Be able to identify and correct inconsistent line spacing, remove blank pages/slides, remove widows/orphans, inconsistent or incorrect application of styles, ensure that tables and lists are not split over columns or pages/slides

ICT 0417 – Topic 15: Proofing

Learning Objective

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

• Identify and correct inconsistent line spacing.
• Remove unwanted blank pages or slides.
• Detect and fix widows and orphans in text.
• Spot inconsistent or incorrect application of styles.
• Ensure that tables and lists are not split across columns or pages/slides.

1. Inconsistent Line Spacing

Line spacing should be uniform throughout a document or presentation. Inconsistent spacing can make a document look unprofessional.

1. Select all text (Ctrl +A).
2. Open the paragraph formatting dialog (e.g., in Word: Home → Paragraph → Line and Paragraph Spacing).
3. Choose a single line spacing option (e.g., 1.15 or 1.5) and apply it to the whole document.
4. Check for manual line breaks (Shift + Enter) that may create hidden spacing and replace them with normal paragraph breaks.

2. Removing Blank Pages or Slides

Blank pages often appear because of extra paragraph marks, section breaks, or hidden objects.

• Word documents

  1. Show hidden characters (Ctrl + Shift + 8).
  2. Delete any stray paragraph marks (¶) or page/section breaks at the end of the document.
  3. Use Navigation Pane to locate empty pages quickly.

• PowerPoint slides

  1. Switch to Slide Sorter view.
  2. Select any blank slide and press Delete.
  3. Check the Slide Master for hidden placeholders that may generate blank slides when duplicated.

3. Widows and Orphans

A widow is a single line of a paragraph left at the top of a page; an orphan is a single line left at the bottom of a page. Both disrupt readability.

1. Enable Widow/Orphan control in the paragraph settings (Word: Line and Page Breaks → Widow/Orphan control).
2. If the option is unavailable, manually adjust by:

   • Adding or removing a line break.
   • Changing the paragraph spacing slightly.
   • Re‑phrasing the sentence to shift words between lines.

3. For presentations, keep bullet points short enough to fit comfortably on a slide without leaving a single line on a new slide.

4. Inconsistent or Incorrect Application of Styles

Using styles ensures uniform formatting and makes global changes easy.

5. Preventing Tables and Lists from Splitting Across Columns or Pages/Slides

Large tables or long lists can be broken unintentionally, making them hard to read.

• Word tables

  1. Select the table.
  2. Open Table Properties → Row tab.
  3. Uncheck Allow row to break across pages.
  4. If the table is wider than the column, adjust column width or switch to a single‑column layout.

• PowerPoint lists

  1. Keep each list on a single slide; avoid more than 6‑8 bullet points.
  2. Use the Keep with next option in the paragraph settings (if available) to keep related items together.

• Multi‑column layouts (Word)

  1. Select the paragraph containing the table or list.
  2. Choose Paragraph → Line and Page Breaks → Keep with next to keep the element with the following text.
  3. Alternatively, insert a manual column break before the table to start it at the top of a new column.

Quick Checklist for Proofing

1. Uniform line spacing throughout.
2. No blank pages or slides.
3. No widows or orphans.
4. All headings, sub‑headings and body text use the correct styles.
5. Tables and lists stay intact within columns/pages/slides.