Quick tip: 6 reasons to use “styles” in your white papers
Have you ever spent an hour fiddling with a white paper… only to realize you need to change the fonts or spacing through the whole document?
There’s a better, faster way to do this: Use “styles” in Word.
Styles have been part of Word since 1983, but I’m still surprised how many writers don’t bother with them.
“That’s the designer’s job!” they say. “I do the words, not the look.”
But here’s the thing: Styles can save writers time and trouble, make us look more professional, and help our reviewers and designers do their jobs better.
With styles, you can quickly format a whole document and make global changes in seconds.
I’m not going to explain how to set up your styles here. A quick search with Google or a look through YouTube will give you plenty of help with that.
But I will say that styles are so quick, easy, and helpful, I use them on every white paper I work on (and I’ve been doing that for decades).
Here are six reasons why you should, too.
Reason #1: Save yourself time
It takes one click to apply a style that gives all the correct formatting to your selected text.
That’s way faster than using five to 10 clicks to fiddle with fonts, sizes, spacing, and alignment for every last element in your paper.
Reason #2: Create a consistent, professional look
When you use styles, all your headings, body text, and other elements will look consistent throughout the document.
No more haphazard spacing or mismatched fonts—you get a polished, well-put-together document.
Reason #3: Clarify your paper’s structure
Using styles for heading (Heading1, Heading2, and so on) instantly shows how your sections are organized and nested.
This helps you and your readers see the hierarchy of your white paper at a glance.
And if you move around some sections, it will be clear to everyone how they fit together.
Reason #4: Generate a table of contents with ease
Why not send in your draft with a contents page included? Why make your client do that on their side?
When are your headlines are styled properly, you can insert an automatic table of contents with just a couple of clicks.
In Word, select Insert > Index and tables… and use the panel shown above.
And if you make any changes, just right-click on the Contents list to regenerate it.
Reason #5: Help your reviewers
Styles create a clear, consistent format that makes your draft look finished.
And they set up a visual hierarchy that helps reviewers quickly grasp the structure.
Sure, you do the words. But why not deliver your words in a format that’s quicker and easier to grasp?
Reason #6: Set up your designer for success
Many designers know how to import a well-styled Word file into InDesign and map your styles to their own.
This saves time and makes sure your vision for the paper carries through to the final layout.
Even if the designer doesn’t follow this workflow, the styles in your draft still reveal your intentions clearly.
Bonus tip: A starter set of styles
You don’t need a ton of styles to format a white paper draft.
A dozen makes a good start, and 20 will likely cover everything you might ever need.
Here’s a sample of the core styles I use:
- Normal for body text
- Headings 1 to 4 for section headers, with Heading 1 the top level
- Caption for notes under graphics and tables
- Footnote Text for references
- Title and Subtitle for the front cover
- Footer for a running footer
- TOC Heading for the top level in the table of contents.
Remember you can add to this list, and customize each style the way you want it.
Conclusions
If you’re not using styles in Word, give them a try on your next white paper.
You may be surprised how much time you save and how much more professional your drafts look.
Styles help you work more efficiently and deliver more polished, organized documents that are easier to share, revise, and publish.
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