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Microsoft Word Styling and Formatting

Author: Sophia

what's covered
In this lesson you will continue to learn more about Microsoft Word and the options you have when using it. You will better understand how this knowledge can improve your technology skill and help you as you work to be results driven.

Specifically, this lesson will cover:
  1. Microsoft Word Style
  2. Microsoft Word Formatting

1. Microsoft Word Style

Earlier, you learned about templates available to you in Microsoft Word. These documents come ready set with a style to include things like specific fonts, colors, and borders. A style is a predefined combination of font style, color, and size that can be applied to any text in your document. Styles can help your documents achieve a more professional or personal look and feel. No matter what you choose (blank document or template), you have the opportunity to create or select a style that meets your needs.

You may need to send a proposed conference schedule to your boss. That same day you may need to draft an article for a blog you write about dogs. Those are two very different deliverables. The conference schedule will need to appear professional. You will want to use a standard font like Arial and bold things like the titles of the activities. On the flip side, you can draw in your readers with things like images and color in your blog entry.

You can also use style to convey meaning. For instance, to emphasize an important word, you may want to make it bold, italic, or underlined. You may also want to highlight certain information if you’re passing it on to others and would like them to review a certain portion of the document. There are almost endless options of ways to use Word style to get the most out of creating a document.

Results Driven: Skill Tip
Understanding your audience is key to getting the results you want. You want to choose the best style for the situation. If you aren’t sure what professional norms might be, you want to be sure to take the time to learn them by asking questions or doing some research.

term to know
Style
A predefined combination of font style, color, and size that can be applied to any text in your document.


2. Microsoft Word Formatting

Along with style, you need to make sure your formatting is appropriate for the situation. Formatting refers to how things appear on the page. Style is a combination of different format settings. These can include:

  • Font: This can include what the text looks like and what size it is
  • Alignment: This refers to things like indenting text and aligning text to one side of the page
  • Line Spacing: You can select things like single-spaced lines or double spaced between sections
Below you can see the formatting options found under the home ribbon

MS Word Formatting Options Home Ribbon

Similar to style, you can use formatting options to convey a theme or meaning to a document. You may choose to center text to show that it’s a section heading. Or, if you have very little text on a page, such as for a flier, you may want to use large font and double or triple spacing.

Additionally, certain formatting options are required for various purposes. Organizations may have their own requirements for font, font sizes, and spacing. Publication manuals, such as MLA, APA, and Chicago Style, also have formatting requirements. Using appropriate text formatting enables your results driven

 skill by helping you create documents that serve a purpose and meet your goals.

term to know
Formatting
How things appear on the page.

summary
In this lesson, you learned more about Microsoft Word style and formatting options. You reviewed the importance of selecting the right style and formatting for any given circumstance. Being aware of your audience is critical as it will help you make the best selections. By making the correct choices when it comes to style and format, you can improve your results driven skill.

One more lesson to go for this challenge!

Terms to Know
Formatting

How things appear on the page.

Style

A predefined combination of font style, color, and size that can be applied to any text in your document.