How to make a good word document?

Microsoft word is packed with so many features that you can produce pretty much whatever you
want with it. But these features don’t always result in the kind of beautiful, high-quality, and
professional documents that may be expected of you.

 Keep it simple ,less is more :

Nearly every tip in this article is a specific application of this first one, but it’s so important that
it bears special emphasis: keep it simple and less is more. Let this be the driving force behind
any design decisions in your documents, and if you walk away remembering only one thing from
this article, let it be this one!

When writing a document, the content should be the main focus. The formatting exists to make
that content easier to read and digest. Eliminate the temptation to introduce eye-catching
elements that only serve to distract. Maximize whitespace. Keep your wording tight and revise
any wordy sentences or paragraphs. Simple and minimal rules over all.

 Choose a context appropriate typeface:

Your first big design decision should be which typeface you’re going to use. Traditional knowledge says
that serif fonts are easier to read in printed documents whereas sans-serif fonts are better on the eyes
when read on a digital screen.

 Use standard font size and color :

Most business and academic papers are typed in 12-point font size, which generally produces
the most readable paragraphs when combined with the guidelines for page size, margins, and line
spacing later in this article. Some information-dense reports may sometimes go down to 10-point
font size, but never less than that.

In general, it’s best to keep your hands off of anything related to colors, especially for printed
documents. You’ll have to pay more for the color ink, and it won’t carry over if the document
ever gets copied. For digital documents, reserve colored text for critical warnings and the like.
Prefer to emphasize using bolded and italic text.

 Use standard page size and margins:

Nearly all office documents are printed for standard 8½” x 11″ pages, known as US Letter size
(also known as A4 elsewhere, which is 210mm x 297mm). This is the only size that’s guaranteed
to be available regardless of which printer you use
As for margins, most style manuals and style guides call for a 1″ margin on all sides of the
page, which produces the best readability for line lengths and allows for written annotations if
necessary. However, if the document is going to be bound in a binder, you may want to increase
the side margins to 1½” to accommodate the rings.

 Align paragraph to the left side:

You may be tempted to use justified alignment because that’s what’s used in newspapers and
novels and some textbooks, but it’s the wrong choice for office and academic documents. While
it may look cleaner and more formal due to the straight edges, it kills readability.

What you want is left alignment for text. This produces jaggedness on the right side of
paragraphs, but it keeps letter spacing as intended by whatever typeface you’re using, and that
means optimal legibility. Otherwise, you may end up with typographic rivers, which are
extremely distracting and simply look ugly.

 Indent the first lines of paragraph:

Paragraphs should have no extra spacing in between them, and first lines of paragraphs should be
indented to make each paragraph stand out. The only exception is for paragraphs that directly
follow a section heading, which can be left unindented because the surrounding context makes it
clear that it’s its own paragraph. A general rule of thumb is to make the indent size the same as
the font size. Make sure you use Word’s paragraph styling features to handle the indents rather
than using the Tab key.

 Place images between photographs:

It may be okay to place images inside a paragraph and allow the surrounding text to flow around
it, and if your organization prefers it that way, then go ahead and do that. But generally speaking,
it can damage readability, especially in data-driven reports.

The safest option, particularly for graphs and charts and tables, is to put images in between
paragraphs and keep them center aligned. That way your images are never vying for attention
with surrounding text. It also helps captions to stand out.

 Choose context appropriate line spacing:

The right choice for line spacing (the whitespace that separates a line of text from the next line of
text) really depends on what kind of document you’re writing.

Academic papers should first follow any academic style guides in place, then prefer double-
spacing if no style guide exists. Business and office documents tend to be single-spaced to
minimize the number of pages needed when printing, but digital documents may be easier to read
if spaced at somewhere between 120-150 percent.

 Breakup text with headings and lists:

The longer the document, the more important headings become. Would you rather read a 20-
page report that’s nothing but a wall of text from end to end? Or a 30-page report that’s
organized into proper sections, subsections, and headings? I prefer the latter every time.

Lists are also good for breaking up walls of text and drawing eyes to important points.
Use numbered lists when counting a set of items (e.g. “the five attributes of a successful
entrepreneur”) or when providing step-by-step instructions. Otherwise, bulleted lists are fine.
Just be sure to avoid overusing lists, which can detract from readability.

