A document is consistent when the same kind of text always looks the same. Styles make that possible: you define the look once, apply it, and change it in one place. Inconsistency usually means some text was formatted by hand instead of by style.
This is a core fix in document editing and proofing. It follows from the page set-up and table work in document production and the style ideas in images, layout and styles.
Why does hand formatting cause trouble?
Direct formatting sits on top of a style. If a heading was made by selecting text, choosing bold and increasing the size, the program still treats it as normal body text. Changing the heading style later will not touch it.
The page then looks fine until someone edits the style, adds a contents list or switches to an outline view. At that point the hand-made headings stand out, because they were never headings as far as the program is concerned.
How to correct it, step by step
- Read the task. Note which fonts, sizes, colours and spacing it asks for.
- Check the style name of each heading, body paragraph and list item by clicking inside it.
- Define the style once. Edit the heading style to match the task, instead of changing each heading separately.
- Reapply the style to anything that did not change. Clear the direct formatting if it still overrides.
- Replace empty paragraphs with space before or after in the style.
- Scan the whole document again, including text boxes, tables, headers and footers.
Worked example
An invented four-page newsletter has 6 section headings. The task says all headings must use a heading style set to 14 pt bold.
Step 1, inspect. Clicking inside each heading shows 4 headings use the heading style. The other 2 show the normal body style, so they were formatted by hand at 16 pt bold.
Step 2, edit the style. Set the heading style to 14 pt bold. 4 headings change to 14 pt. The 2 hand-made ones stay at 16 pt, so the document now has two sizes.
Step 3, reapply. Select each of the 2 remaining headings and apply the heading style. If they still look 16 pt, clear direct formatting first, then apply the style again.
Step 4, verify. Count: 4 + 2 = 6 of 6 headings now carry the style and show 14 pt bold.
Step 5, spacing. Between sections there are 3 empty paragraphs. Delete them and set 12 pt space after each heading’s section instead. The gaps are now the same everywhere.
The mistake to watch for
A student fixes the two odd headings by changing their size to 14 pt by hand.
Mistaken fix: The headings now look the same, but 2 of 6 are still hand formatted.
The page looks correct, so the student stops. The fault returns the next time the heading style is changed, when those 2 headings do not follow. The correction is to apply the style, not to copy its appearance.
Check yourself
1. A document has 10 headings. 7 use the heading style and 3 were formatted by hand. You change the heading style from 14 pt to 16 pt. How many headings change size, and what should you do about the rest?
Show answer
7 change. For the other 3, apply the heading style and clear any direct formatting so all 10 follow the style.
2. Why is the style name more reliable than how a heading looks?
Show answer
Appearance can be copied by hand and still not be linked to the style. The style name shows whether the program treats the text as a heading and whether future style changes will reach it.
3. A paragraph has extra space created by 2 empty lines. What is a better way to make that gap?
Show answer
Delete the empty lines and set space before or after in the paragraph style. The gap then stays the same size however the text is edited.
Where this leads next
After styles are consistent, learn to distinguish proofreading from redesign so that you correct faults without making unrequested changes. Revisit find and replace if a style name needs updating throughout. The ICT practical task and evidence checker can record what you changed.
If you want someone to watch your actual workflow and point out where hand formatting creeps in, that is part of online one-to-one ICT tuition.