Using Word to Create

Great-Looking Reports
Abstract: This article gives step-by-step instructions on
how to effectively use the tools available in Microsoft Word
to write a great report. It covers the initial preparation of
the document including what you need to set up to ensure
a consistent look to your document. It offers techniques
on how to quickly remedy common formatting problems.
It also covers how to add captions, create a numbered
heading structure, insert and align images, create a table
of contents, add a bibliography, add a table of figures, and
apply page numbering with different sections.

Keywords: easy report writing with Word, how to compile

a report, how to make a report, Microsoft Word report,
report creation, report template, report-writing, report-
writing format, r­eport-writing format doc, template on
report-writing, writing a report

Introduction
This brief article is to help you create a great-looking
­report using Word. You are probably already ­familiar
with Word but this article takes you through the ­report
creation process from beginning to end with the
­
­emphasis on what you need to use in Microsoft Word. It
is strongly suggested that one person should be respon-
Anne Walsh has been a sible for the overall control of the document. This makes
freelance trainer based in Ireland
since the mid-1990s. She is an MCT
the management of the report much less unwieldy.
(Microsoft-Certified Trainer) and is an There is no specific reference to the paper size of
MOS Master Instructor. She is your report, i.e., whether you are using A4, letter, legal,
the author of Your Excel or something else. You can check the paper size of the
Survival Kit—A Guide to Surviving
­current document by navigating to Page Layout | Size
and Thriving in an Excel World published
by MrExcel.com in 2016. and then checking that the paper size for your document
is what is required for the report.
There are three main sections covered in this article.

Part 1: Getting Set Up

This covers what you need to know before you get
started on writing the report.
It covers:
■■ Set font and paragraph defaults
■■ Set up the document with styles
■■ Using Outlining to create your report structure
■■ Creating a report template.

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 Using Word to Create Great-Looking Reports

■■ What to do when your text and paragraphs
are inconsistent
■■ Version naming
Part 2: Working through the Document
This covers the actual report creation section.
You will learn the steps to:
■■ Add page numbers
■■ Add a watermark
■■ Create Bookmarks
■■ Create a cross-reference
■■ Insert and modify a table
■■ Insert pictures
■■ Add captions to entries
■■ Insert SmartArt
■■ Insert footnotes and endnotes
■■ Insert bibliographical references.
■■ Word count
■■ Charts
Part 3: Completing Your Report
When the report has been written, there is the
final editing and finishing up process. In this
section you will learn how to do the following:
■■ Turn on your Track Changes.
■■ Compare Document versions.
■■ Protecting your report.
■■ Amend/add page breaks if required.
■■ Add your Table of Contents.
■■ Add your Table of Figures.
■■ Add your Bibliography.
■■ Add a Cover Page.
■■ Complete your Track Changes.
This report refers to Word 2013 but much of
what is covered here can be used in Word
2007/Word 2010/Word 2016/Word 365.
■■ Using Outlining feature to create the struc-
ture of our report
■■ Viewing the Navigation Pane
■■ Creating a report template to make it easy
for everyone to use the same formatting
■■ Version naming
Set Font and Paragraph Defaults
The first thing you need to do, unless you
have done it already, is to set up your font
and paragraph defaults. The default setting
is what font and paragraph settings have al-
ready been chosen for you before you type
a single word.
This means ensuring that the font types,
sizes, and paragraph formatting you desire
are already set up when you, and your col-
laborators on the report, open it. Of course,
you may decide to just accept the defaults
that Word has given you and that’s OK, but
you should make sure that everyone has
the same settings.
Steps for Setting Up Font Defaults
1. Go to Home ribbon
2. Click on Font dialog box option
3. You will then see the following dialog box.

Part 1: Getting Set Up

Starting Your Report
In this section we are going to look at what
you need to put in place in Word to ensure
that the whole report creation process is as
seamless as possible from a formatting point
of view. In this section, we are going to look at
■■ Setting defaults for our font and para-
graph choices
■■ Using styles to ensure consistent formatting

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 Using Word to Create Great-Looking Reports

4. From this choose the font type and size is where the first line of your paragraph
you want. When you are finished, click commences further to the right than the rest
on the Set as Default option. of your paragraph. You could also have the
5. Click OK. rather unfortunately titled hanging indent,
6. From this, choose if you want it to apply where the first line of your paragraph starts
to this document or all of them. Choose BEFORE the rest of the paragraph.
whatever option is appropriate for you. So once you have decided what you want
Next time you open up a new document, the default settings to be, this is when you
this will be the font type and size that is should agree and set them up.
already set up. This is where you can specify the
■■ Default line spacing (this is the amount of
Note that this default font does not a
­ pply to space left between each line in the paragraph);
documents already created. It only applies to ■■ Indentation (how far the left- and right-hand
documents created using this template from side of the paragraphs are from the mar-
that point forward. gins); and
■■ Paragraph spacing (the amount of space left
Steps for Setting Up Paragraph Defaults between each paragraph when you press
Before we begin on our discussion of para- Enter to start a new paragraph will be).
graphs, margins, and indents, we need to At this point you need to get familiar with
clarify some terms. the basics of paragraphs. You can read about
Paragraph: Word creates a paragraph paragraphs in the appendix on page 25
every time you press the Enter key. You if your recollection is a bit hazy.
could have a 10,000-word document in one 1. Go to Home ribbon
paragraph if you just keep typing and typ- 2. Click on the Paragraph settings to open
ing. You could have a three-word document the paragraph dialog box.
in three paragraphs if you have pressed the
Enter key after each word.
Margin: This is the space left between
the edge of your physical page and the text.
You change your margins in Page Layout |
Margins. When you change your margins, 3. You will then see the following dialog box.
the space between the edge of the page and
the text changes THROUGHOUT the docu-
ment. (There are exceptions but unless you
have set them up, this is what happens)
Indent: This is where you change the
space between the MARGIN and the text of
a paragraph (or multiple paragraphs). You
could have a left indent which means the
left-hand side of your paragraph commences
further to the right (imagine that you have
squeezed in the left-hand side of your para-
graph). You could have a right indent (imagine
you have squeezed in the right-hand side
of your paragraph). You could have a left
and right indent (yes, as you guessed
it, you have squeezed in both sides). Of
course there is a further complication in
that you could have a first-line indent—this

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