Microsoft Word Beginners Hub

Free Microsoft Word beginners course · 12 chapters · about 3 hours

Microsoft Word beginners hub: Patrick from Word Made Easy holding a book

Microsoft Word Beginners Hub

Learn Microsoft Word from the very start, one short chapter at a time. The steps are shown in real screenshots, and every chapter has a practice file.

This free Microsoft Word beginners hub teaches Word from scratch. It takes you from opening Word for the first time to making a finished, printed newsletter. It is written for complete beginners, so there are no long words and nothing is skipped. Each chapter takes about 15 minutes.

Work through the chapters in order, or jump straight to the one you need. Each chapter stands on its own, with its own practice files.

Each chapter links to longer Word Made Easy tutorials when you want more detail. For anything else, Microsoft keeps its own Word help and learning pages.

How the Microsoft Word beginners hub works

  • Short chapters. Each one teaches a few everyday tasks, such as saving a document or adding page numbers.
  • Numbered steps. Every step is one action, and the screenshot has matching red numbers.
  • Practice files. Each chapter has a start file and a finished file, so you can begin anywhere.
  • Check yourself. A few quick questions at the end of each chapter, with the answers.
  • Up to date. Checked in October 2026 with Microsoft 365 for Windows. Notes show where Word for Mac and the free Word for the web are different.

Microsoft Word beginners hub: the 12 chapters

  1. Chapter 1 Getting started with Word

    Open Word, start a new page and learn the names of the parts you will use every day. About 12 minutes.

    • Open Word and start a blank document
    • Name the main parts of the Word window
    • Use the ribbon: Tabs, groups and buttons
    • Zoom in and out and change the view
    • Find a command with Search and get help

  2. Chapter 2 Create, save and open documents

    Start a document, save it where you choose, and find it again whenever you need it. About 15 minutes.

    • Start a new document, blank or from a template
    • Save a document to OneDrive or to your PC
    • Rename a document and see where it is saved
    • Find and open a document again
    • Close a document and know your file types

  3. Chapter 3 Typing and editing

    Type, select and change your words, and undo any mistake in a moment. About 14 minutes.

    • Type text and move the cursor
    • Select a word, a paragraph or the whole document
    • Delete text and undo mistakes
    • Cut, copy and paste text
    • Find a word and replace it

  4. Chapter 4 Formatting text

    Change how your words look: Font, size, bold, colour and highlight. About 12 minutes.

    • Make text bold, italic or underlined
    • Change the font and its size
    • Colour and highlight text
    • Change text to capitals or small letters
    • Copy formatting with Format Painter and clear formatting

  5. Chapter 5 Paragraphs, lists and styles

    Line up your paragraphs, space them out, make lists and add headings that Word understands. About 14 minutes.

    • Centre text and indent a paragraph
    • Change line spacing and the space between paragraphs
    • Make bulleted and numbered lists
    • Add headings with the Styles gallery
    • Move around a document with the Navigation pane

  6. Chapter 6 Page layout

    Set up the page itself: Margins, orientation, paper size, breaks and columns. About 13 minutes.

    • Change the margins
    • Turn a page sideways with orientation
    • Choose A4 or Letter paper
    • Start a new page with a page break, and know when to use a section break
    • Put text into columns

  7. Chapter 7 Headers, footers and page numbers

    Put the same words and a page number at the top and bottom of every page. Then get back to your main text. About 12 minutes.

    • Add a header and type in it
    • Add a footer and type in it
    • Number your pages
    • Leave the first page without a header or footer
    • Close the header and footer and go back to your text

  8. Chapter 8 Pictures and shapes

    Add a photo to your document, size it and place it beside your text. Then describe it for people who can't see it. About 15 minutes.

    • Insert a picture from your computer or from Stock Images
    • Resize and crop a picture without stretching it
    • Wrap text around a picture and move it
    • Add alt text to a picture
    • Draw a simple shape

  9. Chapter 9 Tables

    Make a table in Word, fill it in, change its size and shape, and give it a tidy design. About 15 minutes.

    • Insert a table
    • Type in a table and move around it with the Tab key
    • Add and delete rows and columns
    • Resize columns and merge cells
    • Give a table a style and borders

  10. Chapter 10 Check your document

    Find and fix mistakes, count your words and hear your text read out. Then make your document easier for everyone to read. About 14 minutes.

    • Fix a spelling or grammar mistake with a right-click
    • Check the whole document with Editor
    • Count the words in your document
    • Listen to your document with Read Aloud
    • Check your document for accessibility

  11. Chapter 11 Print, save as PDF and share

    Get your finished document to other people, on paper, as a PDF, as a link or by email. About 14 minutes.

    • Preview and print a document
    • Save a copy as a PDF
    • Share a link to your document
    • Send your document as an email attachment
    • Add a comment for someone else to read

  12. Chapter 12 Shortcuts and next steps

    Work faster with 20 key shortcuts, make your own newsletter from a blank page and choose what to learn next. About 15 minutes.

    • Use the 20 most useful keyboard shortcuts
    • Find any command with the Search box
    • Make your own one-page newsletter from a blank document
    • Choose what to learn next

Ready? Start hereChapter 1: Getting started with Word