Easy Steps to Make a Word Document Look Professional

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Simple fixes for a more polished Microsoft Word document
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Whether you’re writing a research paper for class, composing an article for a newsletter, or trying to create the perfect cover letter, you’ll want your Word doc to look as polished and professional as possible. Fortunately, Word gives you all the tools you need to make your documents stand out and look great. In this article, we’ll talk you through the basics—like how to adjust your font or pick the right paragraph style—as well as some more advanced tips and tricks, like turning on hidden formatting marks.

How to Make Professional Looking Documents

Pick a serif font for print documents and a sans-serif font for digital documents. Break your text up with titled headings that are relevant to the text. Use contrasting fonts to differentiate headings and main text. Align your paragraphs left, indenting the first line of each one. Make the margins 1 inch (2.5cm).

Section 1 of 2:

Formatting Basics

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  1. Serif fonts have extra strokes on the ends of the letters, which make the text look a little more decorative and elegant. Some typography pros also believe that serif fonts are easier to read in print. If you’re planning to print out your document, choose a classic serif font, such as Times New Roman, Book Antiqua, or Georgia. [1]
    • To choose a font, go to the Home tab at the top of your document. Select the font you like best from the drop-down font menu on the right side of the menu ribbon.
    • There are hundreds of fonts to choose from, but try to stick to fonts with a simple, classic look to keep your document looking professional and easy to read. Avoid anything overly elaborate or artsy.
  2. Sans-serif fonts lack the little decorative feet that serif fonts have. According to visual content marketing expert & entrepreneur Vikas Agrawal, sans-serif fonts are easier to read on digital screens than serif fonts. [2] If you’re not planning to print your document out, go with a classic sans-serif font such as Verdana, Lucida, or Calibri. [3]
    • While Comic Sans is a popular and easy-to-read sans-serif font, it’s gained a bit of a bad rap for looking childish and unprofessional. Avoid using Comic Sans if you want your doc to have a polished and mature look.
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  3. Headings are subsection titles that you can insert throughout the document to mark each section clearly. They not only make your text look nice, but they also make it much easier for people using screen readers to navigate your document. [4] To insert a heading into your document:
    • Type the text you’d like to use for a heading. For instance, you might write something like “Section 1” or “Introduction.”
    • Select the heading text.
    • Open the Home tab and go to the Styles section of the ribbon menu, at the top right side of the document.
    • Select the heading style you want from the list of styles. For instance, if you’re creating a top-level heading, select Heading 1 . For subheadings, choose Heading 2 or Heading 3 .
  4. Headings are usually bigger than the main body text, which helps them stand out. However, they’ll also stick out more and look more visually interesting if you use a different font for headings than the rest of the text. While Word usually uses a different font for headings by default (for example, Calibri Light versus regular Calibri), feel free to experiment with choosing your own Headings font. [5]
    • It works well to combine serif fonts in the headings with sans-serif fonts in the body of your document. For instance, you might use Didot for your headings and Gill Sans for the body text.
    • If you don’t want to change the font of each heading manually, change one heading, then click the dropdown next to the Styles pane in the Home tab. Next to the heading style you changed, click the arrow and click Update to match selection .
  5. Typically, left alignment is the default setting for Word documents. If the settings have been changed, you can reset the alignment by opening the Home pane and selecting left alignment from the formatting section in the middle of the ribbon menu at the top of the document. The alignment buttons are located right under the list format buttons. Choose the one at far left, which looks like a series of lines that are even on the left side and uneven on the right. [6]
