How to Format Text and Paragraphs in Word

A document can have perfect words and still be hard to read: three fonts, a rainbow of colors, empty lines everywhere and every paragraph centered. Good formatting is mostly about being consistent and letting Word do the spacing for you.

In this tutorial you will take a messy session guide for the Tutoring Club and turn it into a clean, readable page. You will learn which settings belong to the characters and which belong to the whole paragraph, and you'll replace blank lines and typed spaces with real spacing and indents.

Character and paragraph formatting

Word has two kinds of formatting, and knowing which is which saves a lot of confusion.

	Character formatting	Paragraph formatting
Examples	Font, size, bold, italic, underline, color, highlight	Alignment, line spacing, space before and after, indents
Applies to	Only the characters you select	The whole paragraph, from one ¶ mark to the next
To apply it	Select the exact text first	Click anywhere in the paragraph, or select several paragraphs
Where to find it	Home then Font, or `Ctrl`+`D` for the Font dialog	Home then Paragraph, or Layout then Paragraph

The important difference is in the third row. To center a paragraph, you don't need to select it; the insertion point anywhere inside it is enough. To make one word bold, you do need to select that word (or have the insertion point inside it).

A paragraph's formatting is stored in its ¶ mark, the hidden mark Word adds when you press Enter. That's why a new paragraph keeps the alignment and spacing of the one before it: pressing Enter copies the ¶ mark's settings.

Choose fonts, sizes and emphasis

Select text, then use the Font group on the Home tab. Hover over a font in the list to preview it on your text before you click.

HomeFont. The small arrow in the corner opens the full Font dialog (Ctrl+D).

Press	To
`Ctrl`+`B` / `Ctrl`+`I` / `Ctrl`+`U`	Turn bold, italic or underline on and off
`Ctrl`+`]` / `Ctrl`+`[`	Make the text one point bigger or smaller
`Ctrl`+`D`	Open the Font dialog with every character setting

A few rules keep documents readable:

One or two fonts. One font for everything is fine. If you want two, use one for headings and one for body text. Word's default, Aptos, is a good body font.
Body text at 11 or 12 pt. Smaller is hard to read when printed. Make headings bigger, not the body text.
Bold for a few key words. If half the page is bold, nothing stands out. Use italic for titles of books and for light emphasis.
Skip underline for emphasis. On screen, underlined text looks like a link.
Dark text on a light background. Black or dark gray body text prints well and reads clearly. Save color for one or two accents, such as headings.

Clear formatting and start fresh

When text has been copied from several places, it is often faster to remove all its formatting than to fix it piece by piece.

Clear All Formatting (Home then Font then Clear All Formatting, the letter A with an eraser) removes everything from the selected text and returns it to the Normal style.
Ctrl+Space removes only character formatting (font, size, bold, color) from the selection.
Ctrl+Q removes only paragraph formatting (alignment, indents, spacing) from the paragraph.

Before

Three fonts and two colors
Underline and bold everywhere

After

One font, one size, one color
Bold only on the time that matters

Select all three paragraphs, click Clear All Formatting, then add bold back to the one detail that matters.

Align text

Alignment decides where each line of a paragraph lines up. Click in a paragraph and pick one of the four buttons in Home then Paragraph.

Alignment	Shortcut	Use it for
Align Left	`Ctrl`+`L`	Body text. The default and the easiest to read, because every line starts in the same place
Center	`Ctrl`+`E`	Titles, a flyer headline, a short line such as a date or a signature. Not for paragraphs
Align Right	`Ctrl`+`R`	A date or address at the right edge of a letter, page numbers
Justify	`Ctrl`+`J`	Newsletter columns or formal reports. Word stretches the spaces so both edges are straight

Centered paragraphs are hard to read because each line starts somewhere new and your eye has to hunt for it. Justified text can leave wide gaps between words, especially in narrow columns or with long words. When in doubt, use Align Left for everything except the title.

