Styles for Many Reasons...Body Text styles

Normal style
This style is the default style that is used when typing text. Lots of Word users never have the Normal style appear in their documents. They instead select the Body Text style for running text. Since the Normal style is the base style, the feeling is that you need to avoid using it...and changing it so that you don't corrupt your document or the associated template. I happen to ascribe to this style theory. Therefore, you won't find the Normal style used in my documents.
Note: Remember that every document is based on a template, which you can corrupt.

Body Text style
This style is the one I use for running text. If I make changes to it, my chances of corrupting anything (document or template) is slim.

Body Text 2 or 3 style
These styles are similar to Body Text. The difference may be that one is double spaced while the other uses a smaller font size.

Body Text Indent styles
The indent styles offer you a number of pre-formatted indented text. Some indent the entire paragraph, while others indent only the first line.

Block Text style
This style is a cousin of the indent styles but it has a special use. When you have a quote that goes over five lines, normal custom is to put it into a paragraph of its own. To separate the paragraph from other text, it is indented 1/2 inch on each side and sometimes placed in a decorative box. You can of course set this up yourself. However, with one click you can apply the Block Text style and get the same result.

Quote style
This style can also be used for quotations. When you apply it to text, the font changes to italic; however, you do not have the 1/2 inch indents from each margin nor do you have the decorative box. It's a matter of personal preference on which style you use for quotations. Just be sure to be consistent; that is, use Block Text or Quote for your quotations.

Reminder...Applying a Style
Type text for a paragraph, press the Enter key, click anywhere in the text, and then click a style to change how your text looks.

To apply a style to more than one paragraph, use your cursor to select the paragraphs, and then pick a style from the style list.

More about styles in my next post...