    • You can also change the text alignment by clicking the arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Paragraph pane and choosing Left next to "Alignment" under "General."
    • While left alignment looks best in most cases, there are exceptions. For instance, you will typically center the title and author lines at the top of a paper. You might also choose to center your headings.
    • In most cases, it’s best to avoid using the “justify” alignment, which makes the text even on both the right and left sides. This formatting style works best in documents written in narrow columns, like brochures, magazine articles, and newsletters. [7]
  6. The margin settings determine how much space there is between your text and the edge of the page. By default, the margins in Word documents are set to 1 inch (2.5 cm) on each side. However, sometimes a bigger margin looks better. For instance, margins that are 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) wide are a good choice for cover letters. [8]
    • To change the margin size, choose the Layout tab from the top of your document and select Margins at far left. Choose the Normal option to get 1" margins all the way around your document, or click Custom Margins to set your own.
    • Word’s default combination of 12-point font size and 1 in (2.5 cm) margin size is required by a lot of professional citation and formatting styles, like APA and MLA. [9] If you’re completing a writing assignment for class or a publication, check the guidelines about margins and font size.
    • While you can make your margins smaller, your document will be less readable and pleasant to look at if the text crowds the edges of the page.
  7. If your document is one solid block of text, readers will quickly get tired of looking at it. One traditional way to deal with this is to use paragraph indents. The easiest way to do this is to simply hit ⏎ Return when you’re ready to start a new paragraph, then hit the Tab ↹ key to create an indent at the start of the new line. The default indent in Word is .5 inches (1.3 cm), which is the size of indent required by many standard formatting styles (such as APA and MLA). [10]
    • Click the arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Paragraph pane, then change the number next to "Before text" under the "Indentation" header.
    • If you’d rather use Tab ↹ to indent each paragraph, you can also adjust the tab stop setting to change the size of the indent. Go to the Home tab and click the Increase Indent or Decrease Indent buttons in the central paragraph section of the ribbon menu. [11]
  8. For some types of documents, like cover letters, paragraph indents have gone out of style. If you’d prefer to give your document a more modern look, skip the indents and use paragraph spacing instead. [12] To do this, go to the Home tab at the top of your document and select the Line and Paragraph Spacing button. A window will open where you can adjust your paragraph spacing settings. Enter how many points of space you would like to add after each paragraph—typically about 6 to 8 points. [13]
    • You can also simply hit ⏎ Return twice after each paragraph to create an extra line space.
    • To apply your preferred paragraph spacing automatically to the whole document, change the paragraph spacing settings in the Layout tab.
    • Alternatively, go to the Design tab at the top of your document and select the Paragraph Spacing dropdown menu. Select the preset spacing you want to automatically apply the style to your entire document.
  9. If you’re writing a paper for class, your instructor may require double spacing. Some standard formatting styles, such as MLA, also specify that you must double-space your text. [14] On the other hand, it’s best to single-space certain other types of documents, such as cover letters. [15] Whatever kind of spacing is required for the document you’re writing, you can set the spacing in the Home tab at the top of your Word document. Go to the Line Spacing Options menu in the Paragraph section of the ribbon menu and select the spacing you want from the dropdown. [16]
    • If you’ve already started writing your document, you’ll need to select the text you want to format first. Otherwise, simply set your line spacing before you start writing.
    • If your document doesn’t have any particular spacing requirements, you can still adjust the spacing to make it easier to look at. Click the arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Paragraph pane in the Home tab to enter a custom amount of space between each line (such as 1.08 spaces). [17]
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Section 2 of 2:

