Using Headings in Word
This article describes how to use paragraph styles in Microsoft Word. Using the default styles in Word makes it easy to change the look of your document with Word's built-in document formats and makes your document easier for your readers to "scan" through to find important content. It also lets readers with visual and other impairments using screenreader software to "read" your document. With screenreaders, those users can even use keyboard shortcuts to skip through headings in a document.
To create headings, open your document in word. Separate your content into logical sections and give those sections labels.
From the "Home" tab, look for the "Styles" section. This is where the preformatted headings are.
Select the text in your document that you want to add a heading style to and then click the appropriate style.
Continue through your document assigning proper heading levels to all your headings. Make sure your headings are consistent and logical - and never skip headings levels. A headings level 2 is always under a heading level 1, and a heading level 3 is always under a heading level 2.
In addition to making the document easier for individuals using screenreaders, there are other benefits to formatting your document with built-in headers. For example, you can quickly generate a table of contents for longer documents. To do this, go to the "References" tab and select "Table of Contents" to see -- and pick -- different table formats. Once inserted, the table of contents will automatically pull out your headers into a document outline.
Also, you can quickly change the appearance of your document by picking different "Themes" and "Styles" from the Design tab. Run your mouse over individual styles and themes to get a quick preview of how they will look in your document. Select a style or theme to accept the changed appearance.
Before completing any document, don't forget to go to the "File" tab and "Inspect Document" for other accessibility issues. This will give you a report on any other errors in your document that can affect its accessibility.
