Making a word stand out is one of the first things people want to do in Word. By the end of this page you will be able to apply bold, italics, colour and highlighting properly, and know why using them sparingly matters.
Formatting in Word always works the same way round: you select the text first, and then you apply the formatting to that selection. If nothing is selected, the formatting will only apply to whatever you type next, which often surprises people who expected it to change existing text.
The three classic buttons - Bold, Italic and Underline - live at the top left of the Home tab, and each also has a keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+B for bold, Ctrl+I for italics, and Ctrl+U for underline. Pressing the same shortcut again switches the formatting back off.
- Bold
- Italic
- Changes the text colour
- Adds colour behind the text
Try it yourself
Select a word and press Ctrl+B.
This makes the word bold. Selecting first means only that word changes, not the whole document.
With the word still selected, press Ctrl+B again.
Pressing the same shortcut a second time removes the formatting, which is a quick way to undo a single formatting choice.
Select a different word and press Ctrl+I.
Ctrl+I applies italics, often used for titles of books or to add gentle emphasis.
Select some text and click the small arrow next to the letter A with a coloured bar under it, then choose a colour.
This changes the colour of the text itself, useful for headings or labels that need to stand out on the page.
Select some text and click the highlighter-pen icon next to it, then choose a colour.
Highlighting adds a block of colour behind the text, like a highlighter pen on paper, which is better for drawing a reader's eye to a phrase without changing the text colour itself.
Words people use
It is tempting to bold, colour and highlight everything that feels important, but a page where everything shouts is a page where nothing does. Save these tools for the handful of words that genuinely need attention, and let the rest of your writing sit calmly in plain black text.
Check yourself
If you can say yes to each of these, you are ready for the next lesson.
- I know to select text before applying formatting to it
- I can use Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I and Ctrl+U from memory
- I know the difference between font colour and highlighting
- I use bold, colour and highlighting sparingly rather than everywhere