Be able to apply text enhancement including bold, underline, italic

Topic 14 – Styles

Learning Objective

Be able to apply text enhancement techniques including bold, underline and italic using the toolbar, keyboard shortcuts and style definitions.

1. What are Text Enhancements?

Text enhancements are formatting options that change the visual appearance of characters without affecting the content. The three most common enhancements are:

• Bold – makes the text darker and heavier.
• Underline – draws a line beneath the text.
• Italic – slants the text to the right.

2. Applying Enhancements Using the Toolbar

1. Select the text you wish to enhance.
2. Click the appropriate button on the formatting toolbar:
   • B for bold
   • U for underline
   • I for italic
3. The selected text will change immediately.

3. Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts provide a faster way to apply enhancements. The shortcuts are the same in most word‑processing software (e.g., Microsoft Word, Google Docs).

Enhancement	Windows Shortcut	Mac Shortcut
Bold	Ctrl + B	Command + B
Underline	Ctrl + U	Command + U
Italic	Ctrl + I	Command + I

4. Using Styles to Apply Enhancements Consistently

Styles are predefined sets of formatting attributes that can be applied to whole paragraphs or headings. Creating a style that includes bold, underline or italic ensures consistency across a document.

1. Open the Styles pane (often found on the Home ribbon).
2. Choose New Style or Modify Style.
3. Give the style a name (e.g., “Important Heading”).
4. Set the desired enhancements:
   • Font weight: Bold
   • Font style: Italic
   • Underline: Single
5. Save the style and apply it to any paragraph by selecting the style name.

5. Practical Exercise

Complete the following tasks in a new document. Record the steps you used for each task.

1. Type the sentence: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
2. Make the word quick bold using the toolbar.
3. Underline the word brown using a keyboard shortcut.
4. Italicise the word lazy using a keyboard shortcut.
5. Create a style called “Key Phrase” that makes text bold and italic, then apply it to the phrase “jumps over”.

6. Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Applying an enhancement to a whole paragraph when only a single word is required.
• Using both underline and italic on the same word unless specifically required – this can reduce readability.
• Forgetting to clear formatting before applying a new style, which can cause overlapping attributes.

7. Summary Checklist

• Can you apply bold, underline and italic using the toolbar?
• Do you know the keyboard shortcuts for each enhancement on both Windows and Mac?
• Can you create a custom style that includes any combination of these enhancements?
• Are you aware of the impact of over‑using text enhancements on document readability?