Final answer:
PowerPoint is commonly used for creating lecture slides, aiding in presentations, brainstorming, and organizing content. It's not typically used for writing novel-length stories, but it can help break down ideas and find inspiration for projects.
Step-by-step explanation:
Microsoft PowerPoint is a versatile tool used widely in educational and business settings. While option b, creating a novel-length story, isn't the primary function of PowerPoint, options a (search pictures for ideas), c (break a story into important parts), and d (search the internet for inspiration) are more aligned with PowerPoint's capabilities. Instructors and students often use PowerPoint to develop lecture slides that contain learning objectives, images and descriptions, and discussion questions.
When preparing for an oral presentation or report, PowerPoint slides serve as an effective starting point, with users able to add text, images, and other multimedia elements to convey their message. Brainstorming and narrowing down topics can be visually represented through the slides, aiding in the organization of a presentation. Additionally, PowerPoint's tools can assist in creating a multimodal composition, which might include a mix of textual and visual elements that support a speaker's content and maximize the effectiveness of their communication to the audience.