Applying Styles
When working with long documents, it’s easier to use styles or predefined formats. Initially, every Word document uses the default Normal template and includes Normal style for paragraphs, which uses left alignments and single-line spacing as well as a 12-point Times New Roman font. In addition, there are three heading levels, Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3. To see all of the styles that are used in a document, go to the Style list on the Formatting toolbar as shown below.
Every formatting change you make is added to the Style list as a new style. The styles with paragraph marks next to them in the style list are paragraph styles, meaning that when you select one of these styles, the paragraph where your cursor is located is formatted with this style without having to select it. Character styles are those indicated with lowercase a’s. You must select text to apply these styles to it. To apply a character style, just select the text to be formatted and then select a style in the Style list.
You have additional options when using the Styles and Formatting Task Pane. To open it, click on the Styles and Formatting icon 
on the Formatting toolbar.
Modifying a Style
You can modify a style definition. Open the Styles and Formatting Task Pane if it’s not open. On the drop-down menu, click Modify.
To modify all instances of that style in the document, select the “Automatically update” check box and then click OK.
Defining New Styles
Using the Styles and Formatting Task Pane, you can create a new style just as you modified an existing style. You can name it anything you want; you might want to use a name that describes its usage in the document. To define or create a new style, select text formatted with a style you want to use as the basis of the new style, make any formatting changes you want included, type a name for the new style in the Style list box, and press the Enter key.
Or after selecting the text, open the Styles and Formatting Task Pane, and select New Style.
In the New Style dialog box, use the toolbar buttons to apply any formatting you want included in the new style. Then type a name for the style in the Style text box. Click the Style Type list arrow and click Paragraph or Character. To add the new style to the template file attached to the document, select the "Add to template" check box. To update the document with the new style, select the “Automatically update” check box.
You can also use the Reveal Formatting Task Pane to view a summary of all the formatting applied to selected text. Go to Format on the menu and choose Reveal Formatting.
Another way of applying predefined styles is using templates. Even if you have already typed a document, you can attach a template (see Attaching/Creating a Template).
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