Paragraphs, lists and styles (Chapter 5)

Chapter 5 of 12 · about 14 minutes

Paragraphs, lists and styles

Line up your paragraphs, space them out, make lists and add headings that Word understands. Neat paragraphs, lists and headings make any document easy to read.

In this chapter

  • 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

Before you start: Open wme-guide-chapter-05-start.docx. The steps in this chapter use it.

Using your own document? The steps use the practice newsletter, but they work the same on any document. Wherever a step names part of the newsletter, such as the title or the date, use the matching text in your own document.

In Word, a paragraph is everything you type before you press Enter. A title, a date or one line of a list each count as a paragraph.

To change one paragraph, click anywhere inside it. You don’t need to select it all. To change several, select them together.

Centre text and indent a paragraph

Centring puts text in the middle of the line, which suits a title. An indent moves a paragraph in from the left edge, so it stands apart.

  1. Click anywhere in the newsletter title (or your own heading).
  2. Click the Home tab.
    The Paragraph group on the Home tab in Microsoft Word: The Home tab is marked 2, the Center button is marked 3 and the Increase Indent button is marked 5.
    Open the Home tab (2), click Center (3), and use Increase Indent (5).
  3. In the Paragraph group, click Center (the button with lines lined up in the middle).The title moves to the middle of the page.
    Example in Microsoft Word: The newsletter title Riverside Community News sits in the middle of the line, above the date.
    You should see: The title is centred.
  4. Click anywhere in the quote that starts It is lovely.
  5. In the Paragraph group, click Increase Indent (lines with an arrow pointing right).The whole paragraph moves in from the left.
    Example in Microsoft Word: The quote from a volunteer is indented, so its left edge starts further in than the paragraphs above and below.
    You should see: The quote is indented from the left.
Watch it happen: Click Center (or press Ctrl + E) and the title moves to the middle of the page.

The other alignment buttons are Align Left, Align Right and Justify. Justify makes both edges straight, like a newspaper. To move an indent back, click Decrease Indent.

This guide uses the US English button names. If your Word is set to UK English, you may see Centre instead of Center.

Change line and paragraph spacing

Line spacing is the gap between lines inside a paragraph. Paragraph spacing is the gap after a paragraph ends. More space makes text more comfortable to read.

  1. Select the two story paragraphs under Library garden news.
  2. In the Paragraph group, click Line and Paragraph Spacing (lines with an up and down arrow).
    The Line and Paragraph Spacing menu on the Home tab in Microsoft Word: The button is marked 2 and the 1.5 option is marked 3.
    Click Line and Paragraph Spacing (2), then click 1.5 (3).
    A list of numbers opens.
  3. Click 1.5.The lines in both paragraphs move further apart.
    Example in Microsoft Word: The two story paragraphs now have 1.5 line spacing, with wider gaps between the lines.
    You should see: The story paragraphs with 1.5 line spacing.
  4. Click the Layout tab.
    The Paragraph group on the Layout tab in Microsoft Word: The Layout tab is marked 4 and the Spacing After box is marked 5.
    Open the Layout tab (4), then set Spacing After (5).
  5. In the Paragraph group, under Spacing, set the After box to 12 pt. Keep the two paragraphs selected. Click the small up arrow beside the box until it shows 12 pt, or select the number in the box, type 12 and press Enter.There is a bigger gap after each paragraph.
Watch it happen: Point at each spacing in the list to preview it, then click to choose.

You can also use shortcuts for line spacing. Press Ctrl + 1 for single, Ctrl + 5 for 1.5 and Ctrl + 2 for double. Use the number keys above the letters.

Make bulleted and numbered lists

Lists break information into short pieces. Use bullets when the order doesn’t matter and numbers when it does.

  1. Select the three lines under What to bring.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Bullets (three dots beside three lines).
    The Paragraph group on the Home tab in Microsoft Word: The Bullets button is marked 2 and the Numbering button is marked 4.
    Click Bullets (2) or Numbering (4).
    Each line gets a bullet point.
    Example in Microsoft Word: Gloves, A trowel or small spade, and A bottle of water each start with a round bullet point.
    You should see: The three lines are now a bulleted list.
  3. Select the three dates under Dates for your diary.
  4. Click Numbering (the numbers 1, 2, 3 beside three lines).The dates are numbered 1, 2 and 3.
Watch it happen: Select the lines, click Bullets, and each line gets a bullet point.

Inside a list, press Enter to add the next item. Press Enter twice to end the list.

Add headings with the Styles gallery

A style is a saved set of formatting with a name. The Heading 1 and Heading 2 styles do more than make text bigger. They tell Word which lines are headings. Text that is only big and bold is not a heading to Word.

That matters for three reasons. You can jump to any heading in the Navigation pane. Word can build a contents page from your headings. People who use screen readers can move from heading to heading. The headings also become bookmarks when you save a PDF.

  1. Click anywhere in Library garden news.
  2. Click the Home tab.
  3. In the Styles group, click Heading 1. Its name may be cut off to Heading. Point at it and the tip shows Heading 1.
    The Styles gallery opened from the Home tab in Microsoft Word: The Heading 1 style is marked 3 and the Heading 2 style is marked 5.
    Click Heading 1 (3) or Heading 2 (5). Open the gallery to see Heading 2.
    The line changes to a larger, coloured heading.
    Example of headings in Word: Library garden news now uses the Heading 1 style, larger and coloured, above the story paragraphs.
    You should see: Library garden news is now a Heading 1.
  4. Click anywhere in What to bring.
  5. In the Styles group, click Heading 2. If you can’t see it, click More (the small arrow at the bottom right of the gallery) to open the gallery first.The line becomes a smaller heading.
  6. Click anywhere in Dates for your diary, then click Heading 1.It becomes a main heading, like Library garden news.

Use Heading 1 for main sections and Heading 2 for smaller parts inside them.

The Navigation pane lists your headings down the left side. Click one to jump straight to it, which helps in a long document.

  1. Click the View tab.
    The Show group on the View tab in Microsoft Word: The View tab is marked 1 and the Navigation Pane tick box is marked 2.
    Open the View tab (1), then tick Navigation Pane (2).
  2. In the Show group, tick Navigation Pane.The Navigation pane opens on the left, showing your headings.
  3. In the pane, click Dates for your diary.Word jumps to that heading.
    The Navigation pane in Microsoft Word showing the Headings list: Library garden news, What to bring set in below it, and Dates for your diary. Dates for your diary is marked 3.
    You should see: Click a heading in the pane (3) to jump to it.

If the pane shows search results instead, click Headings at the top of the pane. To close it, untick Navigation Pane or click the X on the pane.

Mac and Word for the web: The alignment, spacing, list and style buttons are on the Home tab in both. On a Mac, use Cmd instead of Ctrl for the alignment shortcuts, such as Cmd + E to centre.

Video: spacing between paragraphs in Word

Paragraphs: How To Change Line Spacing in Microsoft Word video thumbnail2:34

See it done in Word: How To Change Line Spacing in Microsoft Word.