Consistent numbering & headings Level 1, 2, 3,… headings should all have consistent font, font size, capitalisation, etc.
Make sure that hardcoded numbering in your titels and subtitels is removed.
Note that some lawyers prefer to have no level 2 headings for clauses with a single paragraph. Your preference is your own, but be consistent. If your organisation has a style guide, definitely check what the preference is on the styling front.
Consider setting some time aside to familiarize yourself with how styling actually works in your word processor of choice - it will save you plenty of headaches and long nights down the road!
It’s okay to have different fonts in a single document – for example: titles in Arial Bold and body text in Times New Roman. Just make sure whatever setup you go with is applied consistently.
The indentation is the blank space at the beginning of a paragraph. First-line idents: Use this to indent the first line of a paragraph. Hanging idents: This is an indent that indents all text except for the first line. Yes, the Tab-key can help in setting up indentation space, but know that it has the potential to significantly mess up your styling. If you are aiming for consistency, use your word processor’s built in styling functionalities to create indentations! This is the space before and after paragraphs. Ensure that paragraphs of the same type offer the same amount of spacing.
With text alignment you can set the horizontal alignment of your text. Justified: This is easy to read and has a formal feeling. However, when there is a line with a small number of words, odd spaces can occur. Left: This is most used as it follows the natural flow of language and the eye’s gaze. Right: Only used in languages that read right to left. Centred: This is difficult to read with long bodies of text. Headings give your document a structure and help readers navigate it and understand the content hierarchy. Pick one heading style for each level. Make sure the headings are easy to differentiate. There should be one Heading 1 Any subheadings below that must be Heading 2 Andy subsections of the Heading 2 headings must be a Heading 3 Ensure consistency in how bullets are displayed and know that that there are different levels, that correspond with different kinds of indentations and different symbols.
Example of the different variations:
Bullet level 1: *
Bullet level 2: (i)
Bullet level 3: a)
Besides choosing the style of your bullets you can also change the distance of the bullet indent from the margin.
Different lawyers have different preferences when it comes to written numbers in the text of a document. Hundred (100Whether) euro The use of both numbers and letters is highly outdated, but you will still see some lawyers insist that you use it. The key here is to be consistent. First, the legal expectations for date notation vary between countries, it is important to be aware of the form that is used in a particular country. Second, harmonize the date notation throughout the whole document, to avoid confusion and ensure accuracy. Day-month formats such as 20 April 2022 or 20/04/2022. Month-day formats such as April 20, 2022 or 04/20/2022. Use the same type of punctuation marks to set off direct speech, a quotation, or a phrase (e.g. “ “ or ‘ ‘). Quotation marks can be curly or straight so make sure you consistently use the same type in a pair.
Also double-check whether each opening quotation mark has a related closing quotation mark. Searching your document for a quotation mark should always yield an even number.
Consistent headers or footers Make sure any section breaks are accounted when setting up page numbering. These can sometimes cause: numbering to reset in the middle of a document, headers not being consistent,