How to Format Text in Word

Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software worldwide. Depending on the type of document you're creating—be it legal, formal, or personal—you'll need to follow specific formatting rules. If you're using Microsoft Word for this task, it’s easy to follow these rules since the application provides all the necessary tools. Even if you're new to Word, don’t worry. You can format your text like a pro after a short period of practice.

Explore the Word User Interface. Familiarize yourself with the elements of the interface, including all the formatting tools. You may need to enable certain tools in the toolbar, which you can do by selecting the toolbar from the "View" tab and choosing "Standard".

• The menu bar is located at the top of the screen where you'll find options like File, Edit, View, and other important menu buttons.
• The toolbar sits just below the menu bar and displays common actions like saving, printing, and opening a document.
• The Ribbon is located at the top of the workspace, just below the toolbar, and organizes the features of Microsoft Word into categories such as the Home and Layout tabs.

Text Alignment. Different types of documents require different text alignment styles. You can choose to align your text to the left, right, or center by clicking on the alignment buttons in the Paragraph section of the Ribbon.

• These buttons resemble smaller versions of the text with black lines that indicate the desired alignment.
• You can find the alignment buttons towards the middle of the Ribbon, after the underline button and before the bullet point button.

Adjusting Line Spacing. You can modify the line spacing by clicking the Line and Paragraph Spacing button. Once this tool is used, the text you type will follow the spacing format you’ve set.

• Find the Line and Paragraph Spacing button on the Ribbon, just after the alignment buttons. This button is represented by multiple lines, with a two-way arrow pointing up and down to the left.
• If you want to change the spacing of a specific paragraph or line, highlight the text and click the Line and Paragraph Spacing button to adjust it.
• You can also adjust the line and paragraph spacing by clicking the Format tab in the menu bar at the top of the screen, selecting “Paragraph” from the list, and choosing the spacing you need.
• Professional documents like college essays and cover letters should often use double line spacing.

Changing Page Orientation. To write your document in a different orientation, click the “Orientations” option in the Page Layout section of the menu bar, then choose either Portrait or Landscape from the dropdown list.

Changing Paper Size in Page Layout. If you want to print your document on a specific paper size, click the “Size” button and select the desired paper size from the dropdown list.

• This will adjust the size of the document you’re working on.

Adjusting Header and Footer. The header section contains details that appear on every page of your document.

• To set up the header, double-click the top of the page, and the Header field will appear.
• Similarly, you can adjust the footer. The footer contains content that appears at the bottom of every page.
• To set up the footer, double-click the bottom of the page, and the Footer field will show up.
• You can also format the header and footer by selecting the “View” tab in the menu bar at the top of the screen and clicking “Header and Footer” from the dropdown list. This will open the header and footer areas on the page, allowing you to customize them.

Adjusting Margins. Click the “Margins” button in the Page Setup section of the Page Layout tab and select your preferred margin setting from the options listed in the dropdown menu.

• If you wish to set custom margins, click on “Custom Margins” at the bottom of the dropdown list to adjust them as needed.

Adding Columns. If you need to create text similar to a newspaper format, you can adjust the document's layout into columns. Click the “Columns” option in the Ribbon, choose the number of columns you want, and adjust their alignment from the dropdown menu. The Columns button is located in the top row of the Ribbon and is represented by a small blue rectangle split in half.

• If you want to create one, two, or three columns, you can do so with predefined options. To create more columns, choose “More Columns.”
• Note that this column feature differs from columns you may insert when adding tables or other elements to your document.

Adding Bullets and Numbering. Highlight the text you want to number or bullet, then click the Numbering or Bullets button in the Ribbon.

• These buttons are located next to each other in the Ribbon, close to the alignment buttons. The Numbering button has three small lines with numbers to the left, while the Bullets button has three small lines with bullet points to the left.

Formatting Text Styles. Every document comes with default Styles (e.g., Normal, Title, Heading 1). The default style for text is usually Normal. The template (e.g., Normal.dotx) applied to your document determines which styles will appear in the Ribbon and under the Styles tab.

• Before applying a style, you can preview all available styles to see how they will appear once applied.
• On the Home tab or under the Format tab in the menu, beneath the Styles section, select and click on the desired style.
• You can also click the Modify button under the Styles tab to create your own custom style.
• By default, Word will apply the paragraph style (e.g., Heading 1) to the entire paragraph. To apply a paragraph style to only part of the paragraph, select the exact portion you want to modify.

Adjusting Font Settings. In the Ribbon, you'll find dropdown menus for selecting font types and sizes. To modify text, you must first select the text you want to change. This can be individual characters, specific words, or an entire paragraph. Once the text is selected, you can format it by adjusting the font, size, or color.

• Click to the left of the first word you wish to select, hold the cursor, and drag it across all the words you want to highlight.

Changing Text Size, Color, and Highlighting. Use the dropdown options in the Ribbon to choose the desired font, size, color, and highlighting. The first font button is on the far left, near the Style button. The size button follows, and by default, it is set to size 12.

• Always consider the formatting rules for your document when selecting the font size and style.
• The standard font for most professional and academic documents is Times New Roman, size 12.

Selecting Text Emphasis Styles. Besides adjusting font size and style, you can also emphasize specific words or lines. Right next to the size adjustment button, you'll see options for Bold (B), Italics (I), and Underline (U). The Bold button is represented by a bold uppercase 'B', the Italics button by an italicized 'I', and the Underline button by an underlined 'U'.

• Simply click the relevant buttons in the Ribbon after selecting the text you want to edit.

Setting Text Highlight and Font Color. To add color and highlight your text, select the desired text and click on the Text Highlight or Font Color buttons in the Ribbon.

• Look for the Highlight button in the Ribbon, which appears as 'ABC' in dark blue with a white underline, and the Font Color button, showing an 'A' with a black underline.

Inserting an Image into the Document. Place the image exactly where you want it in your document. After dropping the image, it might be tricky to move it to the desired position. There are several ways to make this easier:

Using the Wrap Text Feature. The Wrap Text function modifies the text layout, enabling the text to be displayed as you prefer, no matter where the image is positioned.

• Right-click on the image, hover over Wrap Text, and choose the alignment style that fits your text. As you hover over each option, you’ll see a preview of how the image will appear.
• Select the image, then hold the Ctrl key. While holding it down, use the arrow keys to move the image within the text.

Inserting a Chart. Go to the “Insert” tab, then click the “Chart” option. When you select Chart, a new toolbar will appear in the Ribbon, offering various chart types for you to choose from. Pick the one you prefer, such as a pie chart.

Editing the Chart. Scroll to the section that needs editing in the window, and then select from several chart types, such as the visually appealing “3-D Pie” chart.

• Click “OK” to insert the chart into the Word document, which will open the “Chart in Microsoft Word – Microsoft Excel” window.

• Unless granted permission to write in a freeform style, you should familiarize yourself with the principles of structured writing before adjusting the formatting.
• Besides page layout formats, footers, and headers (which impact the entire document), other formatting tools can only be applied to specific sections of the text.