Microsoft Office – Word 2010
Formatting Text
1. Fonts, Text Size and other Basic Formatting
It is usual in your studies that you will be asked to present your work using specific
formatting for your text. Formatting your text can improve the appearance of your
document and make it easier to read.
Font: This is the design or face (sometimes referred to as font-face) of the letters
used in your document.
Text/Font size: This is how big the letters/characters appear on the page.
Font Weight: In MS Word; this usually means whether the text is Normal or Bold.
Italics / Underscore / Strikethrough: This is where text is slanted, underlined
or crossed out.
Case: This refers to your text being Uppercase or Lowercase.
Subscript / Superscript: Raised / Lowered small letters, numbers or characters
that are used in some referencing systems and scientific & mathematical formulae.
2. Understanding Fonts and Choosing one
There are two basic types of Fonts – Serif and Sans Serif (without serif) – the serif
is the little tail at the top and bottom of each character. Generally; Serif fonts are
easier to read on paper and Sans Serif fonts are easier to read on screen.
Times New Roman
Verdana
is a Serif font.
is a Sans Serif font.
In addition to the two basic types of font, there are a number of other styles that
may be used in some projects.
Old English Text MT
is a Blackletter or Gothic font and is used to mimic old
newspaper headings or posters.
Brush Script MT
is a Script font and is for small amounts of text on invites,
cards or signatures. This is difficult to read for most users.
LiSS Digital Skills Team: [email protected]
Tip: It is usual that an academic assignment would be presented using a
Sans Serif font and this is often Arial. Please check your own assignment
details for clarification and contact your tutor if you are unsure.
Changing font in MS Word is as simple as
selecting a piece of text and then choosing
the correct font from the Font Face
selection menu.
 Ensure that the Home tab is selected on
the tools Ribbon.
 Highlight your text or press CTRL + A to
select all text.
 Select the Font choice menu.
 Scroll down to choose the correct font
(theme fonts and recent fonts appear at
the top of the list – all others are in
alphabetical order)
Shortcut Tip: With your text selected – you can also press CTRL+SHIFT+F
to open the separate text formatting menu with the Font choice list
highlighted.
3. Text Sizing
Text or Font size is measured in Points (pt). 6pt is the smallest text that remains
readable by most users and 72pt is the largest text that can be automatically
created in MS Word.
6pt –
This text is 6pt tall.
12pt – This text is 12pt tall.
24pt –
This text is 24pt tall.
36pt –
This text is 36pt tall.
LiSS Digital Skills Team: [email protected]
Tip: It is usual that an academic assignment would be presented using a text
size of 12pt. Please check your own assignment details for clarification and
contact your tutor if you are unsure.
Changing text size in MS Word is as simple as selecting a piece of text and then
choosing the correct text size from the Font Size selection menu.
 Ensure that the Home tab is selected on the
tools Ribbon.
 Highlight your text or press CTRL + A to select
all text.
 Select the Font Size menu.
 Scroll down to choose the correct font Size for
your text.
If the Font Size, you want, is not listed – you can
type that size directly into the selection box i.e.
you may want text that is 13pt to make it easier for you to read or you may want
text that is bigger than 72pt if you are making a poster.
You can also quickly increase or
decrease the size of a section of
text by using the Font Resize
buttons in the Home tab.
Shortcut Tip: With your text selected – you can also press CTRL+SHIFT+P
to open the separate text formatting menu with the Font Size list highlighted.
4. Bold, Italics, Underline and Strikethrough
You can further format and emphasise text by using the Bold, Italics, Underline and
Strikethrough functions.
Bold Text can be used to emphasise small areas that need to stand out; such as
sub-headings within a document. This is not ideal for longer pieces of work because
the use of correct Headings is preferred.
LiSS Digital Skills Team: [email protected]
Italic Text is usually used (in academic work) to indicate where you have included a
direct quote. This is not always the case so you should check with your course tutor
if there is any doubt.
Underlined Text can also be used for emphasis and will usually appear
automatically when you create a hyperlink to a web page or other document. It can
be difficult to read underlined text.
Strikethrough Text is normally only used during the draft stages of an academic
assignment; i.e. where you may want to cross out some text, but not remove it
until you are sure it is not needed.
To use any of these features:
Select the text to which you want to
apply the effect.
Ensure you have the Home tab
open in the tools ribbon.
Click on the button for that effect.
You can also combine two or more of these affects; depending on your needs for
the current piece of work.
Example Formatted Text This text is Bold, Italic, Underlined and crossed out.
Tip: You can select some text that has already been formatted and click on
the effect button to remove that effect i.e. select some Bold text and then
click on the Bold button to return the text to normal.
5. Case (Uppercase / Lowercase)
You will normally type out your text in the Case that you require, but there are
times when you may need to quickly change the case of a word or short sentence.
This can be done without having to retype that part.
Select the text you want to change.
Ensure you have the Home tab
open in the tools ribbon.
Click on the Case button to change
that text.
LiSS Digital Skills Team: [email protected]
The following three sentences were typed in exactly the same way and then the
Case button was used to change the Case of the second and third:
The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog.
(As originally typed)
the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
(Lowercase)
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG.
(Uppercase)
Tip: You can select a single word or an entire paragraph to apply this to. The
Case tool also allows you to add a Capital letter to the beginning of all
selected words or “toggle” the Case (every Lowercase and Uppercase letter
will switch to the opposite case).
6. Subscript / Superscript
These are raised or lowered small letters, numbers or characters that are used in
some referencing systems and scientific & mathematical formulae.
Subscript sits lower than the other text, in the line, and Superscript sits higher.
Subscript:
When working with H2SO4; take care to wear goggles.
Superscript:
Smith et al.iv state that “the continuous use of the medication…”
To apply a Subscript or Superscript character:
Ensure you have the Home tab
open in the tools ribbon.
Either
Enter the character (as
normal), highlight it and click
on the Subscript/Superscript button.
Or
Click on the Subscript/Superscript button, type your character and then click again
to switch off Subscript/Superscript after you have typed.
You can also apply other styles to these characters; such as making them Bold to
allow them to stand out more prominently.
LiSS Digital Skills Team: [email protected]