• Page numbers: Make sure your page numbers adhere to the guidelines set forth by your client. Should they go on the bottom center of the page or top right? Does the title page include a page number? Does the frontmatter require Roman or Arabic numerals? Do your page numbers flow from chapter to chapter, rather than starting over at “1″ in every chapter? Page numbers can be tricky to get right in Word, so check and double check them.
• Location of figures and tables: If you have a lengthy table that spans more than one page, some guidelines want you to repeat the table header on the second page or include the table title followed by “continued.” Guidelines often also address where to place figures and tables relative to the text. Generally, you should place the figure or table as close as possible to the text that mentions it. Also, make sure that your table title or figure caption is on the same page as the table or figure.
• Margins: Word has 1-inch margins as a default, but that is far from standard. In fact, there really isn’t a standard when it comes to margins. Often, the left margin is a little wider for printed materials to make room for binding. Some schools and publishers like a wider top margin. Make sure your margins follow the guidelines set forth by your client.

You don’t want to risk having your document rejected simply because you made some formatting errors. That’s why Carpenter Doc offers formatting services. We can format your document while we edit it, or if you don’t have time for a full edit, we can just focus on the formatting. Contact us today!

• Bulleted lists are a great way to present similar information. If you’re creating a brochure for your business, highlight your services in a bulleted-list format. In all bulleted lists, make sure items are parallel — for example, use all noun phrases or all imperative statements.
• Tables can effectively present data that you found during your research. Common in theses and dissertations, well-formatted tables can show the overall results of your study, allowing readers to compare, analyze, and absorb your findings. Check with your style guide on how to format tables.
• Figures break up text and enhance reader understanding. Don’t include figures just to have them — if it’s not directly relevant to your content, keep it out. However, if you can show your readers something rather than just telling them about it, do so with a figure.
• Headings and subheadings help readers move through your document. They signal a shift in thought, which can aid reader understanding. Again, your style guide should provide detailed information on how to format different heading levels. These heading levels can also populate your table of contents.

Many formatting decisions depend on your blog’s theme. A business-related blog often looks much like the company’s website, like ours. A personal blog gives you more freedom to be creative, but it’s still important to apply consistent formatting to help your readers navigate through your posts.

Here are a few formatting tips for blogs:

Include a succinct title for each post

Just like a headline in a newspaper, the post title should draw your reader in and give them a sense of what your post is about.

Choose one emphasis style

If you want to emphasize a word or phrase, use italics, bold it, underline it or highlight it—your choice. But, don’t bold an important phrase in the first paragraph and italicize for emphasis in the second. And, certainly don’t bold, italicize, and underline one word. That’s a bit of emphasis overload.

Don’t overformat

Blogging platforms give you access to a variety of formatting tools—you can add color, pictures, fonts, and more. Stick to a few reliable formatting styles, and use them consistently. Too many colors, pictures and fonts will simply confuse your readers and ultimately detract from your content.

Formatting helps guide readers through your document, so here are some ways you can structure your content to aid in reader comprehension:

Heading levels.

Headings are common in academic papers, especially theses and dissertations. Create one to five heading levels in your document. Using headings helps group related content and separate different content.

Bulleted lists.

Bulleted lists are an effective way to format like items. Bulleted lists attract the reader’s eye in a way a lengthy paragraph cannot. When using bulleted lists, make sure the items are in parallel structure.

Emphasized text.

Place emphasis on important words or phrases with basic formatting tools. Bold or italicized text focuses the reader’s eye on those words. Be sure to use one formatting style for emphasis. Do not alternate between bold and italics in your paper.

• Developing an automatically generated Table of Contents, List of Tables, and List of Figures
• Building heading levels to align with your style guide
• Adding captions to figures and tables
• Building PDF bookmarks
• Creating consistent headers and footers throughout the document
• Formatting appendices according to your school’s guidelines

If you’re too busy writing to worry about formatting, then contact us today!

Here are some formatting/style issues that editors can help with:

Table of Contents.

In Microsoft Word, students should assign formatting styles to their headings so that they can automatically generate a Table of Contents. For those unfamiliar with Word’s Styles and Formatting tools, this can be confusing. We can help develop the Table of Contents in any document.

Works Cited.

When you’re finished writing, the last thing you want to deal with is your works cited page. We can check your references to ensure they comply with your style guide.

Parenthetical citations.

Do you include the author’s last name in the parenthetical citation? Is there a comma between the last name and year of publication? How do you deal with an article by multiple authors? We check your parenthetical references against your style guide—and your Works Cited page to verify accuracy.

Save time formatting by creating heading styles with these tips:

1. Determine how many heading levels your document will use. Then, refer to your university’s standards and discipline’s style guide for heading standards.
2. With those heading guidelines in hand, create your heading styles by selecting Styles and Formatting… from the Format menu. Here, you can see all of the formats applied in your document and modify the style of Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, etc.
3. Once you’ve created the heading styles, apply them by highlighting the text and choosing the heading from the Styles and Formatting drop-down menu on your toolbar.
4. With your heading styles in place, you can create a Table of Contents that displays as many heading levels as you’d like. Simply choose Insert – Reference – Index and Tables from the main toolbar, and select the Table of Contents tab. Modify the Table of Contents to meet your standards, and click OK to create it.

Heading levels can be tricky, so if you’re struggling with generating headings in your document, we can help! Contact us today!

However, color can be particularly effective in helping readers search for information. If you’re writing a complex technical manual or designing a Web site, colored headings can help guide readers through the text. When categorizing information using color, assign color codes in a meaningful manner, and limit the number of colors used by carefully selecting only those categories that should be distinguished.

Remember that the overuse of color can have an adverse effect on reader comprehension. William Horton explains that “the more colors that are used, the less the impact of each.”

So, don’t be afraid to use color. Instead, learn how to use it effectively.

Font, or typeface, can be an important design tool in your document. It can establish relationships within the text by creating emphasis.

Consider these tips when selecting fonts.

• Avoid choosing typefaces that are too similar. This conflicting relationship within the text can be confusing for readers because the typefaces are not the same, but they are not markedly different, either.
• Instead, create a contrasting relationship by using distinctly different typefaces in your document. Strong contrast attracts readers and strengthens communication by creating a hierarchy of ideas.
• Contrast typefaces by considering size, weight, structure, form, direction, and color. Each of these features can help to distinguish one typeface from another, making your document more visually appealing and, more importantly, more effective.