How to Format an English Paper in Microsoft Word

What if you need to double-space some text? Well, here's how you'd do that:

Highlight the text you wish to double-space and then:

Go to the Format menu and select Paragraph (you may have to click the double arrow at the bottom to see all the options).
Now click on the arrow beneath “Line spacing:” and select the “Double” option.

Here are some pictures to illustrate the steps involved:

Step 1

Step 2

What if you need to add and edit Headers/Footers to include Page Numbers and/or your Name? Here's how you'd do that:

Go to View menu, and then Header and Footer.
A “Header and Footer” menu bar will pop up.
Click on the “Insert AutoText” box and this will supply you with all the elements you need. If it adds an extra element you will not need (such as the Date), then all you have to do is highlight it and delete it.
If there is an element that needs to be, let’s say, centered, all you need to do is highlight the part that needs to be centered and then click on the centering icon.
To do the same for a Footer just scroll to the bottom of the page, click the box near the bottom, and repeat the above steps.

Here are some pictures to illustrate the steps:

Step 1-3

Step 3

Step 4

Well, what if you wanted to subscript or superscript text? Here's how you'd do it:

Highlight the text you wish to manipulate.
Go to the Format menu and then Font.
Under “Effects”, check either Subscript or Superscript and then click OK.

Here are some pictures to illustrate the steps:

Step 2

Step 3

Well, what if you wanted to insert a Footnote/Endnote? Here's how you'd do that:

Go to the Insert menu and then Reference and finally Footnote.
Now you can customize the Footnote/Endnote as you see fit.
When you’re finished just hit “Insert”.

Here are some pictures to illustrate the steps:

Step 1

Step 2

Here's a helpful tip:

When you need to make more than one draft of a paper (which is often the case), save each new draft as a different file from the original. For example, if the original file is called "OriginalPaper.doc", save the next revision as "OriginalPaperRev1.doc" or something along that line, just so you can differentiate between them.

That way, you always have the original to fall back on in case anything should happen to the new revisions. Here's how you'd do that:

Go to the File menu and click "Save As...".
Rename the file to a different name. That's it!

Here are some pictures to illustrate the steps:

Step 1

Step 2

Result

Well, we hope that this page has been helpful and we welcome any suggestions for additions that you think would be helpful.