SPSCC Student Computing Center__Line Spacing and Margins__1
Line Spacing and Margins in Microsoft Word
South Puget Sound Community College
Student Computing Center
Written by: Chris Dorn
One of the first things that readers will notice when they see a document is the line spacing and
margins. Not only that, but certain courses and citation styles call for certain formatting standards
that determine what line spacing and margins you should use. This tutorial explains the basics of
how to modify these two formatting features in Microsoft Word.
Line Spacing
To adjust the amount of space between each line, open the Paragraph dialog box, found in the
middle of the Ribbon on the Home tab.
In the Paragraph dialog box, select
one of the options from the
dropdown menu under “Line
spacing.” You can select single-,
1.5-, or double-spacing, or you can
select “Multiple” and set your own
custom line spacing.
To apply your selected line spacing,
select “OK.”
