Writing: Tips on Formatting Papers

Please note that directions may vary between the different versions of Microsoft Word. Behavior may also vary between devices e.g. Word on a PC and Word on a Mac.

Margins

1. Open Word
2. Click the Layout tab
3. Select Margins
4. Chose from the dropdown or select Custom Margins

Page numbers

1. Open Word
2. Click the Insert tab
3. Select Page Number
4. Choose the location and style you want
   • If you don't want a page number to appear on the first page, select Different First Page
   • If you want numbering to start with 1 on the second page, go to Page Number, Format Page Numbers, and set Start at to O.
5. When you're done, select Close Head and Footer or press Esc.

Hanging Indent

1. Open Word
2. Stay in the Home tab
   • Select Paragraph (link icon is under the bullet list and text justify options) or
   • Right-click and chose Paragraph from the list
3. Under Indentation find Special (to the right)
4. Select Hanging from the dropdown
5. Click OK to close the pop-up

Please note that instructions may vary when Google Docs is opened on different devices e.g. desktop vs smartphone.

Margins

1. Open a Google Doc
2. Click File
3. Select Page Setup
4. Adjust necessary margins
5. Click OK

Page numbers

1. Open a Google Doc
2. Click Format
3. Select page numbers
   • Position in either header or footer
   • Check box to show on first page
   • Start at number can be changed
4. Click Apply

Hanging indent

1. Open a Google Doc
2. Click Format
3. Select Align & Indent
4. Select Indentation options
5. Under Special ident
6. Select Hanging from the dropdown
7. Click Apply

Please note that Pages is currently only available on Apple devices. Behavior may vary from device to device i.e. Mac and Ipad.

Margins

1. Open Pages
2. Click the Document button in the toolbar
3. Click the Document tab at the top of the sidebar.
4. In the Document Margins section,
   • .Click the arrows or enter values in the fields next to Top, Bottom, Left, and Right
   • For documents that use facing pages, the document margins are Top, Bottom, Inside, and Outside. The inside margin is the side of any page that goes into the binding. The outside margin is the outside edge of each page.

Page numbers

1. Open Pages
2. To find the header/footer, hover your pointer at the top or the bottom of the page until you see the three header or footer fields
3. Click Insert Page number
4. Choose a numbering style

Hanging indent

1. Open Pages
2. Put your cursor in the paragraph/lines you wish to indent
3. Go to Format
4. Click Layout
5. Expand Indent options
6. Increase Left by 0.5 - this will ident the 2nd and following lines
   • Once this is done, you can go to view and Show Ruler to see and adjust the indent