 Defaults :

With all of these settings—margins, typeface, spacing—you can make your preferences be
the default, so that every time you open a new document, it's already the way you want it.
For most adjustments, there's an option in the settings window for "set as default." If you're
working with a a few different kinds of documents, it might be worth your while to create
templates, too. To save a new template, get your document set up how you want it, and
choose Word Template as the format when you save.

 Shortcuts :
Shortcut Description

Ctrl+0 Toggles 6pts of spacing before a paragraph.

Ctrl+A Select all contents of the page.
Ctrl+B Bold highlighted selection.
Ctrl+C Copy selected text.
Ctrl+D Open the font preferences window.
Ctrl+E Aligns the line or selected text to the center of the screen.
Ctrl+F Open find box.
Ctrl+I Italic highlighted selection.
Ctrl+J Aligns the selected text or line to justify the screen.
Ctrl+K Insert a hyperlink.
Ctrl+L Aligns the line or selected text to the left of the screen.
Ctrl+M Indent the paragraph.
Ctrl+N Opens new, blank document window.
Ctrl+O Opens the dialog box or page for selecting a file to open.
Ctrl+P Open the print window.
Ctrl+R Aligns the line or selected text to the right of the screen.
Ctrl+S Save the open document. Just like Shift+F12.
Alt, F, A Save the document under a different file name.
Ctrl+T Create a hanging indent.
Ctrl+U Underline the selected text.
Ctrl+V Paste.
Ctrl+W Close the currently open document.
Ctrl+X Cut selected text.
Ctrl+Y Redo the last action performed.
Ctrl+Z Undo last action.
Ctrl+Shift+L Quickly create a bullet point.
Ctrl+Shift+F Change the font.
Ctrl+Shift+> Increase selected font +1pts up to 12pt and then increase font +2pts.
Ctrl+] Increase selected font +1pts.
Ctrl+Shift+< Decrease selected font -1pts if 12pt or lower; if above 12, decreases font by +2pt.
Ctrl+[ Decrease selected font -1pts.
Ctrl+/+c Insert a cent sign (¢).
Ctrl+'+<char> Insert a character with an accent (grave) mark, where <char> is the character you wan
you wanted an accented è you would use Ctrl+'+eas your shortcut key. To reverse the
the opposite accent mark, often on the tilde key.
Ctrl+Shift+* View or hide non printing characters.
Ctrl+<left arrow> Moves one word to the left.
Ctrl+<right arrow> Moves one word to the right.
Ctrl+<up arrow> Moves to the beginning of the line or paragraph.
Ctrl+<down arrow> Moves to the end of the paragraph.
Ctrl+Del Deletes word to right of cursor.
Ctrl+Backspace Deletes word to left of cursor.
Ctrl+End Moves the cursor to the end of the document.
Ctrl+Home Moves the cursor to the beginning of the document.
Ctrl+Spacebar Reset highlighted text to the default font.
Ctrl+1 Single-space lines.
Ctrl+2 Double-space lines.
Ctrl+5 1.5-line spacing.
Ctrl+Alt+1 Changes text to heading 1.
Ctrl+Alt+2 Changes text to heading 2.
Ctrl+Alt+3 Changes text to heading 3.
Alt+Ctrl+F2 Open new document.
Ctrl+F1 Open the Task Pane.
Ctrl+F2 Display the print preview.
Ctrl+Shift+> Increases the selected text size by one font size.
Ctrl+Shift+< Decreases the selected text size by one font size.
Ctrl+Shift+F6 Switches to another open Microsoft Word document.
Ctrl+Shift+F12 Prints the document.
F1 Open Help.
F4 Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+).
F5 Open the Find, Replace, and Go To window in Microsoft Word.
F7 Spellcheck and grammar check selected text or document.
F12 Save As.
Shift+F3 Change the text in Microsoft Word from uppercase to lowercase or a capital letter at t
every word.
Shift+F7 Runs a Thesaurus check on the selected word.
Shift+F12 Save the open document. Just like Ctrl+S.
Shift+Enter Create a soft break instead of a new paragraph.
Shift+Insert Paste.
Shift+Alt+D Insert the current date.
Shift+Alt+T Insert the current time.