Set line and paragraph spacing

There are two kinds of spacing, and both live in the paragraph settings:

Line spacing is the space between the lines inside a paragraph.
Paragraph spacing (Spacing Before and Spacing After) is the extra space between paragraphs.

The quickest place for both is Home then Paragraph then Line and Paragraph Spacing. It lists line spacing values (1.0, 1.15, 1.5, 2.0 and more), Add Space Before Paragraph or Remove Space After Paragraph, and Line Spacing Options, which opens the full Paragraph dialog. You can also press Ctrl+1 for single, Ctrl+5 for 1.5 and Ctrl+2 for double spacing.

LayoutParagraph. Type or click the arrows to set an exact Spacing Before and After in points.

For exact numbers, use Layout then Paragraph and set Before and After in points (pt). Word's Normal style already adds 8 pt after each paragraph, which is why pressing Enter once already leaves a small gap. A heading usually looks best with more space before it (12 to 18 pt) than after it, so it sits close to the text it introduces.

Before

Empty paragraphs used as spacing
Gaps are uneven and break across pages

After

One ¶ per paragraph
Spacing After does the gaps, all the same size

With formatting marks on (Ctrl+Shift+8), empty ¶ lines stand out. Delete them and set Spacing After instead.

Why not press Enter twice? Empty paragraphs give uneven gaps, they can land at the top of a new page and push everything down, and you have to remember to add or remove them every time you edit. Spacing After changes every gap at once.

Indent paragraphs

An indent moves a paragraph, or one of its lines, in from the margin. Don't type spaces to do it: spaces never line up exactly, and they move when you change the font. Use one of these instead.

Indent	What it looks like	Use it for
Left indent	The whole paragraph moves in	A quotation or a note set apart from the text
First line	Only the first line moves in	Book-style paragraphs, often with no space between them
Hanging	Every line except the first moves in	Lists of terms, contacts or references (bibliographies)

In the Paragraph dialog. Click in the paragraph and open Home then Paragraph with the small arrow in the group's corner. On the Indents and Spacing tab, under Indentation, set Left and Right, or choose First line or Hanging under Special and type a size in By, such as 0.5".

On the ruler. Turn it on with View then Show then Ruler. At the left end are three markers: the top triangle is the First Line Indent, the bottom triangle is the Hanging Indent, and the small box under them is the Left Indent, which moves both triangles together. Drag one and watch the paragraph follow.

Keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+M moves the left indent in one step and Ctrl+Shift+M moves it back. Ctrl+T creates a hanging indent. Home then Paragraph then Increase Indent and Decrease Indent do the same as Ctrl+M and Ctrl+Shift+M, with the mouse. Decrease Indent is not the same as a hanging indent.

Hanging 0.5" set in the Paragraph dialog
Lines stay aligned at any font size

A hanging indent keeps the second line lined up under the text, not under the label. No spaces or tabs were typed.

Format Painter and formatting marks

Format Painter copies formatting from one place and paints it onto another, so you don't have to remember which font, size and spacing you used.

Click in the text that already looks right.
Click Home then Clipboard then Format Painter. The pointer turns into a paintbrush.
Drag across the text you want to change. To copy paragraph settings such as spacing and indents as well, paint over the whole paragraph.

HomeClipboardFormat Painter. Click once for one use, double-click to keep painting.

Single click vs. double-click. A single click paints once, then the brush turns off. A double-click keeps the brush on, so you can paint several places in a row, such as every subheading. Press Esc or click Format Painter again to turn it off.

Use formatting marks to diagnose. When something looks wrong and you can't see why, turn on Home then Paragraph then Show/Hide ¶ (Ctrl+Shift+8). Each dot is a space, each arrow is a tab and each ¶ is a paragraph. Rows of dots at the start of a line mean someone indented with spaces. A ¶ on a line by itself means an empty paragraph used as spacing. Fix them with real indents and Spacing After, then turn the marks off again.

Dots = spaces, → = tab, ¶ = paragraph
Marks never print

With ¶ marks on, the problems show: five spaces used as an indent, an empty paragraph and a tab at the start of a line.