Advanced Techniques

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  1. You may not realize it, but every Word document you type is full of hidden formatting marks. To see them, simply open the Home tab and hit the paragraph symbol button in the middle section of the ribbon menu at the top of your document. This will reveal things like paragraph markers, spaces between characters, tab marks, and section and page breaks that you might not have realized were there. [18]
    • If you find a problem—such as a paragraph marker where there’s not supposed to be one—you can simply delete it to resolve any troublesome formatting issues. For instance, blank paragraphs can sometimes cause unwanted extra pages to appear in your document with no content.
    • You can even fine-tune which formatting marks are visible, if you like. In Word for Windows, go to the File menu, then open Options and select Display . Go to the Always show these formatting marks on the screen section to select which marks you want to see.
    • If you’re using a Mac, go to the Word menu, then open Preferences and select View . Select the marks you want to see under Show Non-Printing Characters .
  2. “Kerning” is a way to adjust the spacing between letters in your document. Most of the time, this is something you don’t have to worry about. However, in certain fonts, some letters or characters can look a little awkward side by side with the default spacing, such as “A” and “Y,” for example. To adjust the kerning in Word: [19]
    • Click the arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Font pane in the Home tab. Select the Advanced tab and adjust the font spacing (kerning) using the Spacing dropdown. You can choose to expand or contract the font. You can choose how expanded or contracted the font is by setting a number in the box next to this dropdown.
  3. Word has a variety of Auto Formatting options that can make your life easier and keep your documents looking professional. One of the most helpful auto formatting options you can turn on is smart quotes , which will automatically format your quotation marks so that they face in the right direction at the beginning and end of each quote. To turn on smart quotes, open the File menu and select Options , then Proofing and Autocorrect Options . Or, if you’re using Mac, open the Tools menu and select Autocorrect Options . From there: [20]
    • Click the Autoformat as You Type tab.
    • Go to the Replace as you type section.
    • Check the box next to Straight quotes with smart quotes .
    • While you’re at it, you can also adjust other autoformatting options, such as replacing double dashes (--) with a single long em-dash (–).
  4. 4
    Use templates. Microsoft has created a number of great, professional-looking templates for almost any document type—resumes, letters, agendas, papers, and more. These templates can either be used as-is, or you can use them as a jumping-off point to create your own, unique document.
    • You can find templates by starting a new document in Word, or by going to create.microsoft.com/en-us/word-templates .
    • If you're writing a document for a very specific purpose (such as a school paper or a legal document), you should avoid flashy templates and just do basic formatting.
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Expert Q&A

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  • Question
    How do I make a document more visually appealing?
    Vikas Agrawal
    Visual Content Marketing Expert & Entrepreneur
    Vikas Agrawal is a Visual Content Marketing Expert & Entrepreneur, as well as the Founder of Full Service Creative Agency Infobrandz. With over 10 years of experience, he specializes in designing visually engaging content, such as infographics, videos, and e-books. He’s an expert in Making content marketing strategies and has contributed to and been featured in many publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur.com, and INC.com.
    Vikas Agrawal
    Visual Content Marketing Expert & Entrepreneur
    Expert Answer
    Think about the purpose and goal of the text document first. For instance, you'd want to keep a proposal clean and minimalistic, while a marketing document or eBook guide would have more design elements like illustrations and visuals to make it more visually engaging.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/business-communication/choosing-fonts-for-business-documents/1/
      2. ↑ Vikas Agrawal. Visual Content Marketing Expert & Entrepreneur. Expert Interview
      3. ↑ https://accessibility.psu.edu/legibility/fontface/
      4. ↑ https://iteach.msu.edu/my-campus-ties/groups/accessible-course-design-learning-community/stories/170
      5. ↑ https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-typography-determines-readability-serif-vs-sans-serif-and-how-to-combine-fonts-629a51ad8cce/
      6. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/align-text-left-or-right-center-text-or-justify-text-on-a-page-70da744d-0f4d-472e-916d-1c42d94dc33f
      7. ↑ https://ontariotraining.net/to-justify-or-not-to-justify-text/
      8. ↑ https://www.ferrum.edu/downloads/careers/cover-letters.pdf
      9. ↑ https://columbiacollege-ca.libguides.com/microsoft-word/margins
      1. ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/paragraph-format
      2. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/set-tab-stops-and-paragraph-indents-in-microsoft-word-34361115-2b5a-9fcc-2d34-9d7c9e007b71
      3. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/job_search_writing/job_search_letters/cover_letters_1_quick_tips/quick_formatting_tips.html
      4. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/change-spacing-between-paragraphs-ee4c7016-7cb8-405e-90a1-6601e657f3ce
      5. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_general_format.html
      6. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/job_search_writing/job_search_letters/cover_letters_1_quick_tips/quick_formatting_tips.html
      7. ↑ https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/word2013/line-and-paragraph-spacing/1/
      8. ↑ https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/word2013/line-and-paragraph-spacing/1/
      9. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/show-or-hide-tab-marks-in-word-84a53213-5d02-404a-b022-09cae1a3958b
      10. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/change-the-spaces-between-text-e9b96011-1c42-45c0-ad8f-e8a6e4a33462
      11. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/smart-quotes-in-word-702fc92e-b723-4e3d-b2cc-71dedaf2f343

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