each label from the list, so the club can post the invitations without writing any addresses by hand.

Try this

• Cue. Name the two main parts of a mail merge and say what each one holds. (The main document holds the shared wording and placeholders; the data source holds the list of recipients, one row each.)

• Cue. Explain what a merge field is, using an example. (A placeholder in the main document, such as a Name field, that the software replaces with the real value from each row, so "Dear «Name»," becomes "Dear Aisha," and so on.)

• Cue. Give two reasons mail merge is more accurate than typing each letter. (The details come from one checked list rather than being retyped each time, and a fix to the template or list updates every letter at once.)