Common mistakes

Mistake	What happens	Fix
Pressing `Enter` twice between paragraphs	Uneven gaps, and empty lines at the top of pages	Delete the empty paragraphs and set Spacing After
Typing spaces to indent	Lines never quite line up and shift when the font changes	Use a first-line or left indent on the ruler or in the Paragraph dialog
Centering every paragraph	Each line starts in a different place, so it is slow to read	Align body text left; center only titles and short lines
Using four fonts and lots of colors	The page looks messy and nothing stands out	Use one or two fonts, dark body text and color only for accents
Selecting a whole paragraph to change its alignment	Not wrong, but slower than needed	Click anywhere in the paragraph; alignment applies to all of it
Fixing pasted text one setting at a time	It takes ages and something is always missed	Select it and use Clear All Formatting, then reapply what you need
Forgetting Format Painter is still on	Every click changes more formatting	Press `Esc` after a double-click session

Practice

Format the Tutoring Club session guide

Guided practice

Download the example file above and open it in Word. The session guide has the right words but the wrong formatting: mixed fonts and colors, empty paragraphs for spacing, spaces typed to indent and body text that is centered.

Diagnose: press Ctrl+Shift+8 to show formatting marks. Find the empty ¶ lines and the rows of dots at the start of paragraphs.
Clear: hold Ctrl and select the three body paragraphs in odd fonts and colors (not the headings between them), then click Home then Font then Clear All Formatting. Leave the title alone.
Align: click in each centered body paragraph and press Ctrl+L. Keep only the title and the subtitle line centered.
Spacing: delete every empty paragraph. Then select the body paragraphs and set Layout then Paragraph Spacing After to 8 pt, and line spacing to 1.15 with Home then Paragraph then Line and Paragraph Spacing.
Indent: remove the spaces at the start of each paragraph in How a session works. Open the Paragraph dialog and set Special: First line, By: 0.3".
Hanging indent: click in the first contact line and press Ctrl+T, or set Special: Hanging in the Paragraph dialog.
Format Painter: click in the contact line you just fixed, double-click Format Painter, paint the other contact lines, then press Esc.
Check: turn formatting marks off and zoom out with View then Zoom then One Page. The page should have one body font, even gaps and straight left edges. Save the file.

Independent challenge: Two looks, one document

Save a copy of the finished guide. In the copy, change only the paragraph settings to create a book style: no space after paragraphs, a first-line indent of 0.3" and justified text. Compare the two versions side by side with View then Window then View Side by Side and decide which one is easier to read for families.

Reflect: which formatting habit, such as pressing Enter twice or centering everything, did you use before, and what will you do instead now?

Check your understanding0 of 4 correct

Pick an answer to see whether it's right and why.

You want to center a paragraph. What do you need to select first?
Alignment is paragraph formatting, so it applies to the whole paragraph where the insertion point is. You only need to select when you change several paragraphs at once.
What is the best way to put more space between paragraphs?
Spacing After gives every gap the same size and changes them all at once. Empty paragraphs give uneven gaps and can land at the top of a page.
A list of contacts should have the second line of each entry lined up under the text, not the label. Which indent do you need?
A hanging indent moves every line except the first, so the wrapped lines line up neatly. Ctrl+T sets one quickly.
You want to copy one heading's formatting to six other headings. How should you use Format Painter?
A double-click keeps Format Painter on so you can paint many places in a row. A single click only paints once.

You're ready to move on when

Tick each one off as you go. Your ticks are saved in this browser only.

You know which settings are character formatting and which are paragraph formatting
Your body text uses one font at 11 or 12 pt, with bold only for key words
Body paragraphs are aligned left and only titles are centered
There are no empty paragraphs or typed spaces used for spacing or indents
You can copy formatting with Format Painter and check problems with ¶ marks

How to Format Text and Paragraphs in Word: Fonts, Spacing, and Alignment

What you'll learn

Before you start

Example file