MICROSOFT WORD AND GOOGLE DOCS STANDARD DOCUMENT FORMATTING

WHAT IS FORMATTING? “Formatting” refers to the way a document LOOKS, from the size of the margins to the style and color of the font, the visual appeal of a document matters. ALL documents prepared for school or professional purposes should use a standard format that is set by the school system, college department of English, or your employer. If you have not been given a specific format for a document, the one presented here is advisable.

WHICH DOCUMENTS TO FORMAT Margins are 1” at top, bottom, left and right Font style is EITHER Arial or Times New Roman Font size is 12 point for the entire document Font color is black Titles are centered The first line of each Paragraph is indented 0.5” Line spacing is “double” (set 2.0 on menu) The standard for formatting presented here is suitable for reports, essays, research papers, stories, manuscripts, journals, and all other general writing.

HOW IT LOOKS Without a header, your document should visually match this example:

ADDING A HEADER Placement in the upper-right corner 1 st line, your name 2 nd line, the class for which the document is being prepared 3 rd line, the teacher for whom the document is being prepared 4 th line, the date on which the document was prepared Headers are usually specified by the person for whom the document is being prepared and for academic purposes generally include:

EXAMPLE DOCUMENT WITH HEADER A properly prepared academic document, including a standard header should visually match this example: Remember, headers are usually specified by your teacher! Always follow directions when given.