Microsoft Word is more than just a word processor for school or college education for students looking to improve their writing skills. Academic and creative writing requires an all-encompassing manual like this guide below that focuses solely on leveraging Microsoft Word's power. We'll cover everything, from document formatting to time-saving proofreading workflows, so stick with us until the end.

Typically, Word documents like books, reports, and letters have paragraphs that occupy the whole page width. In articles, newsletters, flyers, and brochures, all or only parts of the text may be arranged in two or more columns:

A cross-reference in Word can refer to related information elsewhere in the same document (to refer to other documents, sources, etc., see how to use hyperlinks in Word). Cross-referencing helps the reader navigate a lengthy document and aids the author or reviewers to update the document structure by automating tracking changes in headings, picture or table numbers.

You can create two types of numbering for formulas and equations in the Word document:

A footnote or endnote is usually indicated by a superscript number immediately following the text or phrase to which the note refers. Some requirements demand other symbols instead of numbers if there are a few footnotes in the document. For example, asterisks (*) or daggers(†) are used instead.

If you work with tables in a Word document, you may need to add a special kind of footnotes, which are placed not at the end of the page or after the text but immediately after the table:

Word inserts insert different types of footnotes and endnotes in the Word document using the Footnotes and Endnotes predefined styles for footnotes and endnotes. You can modify the following predefined styles for footnotes and endnotes according to the specific requirements:

Footnotes are short notes at the bottom of the page that provide explanations, additional comments, or an understanding of a particular word or phrase in the document content. Endnotes are the same as footnotes but appear at the end of an entire section or document.

Some document types or requirements need headings numbering. It's easy to add numbering for one level of headings in the Word document. Word works with the numbering for any style in the same way. See how to work with lists in Word:

Often, the header or footer contains a page number and the document information such as file name, file path, author, date, etc. Sometimes you need to insert the heading of the current chapter or just a heading of a specific level in the header or footer: